Welcome to my little corner of the Web devoted to two pianist-composers separated by a single generation: Johann Nepomuk Hummel, the elegant master of the “brilliant” piano style, and Frédéric Chopin, the young Pole who grew up on Hummel’s music before finding a voice entirely his own.
This site is not a claim that Chopin copied Hummel note for note — it is a look at how one composer’s style passed into the hands of a teenager who would transform it. Read on, or start with the Concerto Comparison if you want the short version.
Now playing: Hummel — Piano Concerto No. 2 in A minor, Op. 85 (I. Allegro moderato)
A MIDI-rendered excerpt, looping quietly in the background — not a professional recording. See the Sources page for details.
CLICK HERE IF THE MUSIC DOES NOT STARTAround the site
- Hummel — the teacher’s world: virtuoso, improviser, architect of the brilliant style.
- Chopin — the pupil’s Warsaw: how the young Chopin came to know Hummel’s concertos.
- Concerto Comparison — Op. 85 and Op. 11, set side by side.
- Sources — where these claims, portraits and recordings come from.
