Chamber

Hummel’s prodigious output has received a few boosts on disc in recent years, although he remains a relatively marginal figure. Yet in his day he was one of the most respected musicians on the professional circuit. When Joseph Haydn became too frail to continue, it was Hummel who stepped up to the plate and took over the running of everything musical at Esterházy in 1804. Hummel may have lacked the blazing creative individuality of the greatest composers, yetpiano style proved a vital influence on the rising Romantic generation, most especially Mendelssohn.