Piano Concerto No. 3 (Hummel) Explained

Johann Nepomuk Hummel's Piano Concerto No. 3 in B minor, Op. 89 was composed in Vienna in 1819 and published in Leipzig in 1821.^[1]

Along with the slightly earlier Concerto No. 2, it is written in a proto-Romantic style that anticipates the later stylistic developments of composers such as Frédéric Chopin, Robert Schumann, Felix Mendelssohn and Franz Liszt.^[2]

The work was a favourite of Liszt in his early career. After the teenager performed it at the Paris Opera, François-Joseph Fétis, musicologist and editor of La Revue Musicale, published a very unfavourable review. He was particularly critical of the speed with which Liszt took the Rondo finale.^[3]

Scoring

The work is scored for piano, flute, two oboes, 2 clarinets in A, 2 bassoons, 4 horns in D, G, and B, 2 trumpets in B, timpani, and strings. Notable is the sparsely scored second movement nocturne, accompanied by only the horns, cellos, and basses.

Movements

The work is composed in traditional three movement form.

• I. Allegro moderato (B minor)
• II. Larghetto (G major)
• III. Finale: Vivace (B minor – B major)

References

• M.F. Humphries, The Piano Concertos of Johann Nepomuk Hummel, PhD Dissertation (Northwestern University, 1957)
• B.H. Kim, Johann Nepomuk Hummel and His Contribution to Piano Music and the Art of Playing the Piano (University of Rochester, 1967)

Notes and References

1. Mikio Tao, Works Catalogue of Hummel, https://web.archive.org/web/20080530163015/http://www.geocities.com/mbfleur/Works_Catalog_of_Hummel.pdf (pdf)
2. MF Humphries, The Piano Concertos of Johann Nepomuk Hummel Dissertation (Northwestern University, 1957)
3. Book: Walker, Alan . Franz Liszt: The virtuoso years, 1811-1847 . 1987 . Cornell University Press . 978-0-8014-9421-5 . en.