Hummel's String Quartets

Getting Hummel away from the piano seems to reap great rewards.

Nostalgia, Storms, and Wit

Oh My...!

Let's Hear it for the Winds!

A recording of pure delights!

A Great Series

It has been such a wonderful time getting to know Hummel's piano concertos.

What's in a Name?

Like Beethoven sonatas, Haydn symphonies, and Dvořák's chamber music, nicknames often sell musical works.

A Vehicle for Hummel

I am not surprised by Hummel's inclusion of a piano in his two Septets.

It's in the Blood

 

A Theme for Variation

A dedicated Theme and Variations has to hook a listener, or there is no hope of continuing.

A Cover of Confusion

At first I thought the cover was ice chunks in the sea, then sand dollars, and my wife offered paint dollops...

The Ballets of Hummel

Johann Nepomuk Hummel must first be known for his solo piano music and piano concertos.

A Gentille Napoleonic Battle

Berwald's natural way with elegance and charm is no surprise as an early Romantic Era composer. Yet what can we expect for a musical representation of a battle.

Double the Pleasure, Double the Fun

Writing a Double Concerto would be tough, I imagine.

The Mighty Yggdrasil!

Usually a string quartet will name themselves after the surname of their leader or a composer they wish to honor. Others will name it after a location to honor a country, city, or state.
Here we have The Yggdrasil Quartet.

Mmm...the Potpourri smells So Good!

James Ehnes is playing both violin and viola!

Stop this Concerto, I wanna get off!

Once Berwald's Piano Concerto starts, it never lets up!

A Blueprint to the Mandolin

I just listened to Hummel's Mandolin Concerto a few days earlier. I had no idea it was a reworking of an earlier Concertino.

Pleasant music making, but not much more...

Franz Berwald must be best known for his Third Symphony, a work with curious harmonic progressions which tantalize the listener.

Mandolin or Trumpet? Why not both!

At my boyhood home, I had a neighbor who would spend his evenings sitting in his backyard playing a mandolin.