Eight-year-old Johann Nepomuk Hummel impressed Mozart so much that he taught and housed the child prodigy for two years. Hummel followed in Mozart’s compositional footsteps by producing, among a massive body of work, eight piano concertos of which No. 2 in A minor and No. 3 in B minor are featured on this widely praised 1987 recording. Rather than follow the style of his famous mentor, Hummel looked forward and composed these works in a manner that had more in common with music of the Romantic era, leaving behind his earlier classical style. There’s even a whiff of Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony in the B minor Concerto. Stephen Hough presents sparkling and elegant interpretations, enjoying the bravura writing but never allowing himself to be seduced into pure showmanship. The final moments of the A minor Concerto are magnificent and exciting, with Hough stylishly accompanied by the English Chamber Orchestra.
- Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Philippe Honoré, Rachel Roberts, Sir Neville Marriner & Vikram Seth
- Claudio Arrau, Mikhail Pletnev & Stephen Kovacevich
- Evgeni Koroliov, Patrick Strub, Stuttgart Arcata Chamber Orchestra, Florian Henschel, Dirk Altmann, Iona Brown, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Ivan Moravec, Sir Neville Marriner, Peter Bruns, Roglit Ishay, Isabelle Faust, Christoph Poppen, Helmuth Rilling, Stuttgart Bach Collegium, Pavlos Hatzopoulos, Francois Benda & Verdi Quartet
- Elisabeth Leonskaja, Gewandhausorchester, Kurt Masur & New York Philharmonic
- Daniel Barenboim
- Philharmonia Orchestra & Solomon
- Benjamin Britten