04/11/2025
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Johann Nepomuk Hummel | Music for guitar and piano duo
cd #1 Pot-pourri
Introduction
This album is dedicated to music for guitar and piano duo written by the renowned Austrian pianist-composer Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778-1837). This singular formation of the guitar and piano was widespread at the beginning of the nineteenth century, particularly in Vienna, Paris and London.
With the transition from aristocratic to middle-class patronage, amateur musicians increased in number, and guitar and piano were among the most popular instruments in middle-class salons. Playing an instrument had an essential role in social advancement, both for women and men: it was considered a fashionable activity, the best way to be introduced in good society and possibly find a partner or (exclusively for men) a more lucrative working position.1 Consequently, it was common for family members to engage with different musical instruments and play together within the home, encouraging experimentation with new chamber ensembles, such as guitar and piano.
In a city like Vienna, where music had such an important role in society, the guitar and piano virtuosos capitalised on the instruments’ artistic and economic potential. They played an essential role in the spread and popularity of both instruments, while composing a substantial number of solo and duo works. The success of this duo was also an opportunity for them to perform publicly,
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demonstrating, on one hand, their abilities as players, and on the other, promoting their own works and publications.
Hummel's collaboration with Giuliani
When approaching Hummel's repertoire for piano and guitar, it is also essential to address the figure of guitarist virtuoso Mauro Giuliani (1781-1829). Both lived in Vienna, in the period between 1811 and 1816, and were among the most famous musicians of their time.2 Some of the compositions for the duo from Hummel and Giuliani explicitly mention the other as co-author of the respective instrumental part. This was a typical approach for the composer-virtuoso of the early nineteenth century; collaborating with successful exponents of different instruments was not only a way to reach a wider public but also an economical and practical advantage for publications and performances.
During the Viennese years, Hummel and Giuliani collaborated both as performers and composers on several occasions. Their first duo appearance took place in 1811, for an event organised by the French ambassador Louis-Guillaume Otto. This concert was meant to feature Giuliani with the violinist Seidler, who, due to an illness, was replaced by Hummel. On this occasion, the reviewer wrote that they performed a duet for guitar and violin rearranged for their instruments.3 There is no mention of original duo compositions, but the relevance of this event is that it signalled the beginning of their flourishing collaborative activity.
In 1815, with violinist Joseph Mayseder, they organised a series of six concerts known as the ‘Dukatenkonzerte’ in the house of the paper merchant Joseph Rohrer, which took their name from the cost of a single ticket.4 The events, which were enthusiastically received by the Viennese public, consisted of performances by the three musicians playing solo pieces and trios. One of the bravura pieces performed by the three for the finale was ‘La Sentinella’, a set of variations for ensemble based on a well-known song of the time arranged by Hummel with the contribution of Giuliani and Mayseder in the writing of the instrumental variations.
After this successful cycle of concerts, the same year, they were invited by Count Franz Palffy, an influential member of the Viennese nobility (and a student of Giuliani), to perform evening serenades at the botanical gardens of the Schönbrunn Palace.5
These evenings involved several performers: Giuliani, Hummel and Mayseder, were joined by singers and virtuosos such as pianist Ignaz Moscheles and cellist Joseph Merck. The significance of these events was underlined by the attendance of
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royalty, including Empress Maria Luigia, who, moreover, started playing the guitar that same year and was most probably tutored by Giuliani.6
There is a fascinating document related to these evening serenades, consisting of the frontispiece of the Grande Sérénades en Pot-pourri op.63 by Hummel. This work, together with the op.66, was specifically composed for Count Palffy’s evenings (as specified on the frontispiece) by Hummel, in collaboration with Giuliani and Mayseder in the writing of the guitar and violin variations. It also shows a lithograph depicting five instrumentalists performing outdoors, namely a guitarist, a fortepianist, a violinist, a cellist and a clarinettist (or flautist), representing the instrumental formation of the music published. [...]
...an excerpt from a booklet from one of our publications... 0071
