Hummel Piano Concerto

[pianohopper]

I heard one of his piano concertos on the radio tonight.  It was Stephen Hough with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, playing Piano Concerto No. 2 in A minor.  I must say, I thought it was awesome!!!  However, I didn't hear the whole thing --- so could somebody tell me, just how difficult is it?  It seems probably obscure, and so a good competition concerto. 

[arensky]

I think the Hummel Concerti are great pieces, hardly played and unjustly negelcted like most of Hummel's music except for the Trumpet Concerto. His Sonatas (published by Dover) are good too, big pieces with some beautiful themes and skillful craftsmanship in the composition. He wrote a lot of piano music, well worth investigating  and performing.

But for competitions...best to go with something by a composer who is not on the fringes of the repertoire, good though the piece may be. But if you really love a piece and believe in it and play it well that can count for a lot. Another thing to consider is the availability of the orchestral parts and score, this could enter into an unfavorable desciion against you, I've seen it happen before. So you should always check Luck's Music Library, they sell and rent parts for most of the standard orchestral literature in public domain, and some pieces still under copyright as well. Have a look for Hummel #2, here's the link.....https://www.lucksmusic.net/

[apion]

The Hummel Piano Concerto in A Minor is excellent.  Perhaps not top-tier, but a very fine piece!