Blog top > Article from January 2025 > When Tracing Forgotten Composers, the Drama of Composers Becomes Visible -- The Case of Hummel and Chopin
This is a blog about this site, which introduces the lesser-known Emanuel Bach (C. P. E. Bach).
When Tracing Forgotten Composers, the Drama of Composers Becomes Visible -- The Case of Hummel and Chopin
There was a composer named Hummel who is now forgotten. He was slightly younger than Beethoven, but at the time, he was considered on par with Beethoven. It is said that Chopinʼs Piano Concerto No. 1 was modeled after Hummelʼs piano concertos in terms of structure, tempo, and other aspects. Listening to his music, one can imagine the connection with Chopin.
Chopinʼs concertos resemble several of Hummelʼs piano concertos in various ways. Not only the first, but also the third movement of Chopinʼs Piano Concerto No. 2 closely resembles that of Hummelʼs Piano Concerto No. 5. The structure, the rhythm of each part, and the piano entries are quite similar. Additionally, they are similar in their extensive use of dance forms. According to ChatGPT, Chopin used Polish dances while Hummel used Western European dances, which should imply a significant difference, but in reality, they are much more similar.
It seems that Chopin became more popular, but it appears that Hummel, so to speak, had his thunder stolen. Hummel wrote a considerable number of works for piano and orchestra, but today, his later works are rarely performed. This suggests that he lost his audience up to the present day. Although these works are not available on CD, some can be heard on YouTube. Listening to them, one would not consider them to be inferior works.