Tuesday 16th June 2015 from 19 – 20.00 episode VI of the programme series by Thijs Bonger about Johann Nepomuk Hummel. In this one a lot of attention for his string quartets.
Around 1800 the string quartet is amazingly popular. Anything and everything is adapted for the medium, even including whole symphonies and operas. At that time you can see it as a sort of Spotify. But also music originally written for strng quartet is very popular. Hummel wrote 3 quartets, probably in 1804, after which he composed nothing more for the medium. Was he conscious of the threat from Beethoven? We're going to play excerpts from these quartets. It's a mystery as to why this lovely music is never performed. Because Hummel was still in the service of Count Esterhazy he has to concentrate on composing religious music. In 1805 and 1806 he wrote a Te Deum and a Quod in orbe, both well worth a listen.
Compilation and presentation: Thijs Bonger
