Programme maker Thijs Bonger has made 38 programmes about the life and work of Johann Nepomuk Hummel for his series A Second Chance for Hummel. Every series eventually must come to an end and this one is no exception. The final episode will be broadcast on Tuesday 6 February at 19:00 CET.
Bonger explains: “Surprise about the beauty of a totally unknown string quartet that was heard on a car radio led to an in-depth study that lasted 3 years, a worldwide search for publications and CDs and 38 hours of radio broadcasts with the title A Second Chance for Hummel”.
Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778-1837) was once the most famous composer in Europe, but was forgotten soon after his death.
The 38th episode looks at the final days of the composer. He was still productive despite health problems and wrote an interesting and in some respects revolutionary series of piano studies, op. 125. The work would be an inspiration for Chopin who was an admirer of Hummel. In the programme you can hear a selection from Hummel’s studies as well as some of the works by Chopin that were inspired by them. The series closes with an elegant and virtuoso work fro violin and piano.
