Franz Hummel (2 January 1939 – 20 August 2022) was a German composer and pianist. From his youth, Hummel was interested in music and, in particular, the works of

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic music, Romantic and early Modernism (music), modern eras, he has been descr ...

, Eugen Papst and

Hans Knappertsbusch Hans Knappertsbusch (12 March 1888 – 25 October 1965) was a German conductor, best known for his performances of the music of Wagner, Bruckner and Richard Strauss. Knappertsbusch followed the traditional route for an aspiring conductor in Ge ...

. In

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

and

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, he studied both composition and piano. He became a

virtuoso A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'' or , "virtuous", Late Latin ''virtuosus'', Latin ''virtus'', "virtue", "excellence" or "skill") is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as ...

pianist and travelled across Europe performing, and making 60 recordings of much of the standard repertoire of classical, romantic and contemporary piano music before. In the 1970s, he ceased to publicly perform as a pianist, choosing instead to concentrate on composition. Since then, his operas, symphonies, ballets, concerti and chamber works have been performed, many times, in the most renowned concert halls and opera houses around Europe. Hummel's musical '' Ludwig II: Longing for Paradise'' premiered at the

Festspielhaus Neuschwanstein A ''Festspielhaus'' or Festival Theatre is a German language term describing a theatre designed for opera or music festivals. There are several examples of Festival Theatres in the German-speaking world: * Bayreuth Festspielhaus or the Bayreuth F ...

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, and was released on CD in 2000. Then, in 2001, he began to perform again as a pianist and gave a concert with the Russian violinist,

Liane Issakadse __NOTOC__ Liane may refer to: People Given name * Liane Augustin (1927–1978), German Austrian actress and singer * Liane Bahler (1982–2007), German racing cyclist * Liane Balaban (born 1980), Canadian actress * Liane Berkowitz (1923–194 ...

, and the

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, at the Carnegie Hall in New York City. Thereafter, he began work on a follow-up piece to ''Ludwig II'', about

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

; this was planned to be premiered in 2009, in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

. He has also wrote a third musical, more popular in style, first performed in the spring of 2008. Hummel latterly contributed, with his wife Sandra, on a work about Anton Bruckner. A new opera, titled "Der Richter und sein Henker" ('The Judge and His Hangman'), based on the novel of the same name, was also penned for November 2008. This work premiered at an opera house in

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits ...

. To promote

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital ...

as the European Capital of Culture for 2009, he was commissioned to write an opera about

Joseph Fouché Joseph Fouché, 1st Duc d'Otrante, 1st Comte Fouché (, 21 May 1759 – 25 December 1820) was a French statesman, revolutionary, and Minister of Police under First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte, who later became a subordinate of Emperor Napoleon. ...

who was exiled to Linz.

Death

Hummel died on 20 August 2022, at the age of 83.

Selected works

*''Gesualdo'' – an opera in two acts (1996)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hummel, Franz 1939 births 2022 deaths 21st-century classical pianists 21st-century German male musicians German classical pianists German composers Male classical pianists People from Eichstätt (district)