Hummel, Johann Nepomuk 1778-1837
Austrian pianist and composer

Born in Pressburg, he was taught by his father, the director of the School of Military Music at Pressburg, and when the family moved to Vienna his playing impressed Mozart, who gave him lessons. He began playing in public in 1787, and after a tour of Germany, Denmark, Great Britain and Holland, he studied composition in London under Muzio Clementi, and in Vienna under Johann Albrechtsberger, Franz Joseph Haydn, and Antonio Salieri. In 1804 he became kapellmeister to Prince Esterh�zy, Haydn's former employer, and later held similar appointments at Stuttgart (1816) and Weimar (1819-37). He wrote several ballets and operas, but was best known for his piano and chamber works, and wrote a manual of piano technique (1828) which had considerable influence.