Johann Nepomuk Hummel's Piano Concerto No. 3 in B minor, Op. 89 was composed in Vienna in 1819 and published in Leipzig in 1821.^[1]

Unlike his earlier piano concerti, which closely followed the model of Mozart's, the B minor concerto along with the slightly earlier Concerto No. 2 is written in a proto-Romantic style that anticipates the later stylistic developments of composers such as Frédéric Chopin, Robert Schumann, Franz Liszt and Felix Mendelssohn.^[2]

Date of composition and scoring

The piano concerto was written by Hummel as a showcase for his virtuosity at the instrument. It was written while the composer was in Vienna in 1819 and is scored for piano, flute, two oboes, 2 clarinets in A, 2 bassoons, 4 horns in D, G, and B, 2 trumpets in B, timpani, and strings. Notable is the sparsely scored second movement nocturne, accompanied by only the horns, cellos, and basses.

The work was a favourite of Franz Liszt in his early career - when he performed it at the Paris Opera he was taken to task by a reviewer who complained in an open letter about the hectic speed the teenage Liszt took the finale.

Movements

The work is composed in traditional three movement form.

• I. Allegro moderato (B minor)
• II. Larghetto (G major)
• III. Finale: Vivace (B minor – B major)