Hummel, who early in his career became well-known in Vienna as a brilliant pianist, studied with Mozart, Albrechtsberger, Salieri and Haydn and soon earned a high reputation as a composer. His style of composition derived from theclassical precepts of his teachers: Mozart's influence is clearly discernible even in his later years. However, as time progressed Hummel adopted elements from the emerging romanticism of the day and increasingly turned to ahighly figurative style with a level of virtuo