Franz Hummel

From his youth, Hummel was interested in music and, in particular, the works of Richard Strauss, Eugen Papst and Hans Knappertsbusch.

He became a virtuoso pianist and travelled across Europe performing, and making 60 recordings of much of the standard repertoire of classical, romantic and contemporary piano music before.

Hummel's musical Ludwig II: Longing for Paradise premiered at the Festspielhaus Neuschwanstein in Füssen, 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, and the clarinetist, Giora Feidman, at the Carnegie Hall in New York City.

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.