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This reminds me of Paul Wittgenstein (brother of philospher Ludwig)[1]. He was a concert pianist who lost his right arm in WWI and the commissioned a bunch of p

This reminds me of Paul Wittgenstein (brother of philospher Ludwig)[1]. He was a concert pianist who lost his right arm in WWI and the commissioned a bunch of piano music playable with only the left hand, including works by still-famous names like Ravel and Prokofiev. My personal favorite is Korngold's [2]. More recently, there is Leon Flescher, who was a highly-renowned pianist until he lost the use of his right hand in the 60s. Amazingly, he got it back 40 years later and has enjoyed recent success again as a two-handed pianist. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Wittgenstein https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Wittgenstein [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGulyl8bzgQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGulyl8bzgQ

mc32 9y ago
Reminds me a bit of the drummer for Def Leopard, learned to drum one handed after car crash left him.with amputated arm.
Mediterraneo10 9y ago
A similar case is the Finland-resident Japanese pianist Izumi Tateno, who lost the use of the right half of his body after a stroke and then began giving concerts solely with his left hand.
JamieBeckett 9y ago
Wow, that's really interesting. Thanks for sharing this info.
joshvm 9y ago
Some famous (ish?) modified versions of Chopin's Etudes were written by Godowsky. His mission appears to have been to make Chopin's hardest pieces just a bit harder, including the Revolutionary for the left hand only: https://youtu.be/X2nMUwdh1Wk?t=2m41s https://youtu.be/X2nMUwdh1Wk?t=2m41s
- asimpletune 9y ago
  Woah
jeffwass 9y ago
I had the pleasure of seeing Nicolas McCarthy speak and play live a couple years ago. He was born with only a right hand, and fought the odds to start learning piano at age 14. He eventually made it into and graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in London, their first one-handed pianist. He plays a variety of left-hand-only repertoire. His playing is amazing, and his story inspirational. http://nicholasmccarthy.co.uk http://nicholasmccarthy.co.uk

mc32 9y ago

Reminds me a bit of the drummer for Def Leopard, learned to drum one handed after car crash left him.with amputated arm.

Mediterraneo10 9y ago

A similar case is the Finland-resident Japanese pianist Izumi Tateno, who lost the use of the right half of his body after a stroke and then began giving concerts solely with his left hand.

JamieBeckett 9y ago

Wow, that's really interesting. Thanks for sharing this info.

joshvm 9y ago

Some famous (ish?) modified versions of Chopin's Etudes were written by Godowsky. His mission appears to have been to make Chopin's hardest pieces just a bit harder, including the Revolutionary for the left hand only: https://youtu.be/X2nMUwdh1Wk?t=2m41s https://youtu.be/X2nMUwdh1Wk?t=2m41s

asimpletune 9y ago
Woah

jeffwass 9y ago

I had the pleasure of seeing Nicolas McCarthy speak and play live a couple years ago. He was born with only a right hand, and fought the odds to start learning piano at age 14. He eventually made it into and graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in London, their first one-handed pianist. He plays a variety of left-hand-only repertoire. His playing is amazing, and his story inspirational. http://nicholasmccarthy.co.uk http://nicholasmccarthy.co.uk