Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D Major
Have you ever thought that being a piano soloist with one arm was impossible? Well for one determined young man, it became a dream.
The Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D Major, by French composer Maurice Ravel, is a testament not only to Ravel's brilliance, but also to the indomitable will of the man who commissioned it.
Back before World War I, a concert pianist by the name of Paul Wittgenstein was trying to make his mark in the world. After being drafted, he sadly lost his right arm throughout the fighting. However, Wittgenstein didn't believe his concert piano career was over as a result.
Determined to succeed, he began practicing with his remaining hand to improve his left-handed technique. He tried to arrange two-handed works to accommodate his one-handed state. In the late'20's Wittgenstein decided to approach leading piano composers of his day and commission works written intentionally for the left hand alone.
Many felt this would not be feasible, but he eventually came across Sergei Prokofiev, Richard Wagner, Benjamin Britten, and Maurice Ravel who believed it was possible.
Ravel himself had never written a concerto before, but several piano solos. During this time he had been working on the Concerto in G, which of course was intended to be played with two-hands. After hitting a wall, he decided Wittgenstein's challenge may be what he needed to push forward. His research was uncanny, and as he studied the left-handed Etudes of Camille Saint-Saens, he believed his left-handed Concerto would be a noteworthy addition to piano repertoire.
And so it proved to be. Such is Ravel's craftsmanship that it is not at all obvious to a listener, that the piano part is written for just one hand. It is a dense, emotionally deep work which portrays the struggle of the one-armed pianist to overcome his tragic injury, and reinvent himself.
Though the piece has sometime been described as being in two movements, most experts agree that it is a piece written in one movement, but with three sections. Unlike most concerti, The Piano Concerto for the Left Hand is structured as Slow-Fast-Slow, rather than Fast-Slow-Fast.
Wittgenstein was a client who was famously difficult to please. He found something to complain about in almost every concerto offered to him by his all-star line-up of composers. With Wagner's work, Wittgenstein complained that the orchestration was too powerful to accompany a single-handed pianist, and would overpower the soloist. With Prokofiev's work, Wittgenstein declared that he simply would not play it.
For Ravel's Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, Wittgenstein's complaint had to do with the long solo cadenza just after the opening. "If I had wanted a solo piece," he is said to have declared, "I wouldn't have commissioned a concerto." However, as Ravel refused to change it, Wittgenstein performed the work as written, and later came to like it.
In the end, the Concerto for the Left Hand was a true testament to the indomitable human spirit. - 23806
The Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D Major, by French composer Maurice Ravel, is a testament not only to Ravel's brilliance, but also to the indomitable will of the man who commissioned it.
Back before World War I, a concert pianist by the name of Paul Wittgenstein was trying to make his mark in the world. After being drafted, he sadly lost his right arm throughout the fighting. However, Wittgenstein didn't believe his concert piano career was over as a result.
Determined to succeed, he began practicing with his remaining hand to improve his left-handed technique. He tried to arrange two-handed works to accommodate his one-handed state. In the late'20's Wittgenstein decided to approach leading piano composers of his day and commission works written intentionally for the left hand alone.
Many felt this would not be feasible, but he eventually came across Sergei Prokofiev, Richard Wagner, Benjamin Britten, and Maurice Ravel who believed it was possible.
Ravel himself had never written a concerto before, but several piano solos. During this time he had been working on the Concerto in G, which of course was intended to be played with two-hands. After hitting a wall, he decided Wittgenstein's challenge may be what he needed to push forward. His research was uncanny, and as he studied the left-handed Etudes of Camille Saint-Saens, he believed his left-handed Concerto would be a noteworthy addition to piano repertoire.
And so it proved to be. Such is Ravel's craftsmanship that it is not at all obvious to a listener, that the piano part is written for just one hand. It is a dense, emotionally deep work which portrays the struggle of the one-armed pianist to overcome his tragic injury, and reinvent himself.
Though the piece has sometime been described as being in two movements, most experts agree that it is a piece written in one movement, but with three sections. Unlike most concerti, The Piano Concerto for the Left Hand is structured as Slow-Fast-Slow, rather than Fast-Slow-Fast.
Wittgenstein was a client who was famously difficult to please. He found something to complain about in almost every concerto offered to him by his all-star line-up of composers. With Wagner's work, Wittgenstein complained that the orchestration was too powerful to accompany a single-handed pianist, and would overpower the soloist. With Prokofiev's work, Wittgenstein declared that he simply would not play it.
For Ravel's Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, Wittgenstein's complaint had to do with the long solo cadenza just after the opening. "If I had wanted a solo piece," he is said to have declared, "I wouldn't have commissioned a concerto." However, as Ravel refused to change it, Wittgenstein performed the work as written, and later came to like it.
In the end, the Concerto for the Left Hand was a true testament to the indomitable human spirit. - 23806
About the Author:
Do you want to learn piano? Then visit Michelle's website now for tips on how to learn to play piano by ear for free. You can be tickling the ivory in no time at all.
posted by X - Men at
1:43 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home