In a nutshell:
- The Piano Concerto for the Left Hand was composed by Maurice Ravel.
- It was written in the 1920s for Paul Wittgenstein, an Austrian pianist who lost his right arm in WWI.
- The piece is notable for using a single hand, creating a unique sound, and is considered a 20th-century masterpiece, often performed by virtuoso pianists globally.
Music, I feel, must be emotional first and intellectual second. We should always remember that sensitiveness and emotion constitute the real content of a work of art. I did my work slowly, drop by drop. I tore it out of me by pieces – Maurice Ravel
About the piece:
The Piano Concerto for the Left Hand is a notable composition by the French composer Maurice Ravel. The piece is a challenging and virtuosic work that showcases Ravel’s innovative approach to harmony, melody, and orchestration. The concerto is notable for its use of a single hand, which creates a unique sound that sets it apart from other piano concertos. The piece is often regarded as a masterpiece of 20th-century classical music and is performed regularly by virtuoso pianists worldwide.