British concert pianist Nicholas McCarthy is a champion of left-hand alone repertoire – and next year will be performing with the MSO.
When Nicholas McCarthy was 14 he had an epiphany during school assembly. He sat in the audience, watching as a friend played a piece by Beethoven, and in that moment saw the rest of his life unfold. “It felt like this is what I was put on this Earth to do,” he recalls.
He improved rapidly and started taking lessons – but it wasn’t until he turned 17 that he learned that there was music written for left-hand only players. “It’s incredibly tough.” Among the many thousands of soldiers returning from battle with missing or injured limbs was pianist Paul Wittgenstein, elder brother of philosopher Ludwig and son of wealthy industrialist Karl. Upon Wittgenstein’s return to Vienna, “he used his position in society, his wealth, and his family connections, to commission the leading stars of the 20th century to write left-hand alone for him,” explains McCarthy.
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