Maurice Ravel: The Piano Concerto For The Left Hand In D Major

One of the most astonishing stories in pianist history came from World War I veteran Paul Wittgenstein. A man with utter determination to make his dreams come true was surfacing in the pianist world…

The Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D Major, by French composer Maurice Ravel, was simply a masterpiece. It’s a true testament to his brilliance as a writer, and his ability to change a man’s life.

Before the turn of World War I, a concert pianist named Paul Wittgenstein had showed promise. Unfortunately, by the time the war was over, he had lost his right arm during the fighting. While most people would give up their dreams, he still believed he could be an exceptional pianist.

So he began working on his left-handed technique. If he could arrange two-handed works in a single handed state, he would be able to pull off something no other pianist had attempted. By the late 1920s, he had mastered his technique and felt it was time to approach the all-star composers of the world.

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.

One of the biggest issues Ravel had in the beginning was that he never wrote a concerto, even though he had written several piano solos. When Wittgenstein approached him, he had already started working on Concerto in G, but it was intended for a two-handed player.

During this time he was at a stalemate, and so he decided to take Wittgenstein up on his challenge. During Ravel’s research of left-handed Etudes of Camille Saint-Saens, he began to believe his left-handed Concerto would be a noteworthy addition to piano repertoire.

Once complete, his masterpiece portrayed a dark piece of work about the struggles of a one-armed pianist. It was also about the long road to reinventing himself after a tragic injury. Turns out the craftsmanship was brilliant, and listeners couldn’t even tell it was being played by someone with one hand.

The biggest factor that allowed this to work, was the break-up into 3 sections. Normally, other concerto would have a Fast-Slow-Fast movement, but the Piano Concerto for the Left Hand was set up as Slow-Fast-Slow.

Truth be told, Wittgenstein was famously known for being hard to please. Richard Wagner offered work as well, but Wittgenstein complained about the orchestration being too powerful for a single-handed pianist. Then of course when Prokofiev offered his work, Wittgenstein wouldn’t even play it.

Even the initial thought behind the Piano Concerto for the Left Hand was negative. Wittgenstein believed the solo cadenza after the opening was too long. In fact, he told Ravel; “If I had wanted a solo piece, I wouldn’t have commissioned a concerto.” However, Ravel refused to change, and over time Wittgenstein began to like it.

In the end, the Concerto for the Left Hand was a true testament to the indomitable human spirit.