Piano works for left hand only were no novelty when Maurice Ravel composed his Piano Concerto in D major. Camille Saint-Saëns composed etudes and Johannes Brahms arranged J. S. Bach’s colossal Chaconne in D minor for left hand, not to mention pieces by Scriabin, Alkan and Liapunov. Yet, Ravel’s Concerto is a magnificent work, transcending the technical limitations of a single hand to create a piece of music that sounds so natural that it is easy to forget the handicap of the performer, as well as being engaging and pleasing far beyond the boundaries of an etude.
The Concerto for Left Hand was commissioned by the famed Austrian pianist Paul Wittgenstein who had lost his right arm during World War I. Ravel himself had also served in the war and interestingly the two artists had fought on opposing sides. However, this did not prevent him from admiring Wittgenstein’s determination to continue his career as a pianist despite his physical handicap, and to unite with a former enemy in the creation of music.
The commission for the Concerto came in the midst of the composer’s work on the Piano Concerto in G. Indeed, it was part of the reason Ravel eventually gave up on his hope of premiering that piece, choosing to concentrate his efforts on the Concerto for Left Hand during 1929-31. Wittgenstein, however, was not entirely pleased with piece Ravel offered him, though in time developed an appreciation for its jazz-influenced style. At the premiere with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra on January 5, 1932, he took several liberties that left Ravel more than a little annoyed with Wittgenstein. There was little Ravel could do, however, as Wittgenstein had sole rights to perform the work for six years. When this period of time was up, Ravel chose Jacques Février in 1937 to perform the Concerto to his satisfaction.
Like most concerti, Ravel’s Concerto for Left Hand follows a tripartite structure though assembled together into a solitary movement. Unusually, however, the movement’s follow a slow-fast-slow ordering as opposed to the far more conventional fast-slow-fast arrangement, granting the outer portions a profound solemn weight. In contrast, the central “movement,” sometimes described as a scherzo, has a lighter demeanor, though manages to maintain a sense of awe appropriate to the weightier sections by which it is framed. Joseph DuBose
Classical Music | Piano Music
Maurice Ravel
Piano Concerto for the Left Hand Play
Recorded on 05/20/1996, uploaded on 02/20/2010
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
Piano works for left hand only were no novelty when Maurice Ravel composed his Piano Concerto in D major. Camille Saint-Saëns composed etudes and Johannes Brahms arranged J. S. Bach’s colossal Chaconne in D minor for left hand, not to mention pieces by Scriabin, Alkan and Liapunov. Yet, Ravel’s Concerto is a magnificent work, transcending the technical limitations of a single hand to create a piece of music that sounds so natural that it is easy to forget the handicap of the performer, as well as being engaging and pleasing far beyond the boundaries of an etude.
The Concerto for Left Hand was commissioned by the famed Austrian pianist Paul Wittgenstein who had lost his right arm during World War I. Ravel himself had also served in the war and interestingly the two artists had fought on opposing sides. However, this did not prevent him from admiring Wittgenstein’s determination to continue his career as a pianist despite his physical handicap, and to unite with a former enemy in the creation of music.
The commission for the Concerto came in the midst of the composer’s work on the Piano Concerto in G. Indeed, it was part of the reason Ravel eventually gave up on his hope of premiering that piece, choosing to concentrate his efforts on the Concerto for Left Hand during 1929-31. Wittgenstein, however, was not entirely pleased with piece Ravel offered him, though in time developed an appreciation for its jazz-influenced style. At the premiere with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra on January 5, 1932, he took several liberties that left Ravel more than a little annoyed with Wittgenstein. There was little Ravel could do, however, as Wittgenstein had sole rights to perform the work for six years. When this period of time was up, Ravel chose Jacques Février in 1937 to perform the Concerto to his satisfaction.
Like most concerti, Ravel’s Concerto for Left Hand follows a tripartite structure though assembled together into a solitary movement. Unusually, however, the movement’s follow a slow-fast-slow ordering as opposed to the far more conventional fast-slow-fast arrangement, granting the outer portions a profound solemn weight. In contrast, the central “movement,” sometimes described as a scherzo, has a lighter demeanor, though manages to maintain a sense of awe appropriate to the weightier sections by which it is framed. Joseph DuBose
2 piano version
More music by Maurice Ravel
La Valse
Berceuse sur le nom de Gabriel Faure
Noctuelles from Miroirs
Daphnis and Chloé, Suite No. 2
Une barque sur l'océan, from Miroirs
Pièce en Forme de Habanera
Alborada del Gracioso, from Miroirs
Cinq Mélodies Populaires Grecques
Rhapsodie espagnole
Concerto No. 2 in D Major for Piano and Orchestra
Performances by same musician(s)
Etude Op 25 no. 12
Chained Hands in Prayers
Prelude No. 4 in D major, Op. 23
Prelude in f minor, Op. 28, No. 18, Molto allegro
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