Paul Wittgenstein Collection

Paul Wittgenstein (November 5, 1887 – March 3, 1961) was a concert pianist known mainly for his contribution to repertoire for the left hand alone, following the amputation of his right arm during World War I. He frequently commissioned new piano concerti for the left hand, receiving works from well-known composers such as Maurice Ravel, Benjamin Britten, Sergei Prokofiev, Paul Hindemith, Sergei Bortkiewicz, Alexandre Tansman, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Richard Strauss, Franz Schmidt, and Karl Weigl. In addition to commissioning pieces and expanding the repertoire, Wittgenstein pioneered techniques that vastly extended the capabilities of single-handed playing. He studied with Malvine Brée and Theodor Leschetizky, making his public debut in 1913. The following year, Wittgenstein was called to serve in World War I. He was captured by Russians during the Battle of Galicia, following a gun wound to his elbow, and his right arm was amputated. Wittgenstein, during his time at a prisoner-of-war camp in Siberia, decided to pursue a performance career focused only on his left hand. Upon his release, Wittgenstein worked diligently to arrange pieces for the left hand and learn new works written for him by his former teacher, Josef Labor. Wittgenstein returned to the concert stage shortly after, and began approaching more famous composers with commissions. He had a tendency to change repertoire in performance, which caused tension with Maurice Ravel and several others, but his performances were well-received otherwise. Some of the pieces that Wittgenstein commissioned were not performed by him, such as Prokofiev’s Fourth Piano Concerto and Hindemith's Piano Music with Orchestra Op. 29. Wittgenstein had sole performance rights to many of these works during his lifetime, but following his death, many of the pieces he commissioned have taken up places of prominence within the piano repertoire.