Piano Music for the Left Hand Alone
Anthony Olson
Music for the left hand alone is a topic that is not often discussed. Few pianists realize the extent of the one-hand repertoire – nearly a thousand solo works have been written for the left hand, many concerti and much chamber music. But with the exception of Ravel’s Concerto for the Left Hand and a few solo pieces, such as the Nocturne by Scriabin, few one-hand piano works are played regularly.
This lecture/recital surveys the left-hand literature by discussing the lives of the performers who establish the repertoire. Works by Alexander Scriabin and Frank Bridge will be shared in the course of the program as well as transcriptions from the vocal, string and two-hand piano repertoire by Paul Wittgenstein (the one-armed pianist for whom Ravel wrote his Concerto for the Left Hand) and Johannes Brahms.
Music for one hand provides an invaluable resource for pianists suffering temporary injuries. Both students and performers deal with injuries from time to time, and need not postpone study or performing until they have healed; the one-hand literature offers a valuable resource for technical and musical improvement as well as masterpieces for public performance. The repertoire ranges in difficulty from single-note, teaching pieces for beginning students to the most advanced “pyrotechnical workouts” for the professional performer. It also ranges in style, from original Baroque and Classical works by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and Carl Czerny, to the Avant Guard of the 20th century.
This program
has been presented at:
* The California Association
of Professional Music Teachers, state convention, January 22, 2000.
* University of Southern California,
presented in partial fulfullment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor
of Musical Arts, April 24, 1999.
For further
information on this and other programs call or visit us online:
Website: www.lyricduo.com
Phone: 1 (888) 838-1612 or (660) 562-1318