Paul Wittgenstein

Paul Wittgenstein
Paul Wittgenstein playing the piano
Background information
Born	(1887-11-05)November 5, 1887 Vienna. Austria-Hungary
Died	March 3, 1961(1961-03-03) (aged 73) New York City, New York, United States
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instruments	Piano

Paul Wittgenstein (November 5, 1887 – March 3, 1961) was an Austrian concert pianist notable for commissioning new piano concerti for the left hand alone, following the amputation of his right arm during the First World War. He devised novel techniques, including pedal and hand-movement combinations, that allowed him to play chords previously regarded as impossible for a five-fingered pianist.

He was the older brother of the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein.

Wittgenstein was born in Vienna to Jewish parents, the son of the industrialist Karl Wittgenstein and Leopoldine Maria Josefa Kalmus. His brother Ludwig was born two years later. The household was frequently visited by prominent cultural figures, among them the composers Johannes Brahms, Gustav Mahler, Josef Labor, and Richard Strauss, with whom the young Paul played duets. His grandmother, Fanny Wittgenstein, was a first cousin of the violinist Joseph Joachim, whom she adopted and took to Leipzig to study with Felix Mendelssohn.

He studied with Malvine Brée and later with a much better known figure, the Polish virtuoso Theodor Leschetizky. He made his public début in 1913, attracting favourable reviews. The following year, however, World War I broke out, and he was called up for military service. He was shot in the elbow and captured by the Russians during the assault on Ukraine, and his right arm had to be amputated.

During his recovery in a prisoner-of-war camp in Omsk in Siberia, he resolved to continue his career using only his left hand. Through the Danish Ambassador, he wrote to his old teacher Josef Labor, who was blind, asking for a concerto for the left hand. Labor responded quickly, saying he had already started work on a piece. Following the end of the war, Wittgenstein studied intensely, arranging pieces for the left hand alone and learning the new composition written for him by Labor. Once again he began to give concerts. Many reviews were qualified with comments that he played very well for a man with one arm, but he persevered.