Ravel Piano Concerto

The Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D Major was composed by Maurice Ravel between 1929 and 1930, simultaneously with his Piano Concerto in G Major. This piece was commissioned by Paul Wittgenstein, an Austrian pianist who had lost his right arm in World War I. Despite having been wounded during the war, Wittgenstein pursued a concert career and devoted himself to playing with the left hand. He gained great success in Europe with his great virtuosity that allowed him to overcome formidable difficulties even for two-handed pianists. He became widely know for playing pieces adapted for one hand and works written for him by composers including Strauss, Ravel, Britten, and Prokofiev. Most of the pieces for the left hand repertoire …show more content…
Critics such as Henry Prunieres and Olin Downes wrote excellent reviews on the piece. Both of them were very impressed by Ravel’s brilliant composition and Wittgenstein’s virtuosic performance. Prunieres praised Ravel for his activeness and special attention given to the composition of this piece. Ravel had been in the middle of another composition, his Piano Concert in G Major, when he was asked to compose this piece. He never lost inspiration and continuously composed the piece. The only complaint Prunieres had was that the piece was too short and the audience wanted to hear it being played twice the same night. Downes praises Wittgenstein for his mastery of the piano and independence of his fingers. He was very impressed that Wittgenstein was able to play the extremely difficult piece effortlessly and even manages to ‘overcome’ his handicap and sound like he is playing with two hands instead of one. Downes also compliments Ravel for his concerto by stating that it was “cunningly put together, and scored with Ravel’s customary ingenuity.” He admired how well the theme and accompaniment roles exchanged between the piano and the orchestra. This piece became very popular and went go on to see many more