Pf: Nicholas McCarthy
℗ 2015 Warner Classics UK, a Warner Music Group Company
Provided to YouTube by Warner Classics
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(Note: There are some errors in the score video. These will be corrected in the published score.)

Géza Zichy (1849 - 1924) was a Hungarian composer, best known as the world's first professional one-armed pianist. He lost his right arm in a hunting accident at age 14 or 15, but despite this, he still prospered as a concert pianist and composer with just his left hand, even studying for six years under Franz Liszt's teaching (and, as you see in this video, eventually making an arrangement of Liebestraum No.3 for just the left hand alone). While one may regard Zichy's arrangement here to be a bit unpianistic, it should be noted that piano technique has evolved significantly since Zichy's time. Even Alkan's "Fantasie for left hand alone (Op.76 No.1)", being from the same time period, was not as sonorous nor did it have the technical innovations that we have in modernity. People like Zichy, Liszt, Alkan, and others who showed even a passing interest in the musical capabilities of one-handed piano music were laying groundwork for future innovators to build upon.

So where are we today? Thankfully, we have a bountiful amount of interest in left-handed arranging and composition (although the prevalence of right-handed works unfortunately remains to be seen at this point in time). With the innovations of Paul Wittgenstein, Leopold Godowsky, Frédéric Meinders, Artur Cimirro, Vincent Xia, and many others (check Hans Brofeldt's website documenting left-hand composers and arrangers for more), we have an astounding amount of works, techniques, and ideas at our disposal for consideration.

The person who has probably most benefited from these innovations in modern times is Nicholas McCarthy, a British classical pianist who was born without a right hand. Despite this, he became the first and so far only left-handed graduate of the Royal College of Music, performing in concerts around the world and publishing two studio albums so far. His story and legacy (along with that of Géza Zichy's) should be a reminder that piano pursuance is absolutely and categorically not impossible if you only have one hand to work with. There is a historical basis to prove that, with the right teachers and determination, piano performance is indeed possible - whether it be at the amateur level or in the professional stage. Regardless, there is no good reason to be discouraged from pursuing piano if you only have one hand.

As an aside, there are also people who have been able to play piano with no fingers: [ Ссылка ]
or just their feet: [ Ссылка ]

Also, if you would like to join my Discord server for one-handed piano music, you can do so here: [ Ссылка ]

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