Works associated with Paul Wittgenstein

This is a list of works associated with the left-handed Austrian pianist Paul Wittgenstein.

These works were either:

arranged for left hand by him (A)
commissioned by him (C)
dedicated to him or written with him in mind (D), or
premiered by him (P).

class=wikitable
Composer ! Work ! Legend ! Comments
Johann Sebastian Bach \| Keyboard Partita No. 1 in B-flat major, BWV 825: VII, Gigue The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I: Prelude No. 1 in C, BWV 846 Little Prelude No. 3 in C minor, BWV 999 Solo Violin Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004: V, Chaconne Flute Sonata in E-flat: Sicilienne Violin Sonata in F minor: III \| align="center"\| A \| Wittgenstein arranged only the piano part of the Violin Sonata movement
Bach-Gounod \| Meditation ("Ave Maria") \| align="center"\| A \|
Ludwig van Beethoven \| Piano Sonata No. 3 in C, Op. 2/3: Adagio (excerpt) Piano Sonata No. 7 in D, Op. 10/3: Largo (excerpt) Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor Appassionata, Op. 57: Allegro assai (excerpt) \| align="center"\| A \|
Sergei Bortkiewicz \| Piano Concerto No. 2 in E-flat, Op. 28 \| align="center"\| DP \| Premiered 11 January 1929.[https://books.google.com/books?id=pWFegGwtfPkC&dq=braun+paul+wittgenstein&pg=PA213 Donald L. Patterson, One-handed] It draws on material from Bortkiewicz's first attempt at a piano concerto.[http://www.left-hand-brofeldt.dk/index.htm Hans Brofeldt: Piano Music for the Left Hand Alone]
Johannes Brahms \| Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 21/1: Variation 7 An die Nachtigall, Op. 46/4 \| align="center"\| A \| Wittgenstein arranged only the piano part of the song
rowspan="2"\| Rudolf Braun \| Piano Concerto for the left hand \| align="center"\| DP \| Premiered 31 October 1927.
* Three Piano Pieces for the Left Hand: Scherzo, Perpetuum Mobile, Serenata \| align="center"\| D \| Composed 1922, pub 1928.[http://imslp.org/wiki/3_Klavierst%C3%BCcke_f%C3%BCr_die_linke_hand_(Braun,_Rudolf) IMSLP: Braun (Three Piano Pieces for the Left Hand)]
Benjamin Britten \| Diversions for Piano Left Hand and Orchestra, Op. 21 \| align="center"\| DP \| Originally called Concert Variations; premiered 17 January 1942.
Frédéric Chopin \| Étude in C minor, Revolutionary, Op. 10/12 (exists in 2 versions) (paraphrases) Scherzo No. 1 in B minor, Op. 20 (excerpts) Étude in A minor, Op. 25/11 (paraphrase) \| align="center"\| A \|
Norman Demuth \| Piano Concerto (1947) Three Preludes for Paul Wittgenstein (1947) Legend for piano and orchestra (1949) \| align="center"\| D \|
Hans Gál \| Piano Quartet in A major \| align="center"\| DP \| Premiered 1928.
Leopold Godowsky \| Symphonic Metamorphosis of the Schatz-Walzer themes from The Gypsy Baron by Johann Strauss II \| align="center"\| D \| Written for Wittgenstein, but he never played it so Godowsky rededicated it to Simon Barere.
Edvard Grieg \| Lyric Pieces, Book III, Op. 43: No. 1, Butterfly; No. 3, Melancholy; No. 4, Little Bird \| align="center"\| A \|
Ernst Haberbier \| Poetic Study, Op. 53/20 (Tremolo) \| align="center"\| A \|
Joseph Haydn \| Piano Sonata in A-flat major: II String Quartet, Op. 64/5: Adagio String Quartet, Op. 76/3: II, variation 1 \| align="center"\| A \|
Adolf von Henselt \| Etude, Op. 5/11 Liebeslied (Love Song) \| align="center"\| A \|
Josef Herz \| Intermezzo for the left hand \| align="center"\| D \|
Paul Hindemith \| Klaviermusik (Concerto for Piano and Orchestra), Op. 29 (1924) \| align="center"\| CD \| Wittgenstein did not understand the work and refused to play it. He kept the score, but never spoke of it, and it was believed lost. It was discovered in his papers after his widow's death in 2002. It had its world premiere in Berlin in 2004, with Leon Fleisher and the Berlin Philharmonic; the U.S. premiere was on 2 October 2005, with Fleisher and the San Francisco Symphony, under Herbert Blomstedt.{{cite web\|url=http://www.andante.com/article/article.cfm?id=26082\|last=Rowe\|first=Georgia \|title=Paul Hindemith's Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, Rejected by Its Dedicatee, Gets Its Belated US Premiere\|publisher=Contra Costa Times\|date=8 October 2005\|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930155431/http://www.andante.com/article/article.cfm?id=26082\|archivedate=30 September 2007\|accessdate=25 November 2012}}
Alexis Holländer (1840–1924) \| Two tone poems for the left hand alone, Op. 69 (Venetian Gondola Song, and an arrangement of Franz Schubert's Erlkönig, D.328) \| align="center"\| D \|
Leonard Kastle \| Piano Concerto \| align="center"\| D \|
rowspan="2"\| Erich Wolfgang Korngold \| Piano Concerto for the left hand in C-sharp, Op. 17 (1923) \| align="center"\| CDP \| Wittgenstein was given lifelong exclusive rights to play the concerto; first performed 22 September 1924, the composer conducting. The UK premiere was in 1985, with Gary Graffman.
* Suite for 2 Violins, Violoncello and Piano (left hand), Op. 23 (1930) \| align="center"\| CDP \| First performance in Vienna on 21 October 1930 by Wittgenstein with members of the Rosé Quartet.
rowspan="11"\| Josef Labor \| Concert Piece in form of variations in D major (1915) \| align="center"\| DP \| Written when Wittgenstein was a prisoner of war in Omsk, Siberia, Russia. This was the work with which he made his return to the concert platform in Vienna, as a one-armed pianist.
* Quartet in C minor for piano, violin, viola and cello, Op. 6 (1916) \| align="center"\| D \|
* Violin Sonata in E major (1916) \| align="center"\| DP \| Premiered 9 January 1917.
* Concert Piece in F minor (1917) \| align="center"\| DP \| Premiered 26 October 1936.
* Trio in E minor for piano, clarinet and cello (1917) \| align="center"\| D \|
* Cello Sonata in C major (1918) \| align="center"\| D \|
* Trio in G minor piano, clarinet and viola (1919) \| align="center"\| DP \| Premiered 25 January 1932.
* Fantasy in F-sharp minor (1920) \| align="center"\| D \|
* Concert Piece in E-flat major (1923) \| align="center"\| D \|
* Septet for flute, clarinet, bassoon, horn, violin, cello and piano \| align="center"\| D \| Unfinished.
* Quintet (Divertimento) for piano, flute, oboe, viola and cello \| align="center"\| DP \| Premiered 18 March 1932.
Felix Mendelssohn \| Songs Without Words, Book 6, Op. 67: No. 1 in E-flat, No. 3 in B-flat Incidental music to A Midsummer Night's Dream, Op. 61: Notturno \| align="center"\| A \|
Giacomo Meyerbeer \| Bathers' Chorus from the opera Les Huguenots \| align="center"\| A \|
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart \| Serenade No. 11 for winds in E-flat, K. 375: Adagio \| align="center"\| A \|
Sergei Prokofiev \| Piano Concerto No. 4, Op. 53 (1931) \| align="center"\| CD \| He did not understand the work, and would not play it until such time as he did - but that never eventuated. The premiere was on 5 September 1956, played by Siegfried Rapp, a German pianist who had lost his right arm during World War II.
Giacomo Puccini \| Chorus from the opera Madama Butterfly \| align="center"\| A \|
Maurice Ravel \| Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D major (1929–32) \| align="center"\| CDP \| He gave the premiere on 5 January 1932, with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra under Robert Heger. The dedication was reassigned after Wittgenstein's sole performing rights expired in 1943.
Felix Rosenthal (1867–1936) \| Impromptu for the left hand \| align="center"\| D \| Found in his papers after his death.
rowspan="3"\| Moriz Rosenthal \| Neuer Wiener Carneval nach Themen von Johann Strauss (before 1935) \| align="center"\| D \|
* Fantasy on Gounod's Faust \| align="center"\| D \| The score is signed and inscribed: Paul Wittgenstein in Bewunderung zugeeignet von Moritz Rosenthal (Dedicated to Paul Wittgenstein in admiration by Moritz Rosenthal).
* Un poco serioso (MS) \| align="center"\| D \| Autograph manuscript of an untitled work. Extensively annotated by Wittgenstein.
Anton Rubinstein \| Étude on false notes \| align="center"\| A \|
rowspan="6"\| Franz Schmidt \| Concertante Variations on a Theme of Beethoven for piano (left hand alone) and orchestra (1923) \| align="center"\| DP \| Premiered Vienna 2 February 1924.
* Piano Quintet in G major (1926) \| align="center"\| DP \| Premiered 1927.
* Quintet in B for piano, clarinet, violin, viola and cello (1932) \| align="center"\| DP \| Premiered 1933.
* Piano Concerto No. 2 in E-flat major (1934) \| align="center"\| DP \| Premiered Vienna 10 February 1935.
* Quintet in A for piano, clarinet, violin, viola and cello (1938) \| align="center"\| D \| Premiered 1939 by Friedrich Wührer. The finale is a set of variations on a theme by Josef Labor, and Wittgenstein often performed this lengthy movement as an independent piece.
* Toccata in D minor (1938) \| align="center"\| D \|
Franz Schubert trans. Franz Liszt \| Meeresstille, D.216 (trans. Liszt S.557b, S.558/5) Du bist die Ruh, D.665 (trans. Liszt S.558/3) \| align="center"\| A \|
Robert Schumann \| Album for the Young, Op. 68: No. 1, Melodie; No. 14, Kleine Studie Bunte Blätter, Op. 99: Nos. 1, 7 \| align="center"\| A \|
rowspan="2"\| Eduard Schütt \| Paraphrase on "Tales from the Vienna Woods", piano left-hand and orchestra \|align="center"\| P \| Premiered February 1925, Musikvereinsaal, ViennaAlexander Waugh, The House of Wittgenstein: A Family at War, 2008, ch.47 'Russia and Ravel'
* Paraphrase for piano left hand and orchestra \| align="center"\| DP \| Premiered 27 June 1929.
Johann Strauss II \| Morgenblätter (excerpt) \| align="center"\| A \|
rowspan="3"\| Richard Strauss \| Parergon zur Symphonia Domestica, for piano left hand and orchestra, Op. 73 \| align="center"\| D \|
* Panathenäenzug, Symphonic Studies in the form of a Passacaglia for piano left hand and orchestra, Op. 74 (1926–27) \| align="center"\| DP \| It was written with him in mind and he gave the first performance, but it was not formally dedicated to him.
* Exercises for the left hand (1926) \| align="center"\| D \|
Alexandre Tansman \| Concert Piece for Piano left hand (1943) \| align="center"\| D \|
Richard Wagner \| Quintet from the opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg \| align="center"\| A \|
Wagner trans. Liszt \| "Isoldes Liebestod" from the opera Tristan und Isolde, S.447 \| align="center"\| A \|
rowspan="3"\| Ernest Walker \| Study for the Left Hand, Op. 47 (1931) \| align="center"\| D \|
* Variations on an Original Theme, for piano, clarinet and string trio (no opus no.; 1933) \| align="center"\| D \|
* Prelude (Larghetto), Op. 61 (1935) \| align="center"\| D \|
Karl Weigl \| Piano Concerto (1924) \| align="center"\| D \|

class=wikitable

Composer

! Work

! Legend

! Comments

Johann Sebastian Bach

Keyboard Partita No. 1 in B-flat major, BWV 825: VII, Gigue
The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I: Prelude No. 1 in C, BWV 846
Little Prelude No. 3 in C minor, BWV 999
Solo Violin Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004: V, Chaconne
Flute Sonata in E-flat: Sicilienne
Violin Sonata in F minor: III

| align="center"| A

| Wittgenstein arranged only the piano part of the Violin Sonata movement

Bach-Gounod

Meditation ("Ave Maria")

| align="center"| A

Ludwig van Beethoven

Piano Sonata No. 3 in C, Op. 2/3: Adagio (excerpt)
Piano Sonata No. 7 in D, Op. 10/3: Largo (excerpt)
Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor Appassionata, Op. 57: Allegro assai (excerpt)

| align="center"| A

Sergei Bortkiewicz

Piano Concerto No. 2 in E-flat, Op. 28

| align="center"| DP

| Premiered 11 January 1929.[https://books.google.com/books?id=pWFegGwtfPkC&dq=braun+paul+wittgenstein&pg=PA213 Donald L. Patterson, One-handed] It draws on material from Bortkiewicz's first attempt at a piano concerto.[http://www.left-hand-brofeldt.dk/index.htm Hans Brofeldt: Piano Music for the Left Hand Alone]

Johannes Brahms

Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 21/1: Variation 7
An die Nachtigall, Op. 46/4

| align="center"| A

| Wittgenstein arranged only the piano part of the song

rowspan="2"| Rudolf Braun

Piano Concerto for the left hand

| align="center"| DP

| Premiered 31 October 1927.

* Three Piano Pieces for the Left Hand: Scherzo, Perpetuum Mobile, Serenata

| align="center"| D

| Composed 1922, pub 1928.[http://imslp.org/wiki/3_Klavierst%C3%BCcke_f%C3%BCr_die_linke_hand_(Braun,_Rudolf) IMSLP: Braun (Three Piano Pieces for the Left Hand)]

Benjamin Britten

Diversions for Piano Left Hand and Orchestra, Op. 21

| align="center"| DP

| Originally called Concert Variations; premiered 17 January 1942.

Frédéric Chopin

Étude in C minor, Revolutionary, Op. 10/12 (exists in 2 versions) (paraphrases)
Scherzo No. 1 in B minor, Op. 20 (excerpts)
Étude in A minor, Op. 25/11 (paraphrase)

| align="center"| A

Norman Demuth

Piano Concerto (1947)
Three Preludes for Paul Wittgenstein (1947)
Legend for piano and orchestra (1949)

| align="center"| D

Hans Gál

Piano Quartet in A major

| align="center"| DP

| Premiered 1928.

Leopold Godowsky

Symphonic Metamorphosis of the Schatz-Walzer themes from The Gypsy Baron by Johann Strauss II

| align="center"| D

| Written for Wittgenstein, but he never played it so Godowsky rededicated it to Simon Barere.

Edvard Grieg

Lyric Pieces, Book III, Op. 43: No. 1, Butterfly; No. 3, Melancholy; No. 4, Little Bird

| align="center"| A

Ernst Haberbier

Poetic Study, Op. 53/20 (Tremolo)

| align="center"| A

Joseph Haydn

Piano Sonata in A-flat major: II
String Quartet, Op. 64/5: Adagio
String Quartet, Op. 76/3: II, variation 1

| align="center"| A

Adolf von Henselt

Etude, Op. 5/11 Liebeslied (Love Song)

| align="center"| A

Josef Herz

Intermezzo for the left hand

| align="center"| D

Paul Hindemith

Klaviermusik (Concerto for Piano and Orchestra), Op. 29 (1924)

| align="center"| CD

| Wittgenstein did not understand the work and refused to play it. He kept the score, but never spoke of it, and it was believed lost. It was discovered in his papers after his widow's death in 2002. It had its world premiere in Berlin in 2004, with Leon Fleisher and the Berlin Philharmonic; the U.S. premiere was on 2 October 2005, with Fleisher and the San Francisco Symphony, under Herbert Blomstedt.{{cite web|url=http://www.andante.com/article/article.cfm?id=26082|last=Rowe|first=Georgia |title=Paul Hindemith's Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, Rejected by Its Dedicatee, Gets Its Belated US Premiere|publisher=Contra Costa Times|date=8 October 2005|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930155431/http://www.andante.com/article/article.cfm?id=26082|archivedate=30 September 2007|accessdate=25 November 2012}}

Alexis Holländer
(1840–1924)

Two tone poems for the left hand alone, Op. 69 (Venetian Gondola Song, and an arrangement of Franz Schubert's Erlkönig, D.328)

| align="center"| D

Leonard Kastle

Piano Concerto

| align="center"| D

rowspan="2"| Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Piano Concerto for the left hand in C-sharp, Op. 17 (1923)

| align="center"| CDP

| Wittgenstein was given lifelong exclusive rights to play the concerto; first performed 22 September 1924, the composer conducting. The UK premiere was in 1985, with Gary Graffman.

* Suite for 2 Violins, Violoncello and Piano (left hand), Op. 23 (1930)

| align="center"| CDP

| First performance in Vienna on 21 October 1930 by Wittgenstein with members of the Rosé Quartet.

rowspan="11"| Josef Labor

Concert Piece in form of variations in D major (1915)

| align="center"| DP

| Written when Wittgenstein was a prisoner of war in Omsk, Siberia, Russia. This was the work with which he made his return to the concert platform in Vienna, as a one-armed pianist.

* Quartet in C minor for piano, violin, viola and cello, Op. 6 (1916)

| align="center"| D

* Violin Sonata in E major (1916)

| align="center"| DP

| Premiered 9 January 1917.

* Concert Piece in F minor (1917)

| align="center"| DP

| Premiered 26 October 1936.

* Trio in E minor for piano, clarinet and cello (1917)

| align="center"| D

* Cello Sonata in C major (1918)

| align="center"| D

* Trio in G minor piano, clarinet and viola (1919)

| align="center"| DP

| Premiered 25 January 1932.

* Fantasy in F-sharp minor (1920)

| align="center"| D

* Concert Piece in E-flat major (1923)

| align="center"| D

* Septet for flute, clarinet, bassoon, horn, violin, cello and piano

| align="center"| D

| Unfinished.

* Quintet (Divertimento) for piano, flute, oboe, viola and cello

| align="center"| DP

| Premiered 18 March 1932.

Felix Mendelssohn

Songs Without Words, Book 6, Op. 67: No. 1 in E-flat, No. 3 in B-flat
Incidental music to A Midsummer Night's Dream, Op. 61: Notturno

| align="center"| A

Giacomo Meyerbeer

Bathers' Chorus from the opera Les Huguenots

| align="center"| A

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Serenade No. 11 for winds in E-flat, K. 375: Adagio

| align="center"| A

Sergei Prokofiev

Piano Concerto No. 4, Op. 53 (1931)

| align="center"| CD

| He did not understand the work, and would not play it until such time as he did - but that never eventuated. The premiere was on 5 September 1956, played by Siegfried Rapp, a German pianist who had lost his right arm during World War II.

Giacomo Puccini

Chorus from the opera Madama Butterfly

| align="center"| A

Maurice Ravel

Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D major (1929–32)

| align="center"| CDP

| He gave the premiere on 5 January 1932, with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra under Robert Heger. The dedication was reassigned after Wittgenstein's sole performing rights expired in 1943.

Felix Rosenthal
(1867–1936)

Impromptu for the left hand

| align="center"| D

| Found in his papers after his death.

rowspan="3"| Moriz Rosenthal

Neuer Wiener Carneval nach Themen von Johann Strauss (before 1935)

| align="center"| D

* Fantasy on Gounod's Faust

| align="center"| D

| The score is signed and inscribed: Paul Wittgenstein in Bewunderung zugeeignet von Moritz Rosenthal (Dedicated to Paul Wittgenstein in admiration by Moritz Rosenthal).

* Un poco serioso (MS)

| align="center"| D

| Autograph manuscript of an untitled work. Extensively annotated by Wittgenstein.

Anton Rubinstein

Étude on false notes

| align="center"| A

rowspan="6"| Franz Schmidt

Concertante Variations on a Theme of Beethoven for piano (left hand alone) and orchestra (1923)

| align="center"| DP

| Premiered Vienna 2 February 1924.

* Piano Quintet in G major (1926)

| align="center"| DP

| Premiered 1927.

* Quintet in B for piano, clarinet, violin, viola and cello (1932)

| align="center"| DP

| Premiered 1933.

* Piano Concerto No. 2 in E-flat major (1934)

| align="center"| DP

| Premiered Vienna 10 February 1935.

* Quintet in A for piano, clarinet, violin, viola and cello (1938)

| align="center"| D

| Premiered 1939 by Friedrich Wührer. The finale is a set of variations on a theme by Josef Labor, and Wittgenstein often performed this lengthy movement as an independent piece.

* Toccata in D minor (1938)

| align="center"| D

Franz Schubert trans. Franz Liszt