Gauche

The abbreviated story of Ravel’s Concerto pour la main gauche en ré majeur, written for pianist Paul Wittgenstein:

In 1930, the French composer Maurice Ravel (author of the famous Bolero) composed the Piano Concerto in D major at the request of an Austrian pianist, Paul Wittgenstein, who, as the title implies, was left-handed.

Well, that’s not quite accurate. See, as the story goes, in World War I, Wittgenstein had been shot in the right elbow and captured by the Russians, then sent to a prisoner-of-war camp in Siberia. At some point during the horrific sequence of events, Wittgenstein’s right arm was amputated.

Thus ends the abbreviated story of Ravel’s Concerto pour la main gauche en ré majeur, for pianist Paul Wittgenstein.

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Now that you know the story, it’s time to look at this, from the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s very own Zachary Lewis:

In [the pianist’s] hand, the score's downward-dashing motif was like a focused stream of bullets...

[dismay]
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Simile of the Day!

Today's Simile of the Day! is brought to you by Jeff Dunn of the San Francisco Classical Voice.

Mr. Dunn reviews a concert of Brahms and Nielsen:

Then came Mr. Nielsen, bursting into the auditorium with an Allegro like a battalion on Saturday-night leave hitting a string of dance clubs, each in a different key.

First: Wow.

Second: I'm a bit confused. Was each dance club...in a different key? Is Nielsen like the battalion, or is the Allegro like the battalion? Huh. Great imagery, though.

But wait! Bonus simile from the same review!

The evening began with Johannes Brahms’ Violin Concerto, as common a visitor to the concert hall as a baked potato in a steakhouse

Hilarious. Colorful and strange, if...apt. Do baked potatoes really visit steakhouses? And, soon:

Conductor Laureate Hebert Blomstedt and soloist Nikolaj Znaider delivered the Brahms potato in exemplary fashion when I attended Friday.

Hm. A bit overextended, perhaps. Maybe he should have dropped the hot potato after the first time.

That said, the article contrasts the pieces nicely. Go read it.