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Apart from the well-known piano concertos for the left hand, a lot of chamber music has been composed for Paul Wittgenstein, the pianist that left his right arm on the battlefield of the First World War. Much of this chamber music is still in private possession; After elaborate research we have managed to find scores - many of them handwritten - from all remote corners of Wittgenstein’s world. We are surprised how full and rich that music can be with a one-handed piano part while retaining a transparent sound. Many pieces were hardly ever played after Wittgenstein premiered them, and have never been recorded.
In our current program From My Hand we zoom in on the Wittgenstein family and on the impact the loss of a hand can have on one’s life. We perform compositions of Paul’s personal friends, mostly works that until 2001 were completely undeservedly gathering dust in Wittgenstein’s library instead of sounding in concerthalls. Imagination enhances the musical content of these concerts. In collaboration with director Ellen Blom and set designer Hans Jeths, the podium changes into Wittgenstein's inner world. The emotional path that Paul Wittgenstein follows as a human being, is reflected in the music. Four Dutch composers will write new work specially for this program.
At the same time we are working on a series of 5 Paul Wittgenstein Podcasts in coöperation with Lex Bohlmeijer and aim to release two cd-albums with the most valuable musical treasures we found. In February 2023 our first double album will be released, with works by Franz Schmidt, Josef Labor, Ernest Walker and Hans Gál.