A Performance Study of Selected Rarely Performed Solo Piano Music Repertoires for the Left Hand Alone

Among various kinds of piano repertoire in history, the piano repertoire for the left hand alone is a very special category. Though left-hand piano works have the same high artistic value as other piano repertoires, they have been largely ignored and are rarely performed or even played by pianists. Since the 19th century, more and more composers have written music for the left hand, and there are over one thousand pieces composed for the left hand alone, including original solo works, transcriptions, chamber music, and concertos. I had never studied any left-hand repertoires and had minimal knowledge about these pieces before I sustained an injury to my right hand. After intentionally learning, practicing, and performing some left-hand works, I felt like I had been opened up to an entirely new world. I strongly believe that studying those works is essential and provides many benefits for pianists to develop left-hand technique. This research document will be divided into four chapters. Chapter 1 will be an introduction, with brief background information on piano music for the left hand, and an explanation of why composers wrote such works. The history of the development of left-hand compositions, a list of important left-hand pieces, and composers, as well as pianists who influenced the development of left-hand piano composition, will be discussed. In Chapter 2, I will explore five selected left-hand works that are rarely played, including Wanghua Chu’s Prelude for the Left Hand (Man Jiang Hong), Frank Bridge’s Three Improvisations for the Left Hand, H. 134, Max Reger’s 4 Spezialstudien, WoO III/13, Paul Wittgenstein’s “Meditation” and “Du bist die Ruh” from his School for the Left Hand, vol. 3. Providing background information on each composer and composition and identifying the difficulty level of each piece. Using examples from the score, I will focus on the musical and technical challenges involved in learning these works and provide my suggestions for their performance. Chapter 3 will offer advice about how to start learning and playing left-hand works, drawing from my own experience. Chapter 4 will conclude by summarizing information from previous chapters.