Skip to content
The Jewish Hall of Fame
The collection
Portrait of Paul Wittgenstein

Unknown author · CC BY 3.0 nl

Paul Wittgenstein

Austrian pianist of Jewish heritage

1887 – 1961aged 73

A concert pianist who lost his right arm in the First World War, Wittgenstein didn't leave the stage — he commissioned an entire body of new piano concerti written for the left hand alone, and developed pedal and hand-movement techniques that let him play chords a five-fingered pianist would need both hands for. He was the older brother of philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein.

Fields

Source and further reading