RAVEL CONCERTO for the LEFT HAND
in D Major

The Ravel concerto for the left hand is nothing less than a masterpiece. It is great music, a great piano concerto in terms of the interaction of piano and orchestra, and an extraordinary use of the left hand and its domain on the piano; a vivid representation in sound of the drama surrounding it's creation, martial, tragic, wistful, hopeful and triumphant.

It is fitting that we begin with a performance by Paul Wittgenstein (1887-1961), the Austrian pianist who lost his right arm in World War I and for whom it was written. He is accompanied in this 1937 recording by Bruno Walter conducting the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam.

Part I






Part II







Wittgenstein playing the Cadenza
filmed in Paris in 1933

Every one of the following performances is first class. Some are more coloristic, more French, more Ravel perhaps, like the Cortot. Others, like the Wittgenstein/Walter, explore the darker, more dramatic, almost cinematic side of the work which I believe was the intent of the composer. And there are those which explore the more pianistic and orchestral elements. They are all wonderful, but I would single out the Monique Hass/Paul Paray pairing as an exquisite example of the French post war style.

ALFRED CORTOT
French-Swiss Pianist (1877-1962)
Charles Munch conducting Orchestre de la Société des concerts du Conservatoire de Paris
Recorded in 1939


Part I






Part II






Part III







DIMITRI BASHKIROV
Russian Pianist (b.1931)
Victor Dubrovsky conducting the Moscow State Philharmonic Symphonic Orchestra
Recorded in 1965


Part I






Part II

I include the following brief excerpt from a performance by Samson Francois as it provides an excellent view of his left hand technique while playing the cadenza.

SAMSON FRANÇOIS
French Pianist (1924-1970)
Louis Frémaux conducting l'Orchestre National de l'Opéra de Monte-Carlo
Cadenza
Recorded in 1964







MONIQUE HAAS
French Pianist (1906-1987)
Paul Paray conducting the Orchestre National de la RTF
Recorded in 1965


Part I






Part II







NIKOLAI LUGANSKY
Russian Pianist (b.1972)
unidentified conductor and orchestra


Part I






Part II







SERGEY KUZNETSOV
Russian Pianist (b.1978)
Laurent Melin conducting the Voevodina Symphony Orchestra, Serbia


Part I






Part II







SVIATOSLAV RICHTER
Russian Pianist (1915-1997)
Ricardo Muti conducting the Genoa Symphony Orchestra
Recorded in 1969


Part I






Part II







ELISO VIRSALADZE
Georgian pianist (b.1942)
Nikolai Alekseev conducting the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra
Recorded in 2005


Part I






Part II







KRYSTIAN ZIMERMAN
Polish Pianist (b.1956)
Pierre Boulez conducting the Cleveland Orchestra


Part I






Part II









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