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One of the most astonishing stories in pianist history came from World War I veteran Paul Wittgenstein. A man with utter determination to make his dreams come true was surfacing in the pianist world.

The Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D Major, by French composer Maurice Ravel, was simply a masterpiece. It’s a true testament to his brilliance as a writer, and his ability to change a man’s life.

Back before World War I, a concert pianist by the name of Paul Wittgenstein was trying to make his mark in the world. After being drafted, he sadly lost his right arm throughout the fighting. However, Wittgenstein didn’t believe his concert piano career was over as a result.

Determined to succeed, he began practicing with his remaining hand to improve his left-handed technique. He tried to arrange two-handed works to accommodate his one-handed state. In the late 1920’s Wittgenstein decided to approach leading piano composers of his day and commission works written intentionally for the left hand alone.

Sergei Prokofiev, Richard Wagner, and Benjamin Britten were among the illustrious composers who answered Wittgenstein’s call. And so did Maurice Ravel.

At this time, Ravel had never written a concerto before, though he had written piano solos. He was working on his Piano Concerto in G, more traditionally intended for two hands, and was feeling blocked. Enthusiastically taking up Wittgenstein’s challenge, Ravel studied the left-handed Etudes of Camille Saint-Saens. Ravel was determined that his left-handed Concerto would not be a mere stunt, but a noteworthy addition to piano repertoire.

Once complete, his masterpiece portrayed a dark piece of work about the struggles of a one-armed pianist. It was also about the long road to reinventing himself after a tragic injury. Turns out the craftsmanship was brilliant, and listeners couldn’t even tell it was being played by someone with one hand.

Though the piece has sometime been described as being in two movements, most experts agree that it is a piece written in one movement, but with three sections. Unlike most concerti, The Piano Concerto for the Left Hand is structured as Slow-Fast-Slow, rather than Fast-Slow-Fast.

Wittgenstein was a client who was famously difficult to please. He found something to complain about in almost every concerto offered to him by his all-star line-up of composers. With Wagner’s work, Wittgenstein complained that the orchestration was too powerful to accompany a single-handed pianist, and would overpower the soloist. With Prokofiev’s work, Wittgenstein declared that he simply would not play it.

Even the initial thought behind the Piano Concerto for the Left Hand was negative. Wittgenstein believed the solo cadenza after the opening was too long. In fact, he told Ravel; “If I had wanted a solo piece, I wouldn’t have commissioned a concerto.” However, Ravel refused to change, and over time Wittgenstein began to like it.

In the end, the Concerto for the Left Hand was a true testament to the human spirit of, and more than just the overcoming nature of one man.