thumb|right|wittgenstein at the piano. paul wittgenstein (may 11, 1887march 3, 1961) was an austrian-born concert pianist who became known for commissioning new piano concerti for the left hand alone, following the amputation of his right arm during the first world war. he devised novel techniques, including pedal and hand-movement combinations, that allowed him to play chords previously regarded as impossible for a five-fingered pianist. he was the older brother of the philosopher ludwig wittgenstein. ==early life== wittgenstein was born in vienna, the son of the industrialist karl wittgenstein. his brother ludwig was born two years later. the household was frequently visited by prominent cultural figures, among them the composers johannes brahms, gustav mahler, josef labor, and richard strauss, with whom the young paul played duets. his grandmother, fanny wittgenstein, was a first cousin of the violinist joseph joachim, whom she adopted and took to leipzig to study with felix mendelssohn. thumb|right|paul wittgenstein (front left) with his siblings. he studied with malvine brÃ©e and later with a much better known figure, the polish virtuoso theodor leschetizky. he made his public dÃ©but in 1913, attracting favourable reviews. the following year, however, world war i broke out, and he was called up for military service. he was shot in the elbow and captured by the russians during the assault on ukraine, and his right arm had to be amputated. ==new career as a left-handed pianist==  during his recovery in a prisoner-of-war camp in omsk in siberia, he resolved to continue his career using only his left hand. through the danish ambassador, he wrote to his old teacher josef labor, who was blind, asking for a concerto for the left hand. labor responded quickly, saying he had already started work on a piece. following the end of the war, wittgenstein studied intensely, arranging pieces for the left hand alone and learning the new composition written for him by labor. once again he began to give concerts. many reviews were qualified with comments that he played very well for a man with one arm, but he persevered. he then approached more famous composers, asking them to write material for him to perform. benjamin britten, paul hindemith, alexandre tansman, erich wolfgang korngold, sergei prokofiev, franz schmidt, sergei bortkiewicz, and richard strauss all produced pieces for him. maurice ravel wrote his piano concerto for the left hand, which became more famous than any of the other compositions that wittgenstein inspired. but when wittgenstein made changes to the score for the premiere, rav
1887_births 1961_deaths American_Protestants American_classical_pianists American_people_of_Austrian-Jewish_descent Austrian_Jews Austrian_Protestants Austrian_amputees Austrian_classical_pianists Austrian_emigrants_to_the_United_States Austrian_people_of_German_descent Austrian_prisoners_of_war Austrian_refugees Austro-Hungarian_military_personnel_of_World_War_I Classical_pianists_who_played_with_one_arm Jewish_American_classical_musicians Jewish_classical_pianists Ludwig_Wittgenstein Musicians_from_Vienna People_who_emigrated_to_escape_Nazism World_War_I_prisoners_of_war_held_by_Russia