May 11 - Paul Wittgenstein; Irving Berlin (The Musical Birthday Series, 4th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for May 11th may be found here: Irving Berlin (2019), Joseph Marx (2020), and Irving Berlin (2021)

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Paul Wittgenstein (November 5, 1887 – March 3, 1961) was an Austrian-American concert pianist notable for commissioning new piano concerti for the left hand alone, following the amputation of his right arm during the First World War.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Southpaw

A concerto for piano one-handed?

It’s a crazy idea, to be candid.

But composers complied,

And they tired to provide

What Wittgenstein’s project demanded.

 

 

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Irving Berlin (11 May 1888 – 22 September 1989) wrote both the music and lyrics for some of the most enduring songs in the Great American Songbook.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sing Me Another!

The greatness of songs by Berlin

Is not from there bombast and din,

Instead the felicity

Of noble simplicity

Accounts for the substance therein.

 

 

 

 

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