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British pianist Nicholas McCarthy, 36, was born without a right hand. He never received formal training in playing a musical instrument as a child. He is set to perform Ravel’s ‘Piano Concerto for the Left Hand’ at the Seoul Arts Center on the 28th. During a recent video interview, he laughed and said, “There were no musicians in my family, and both of my parents worked in sales, so I grew up in a typical home. I was a very ‘unmusical’ child.” His childhood aspiration was to become a chef. He mentioned, “My dream was to prepare Asian dishes like Korean or Italian cuisine.”

However, he mentioned, “A Beethoven piano sonata performed by a friend in the school auditorium when I was 14 changed my life.” Inspired by his friend’s rendition of Beethoven’s ‘Waldstein’ Sonata, he decided to take up the piano. Convinced by his determination, his parents purchased him a mid-range electronic keyboard, and from that point on, he started teaching himself while studying sheet music. McCarthy said, “Since our home wasn’t large enough to accommodate a grand piano, I began by placing the keyboard in my room, listening to music, and gradually playing along at a very slow pace.”

He went to a nearby music school, but obstacles were unavoidable. He mentioned, “The teacher at the academy asked, ‘Do you really know how to play scales correctly?’ and then declined to offer me lessons.” Nevertheless, he stated, “Having a physical disability from birth helped me develop inner strength. The word ‘no’ became the motivation for my life.” In the end, he enrolled at the Royal Academy of Music in the UK following his studies at the Guildhall School of Music. He became the first left-handed pianist to graduate from the institution’s 130-year history.

Shortly before completing his studies, he became a founding member of the UK’s Paraorchestra, a group made up of disabled musicians, and slowly started to gain fame. In 2012, he performed with the British rock band Coldplay at the closing ceremony of the London Paralympics, which brought him international recognition. He chuckled and remarked, “I never thought that performing in front of 80,000 people would be my first stage performance. Of course, I haven’t played in front of such a massive audience since then…” Motivated by this experience, he chose to embark on a solo career as a pianist. In 2015, he launched his first album with the global record label Warner Classics.

Austrian left-handed pianist Paul Wittgenstein (1887–1961) is his musical idol and inspiration. As his name implies, he is the older brother of philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951), who authored the ‘Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus’. Paul was acknowledged as a musical prodigy at an early age but lost his right arm as a result of a gunshot injury during World War I. Despite this, he continued to commission and perform left-hand concertos composed by artists such as Ravel. McCarthy remarked, “Being born without a right hand is extremely challenging, but losing one must have been even more distressing. Still, I was deeply inspired by his determination to return to the stage.”

The Ravel “Piano Concerto for the Left Hand,” which he will play with the “Going Home Project” Orchestra on the 28th, is recognized for its challenging technical sections. The “Going Home Project” is an ensemble made up of present and past members who are involved in both local and global musical groups. McCarthy stated, “The appeal of this composition is in creating a sound illusion that imitates playing with both hands, even though it’s performed using just five fingers.” He further mentioned, “For left-handed pianists, new pieces are like a ‘treasure hunt.’ Hence, my aspiration is to keep commissioning and performing new works, much like Paul Wittgenstein did.”