The Wednesdays at the Manoel series continues on 13 April at 8pm with a wonderful recital by the unique musician Nicholas McCarthy, an international and award-winning concert pianist who was born without a right hand and is the world's only one-handed concert pianist focusing on the dynamic world of left hand alone repertoire.
Nicholas was born in 1989 and only began to play the piano at the age of 14. Having once been told that he would never succeed as a concert pianist, he would not be discouraged and went on to study at the prestigious Royal College of Music in London. His graduation in July 2012 drew press headlines around the world, being the only one-handed pianist to graduate from the Royal College of Music in its 130 year history.
He is a champion of the dynamic and brave world of the left-hand-alone repertoire, a repertoire that first came into being in the early 19th century and developed rapidly following the First World War as a result of the many injuries suffered on the battlefield. Paul Wittgenstein was responsible for its 20th-century developments with his commissions with Ravel, Prokofiev and Benjamin Britten, amongst others.
Having performed extensively throughout the UK and internationally in such notable concert venues as The Royal Albert Hall and The Kennedy Centre in Washington DC, Nicholas's talent has also been showcased widely across the press and media, with many television and radio broadcasts.
In September 2015 he was delighted to announce his exclusive record deal with Warner Music. His album entitled Solo featured 17 stunning pieces of left-hand-repertoire spanning three centuries has been released around the world to great acclaim, securing a top-10 classical chart position and 5 star reviews.
The repertoire of the concert on 13 April is a celebration of determination and three centuries of music played with the left hand alone and features composers as diverse as Liszt, Chopin/Godowsky, Bach, Scriabin, Gershwin, Blumenfeld and many others.
The recital starts at 8pm with a pre-recital talk at 7.15pm. Tickets are €20, with discounts for full-time students and senior citizens. Primary school-age children (six or older) will be admitted free of charge but must be accompanied by a paying adult. For tickets contact www.teatrumanoel.com.mt, [email protected] or tel. 2124 6389.