André Roque Cardoso and Helena Marinho authored the article “Piano repertoire for the left hand: performative study of Portuguese works”, published in open access by the journal Vortex Music Journal.
Abstract
This article aims to identify and discuss performative particularities of the left-hand piano repertoire. Grounded in a qualitative, practice-informed approach, and score-based inference, with analysis parameters based on the strategies for pianists with small hands by Lora Deahl and Brenda Wristen (2017), this research addresses five case studies by Portuguese composers: António Chagas Rosa, Cláudio Carneyro, Christopher Bochmann, Joaquim d’Almeida, and Paulo Bastos. In addition to belonging to a limited corpus of repertoire, these works allow the comparison with two-handed or right-hand solo approaches. The limitations of hand and finger span, keyboard navigation, and ‘simultaneity of multiple events’ pose challenges of fatigue, strength, and reach. Motor, technical, and musical solutions reveal specific patterns associated with one-handed performance, constituting structural elements in the development of a distinctive performative language.