Nicholas McCarthy

Left-hand pianist Nicholas McCarthy was raised by a non-musical family in Tadworth, Surrey. Because of a pre-natal medical anomaly, he was born without a right arm, but he pursued most childhood activities with determination to succeed in spite of his disability. Inspired by the example of left-hand pianist Paul Wittgenstein, McCarthy began taking an interest in playing the piano at age 14. He was admitted at 17 to the Guildhall School of Music's junior department on the condition that he concentrate only on works composed for the left hand. He graduated in 2012 from the Royal...