Left-Handed Pianists

Posted at 8:15 PM on January 4, 2009 by Gillian Martin (1 Comments)

Some of the most interesting, artistic people I know are left-handed (and/or Libras--but perhaps that's another matter). Well, in the world of concert pianists, left-handers are decidedly overrepresented, as an article from today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution explains:

Considering that about 10 percent of the general population is left-handed, the number of celebrated southpaw classical pianists is wildly out of proportion... If you know your famous pianists, the list is a who's who, from 20th-century legends Vladimir Horowitz, Arthur Rubinstein and Glenn Gould to today's keyboard masters Daniel Barenboim, Radu Lupu, Leif Ove Andsnes, Steven Blier, Richard Goode, Helene Grimaud ... and many more.

No one knows for sure why that is, but pianists and neuroscientists alike have their opinions about it. Read the article here.

(And thanks to artsjournal.com for the tip.)

Comments (1)

This subject seems ripe for the "outliers" treatment of Malcolm Gladwell. Vlad, Arthur, and Glenn weren't solitary geniuses, just left-handed.

What about radio hosts? Does being left-handed give you that little extra boost you need when reaching for the CD player while doing a crossfade?

Posted by Alex Coppock | January 5, 2009 11:12 AM