Seeking pieces that favor the lefty pianist

[southpaw]

Hi everyone.

I am new to this forum.  I have been playing the piano for about 35 years (I'm 50 now).  I would probably be considered an advanced amateur, though I don't have anything like virtuoso technique.  I've played in dance bands and been a rehearsal pianist for a community musical theater group, which was great fun.  I love to play, and I while I don't always get all the notes, I can get by with good listening skills and a pretty good musical sense.

I am naturally left-handed, and I was interested to read, in other threads here, whether others thought that was an advantage or disadvantage.  Though I spend the great majority of my practice time on my right hand, it has never developed the strength or endurance that my left has naturally, and it tends to get strained from over-practicing.

I have found that I can get the most out of my technique by selecting pieces that favor the left hand.  For example, I find most of the Chopin etudes more or less impossible, but I can play the Revolutionary and the C-sharp minor etudes, both of which are easier for the right and harder for the left.  The Brahms Intermezzi op. 118 no. 1 and no. 6 are favorites of mine for the same reason, and I love to play the Scriabin nocturne for the left hand alone.

Can anyone suggest other pieces that would play to the strength of a left-handed pianist?  I found some good suggestions for left-hand-alone pieces in another thread, but what about in the regular repertoire?

[tocca]

Fitting name. 

Sorry, i don't have any suggestiongs for pieces but i'm sure others will chime in with that.
It does surprise me a bit that, after playing for such a long time, you find your right hand lacking compared to the left.
From my experience, due to the nature of most Pianomusic, almost anyone will develop the right hand further than the left no matter if your left or righthanded.

I was about to write (well i actually am now) that it'd be a good opportunity to NOT play pieces that focuses on the lefthand, just so you develop the righthand more.
But then again, after 35 years, you probably know that yourself and don't need me here "bossing around". 

[steve jones]

Chopin Preludes 2 and 3 should be right up your alley! Im having a dig at these two, being a fellow lefty.

[thalbergmad]

I have always thought that being left handed is a slight advantage when learning the piano, because you would already have some facility which right handed pianists would have to work for.

A good piece for you to learn would be the Brahms version of the Weber Rondo, which basically turns the piece upside down and transfers all the difficulties to the left hand.

[pianistimo]

i googled left handed pianists and got:

https://hjem.get2net.dk/Brofeldt/    all about left handed playing

and theunconservatory.com      for more

also, one of the articles starts out - piano playing began with the left hand.  is this bias or what?

[thierry13]

Chopin etude op.10 no.12 , or any Chopin-Godowsky study for the left-hand only. Should keep you busy for a while

[burstroman]

prelude in e flat, rachmaninov.

[darkthrone666]

Moskowsky 15 etudes op 72
no 2 in g minor for left hand.

[southpaw]

Thank you all for some very interesting suggestions.  I have been happily downloading those that are available here. 

There is a bit of a story about how I got thinking about all this.  It started when I was learning Mendelssohn's Rondo Capriccio.  It is a very right-handed piece, and I was getting a lot of fatigue, so I looked for something left-handed to balance it, and came up with the Scriabin Nocturne for the left hand alone and the Revolutionary etude.  Those were a lot of fun to learn after all that work on the Rondo.  Then I noticed that the only Chopin etudes I had a chance of learning were the few left-handed ones:  the Revolutionary, the c-sharp minor, and the e-flat minor.  All of that got me thinking that maybe it does make a difference being left-handed. 

I have another piece, which I just found here:  Brahms's Study after the Impromptu Op. 90 No. 2 by Schubert.  Brahms inverted Schubert's original, putting the triplets in the left hand. 

Tocca, responding to your comment:  As you suggest, I probably have developed the right hand more than the left as far as speed and accuracy.  I believe that my left has the advantage in endurance, and in ability to overcome new technical problems easier.  It will be very interesting to try out some of these pieces and see if my theory is right.

Thierry13,  I've heard those Godowsky studies.  I like them, but they sound impossible.  Are any of them within the ability of a non-virtuoso?

[mikey6]

This site my be useful
https://hjem.get2net.dk/Brofeldt/

haven't read it all but I think it includes most left handed repertoire.