After a paralyzing stroke, a South Korean pianist recreates himself as a one-handed performer

SEOUL, South Korea -- When a major stroke paralyzed South Korean pianist Lee Hun's right side in 2012, he first worried about whether he would ever walk again. Playing the piano wasn't even a consideration.

He returned to the piano only after a mentor told him about a large number of piano pieces for the left hand alone.

After exhaustive practice he made a comeback, playing recitals as South Korea's only known professional left-hand-only pianist.

He is now preparing for a new challenge: his first joint performance with an orchestra at an international music festival next month.

“I’m so, so nervous I could die,” Lee, 54, said with a smile during a recent interview with The Associated Press at his Seoul home. “It’s just one concerto but working with an orchestra has its own difficulties.”

Thrown into despair

In August 2012, Lee, then a doctorate candidate at the music school at the University of Cincinnati, abruptly collapsed at his home.

He survived after extensive surgery, but the stroke damaged about 60% of his brain’s left hemisphere. He couldn’t move his right arm and leg and suffered temporary aphasia.

Lee was later brought back to South Korea in a wheelchair. His father, Lee Hae Chang, a baseball legend in South Korea, said his son couldn’t recognize him upon arrival.

“After the stroke, I didn’t even imagine playing the piano. I only thought about whether I could stand on my feet again,” Lee Hun said.

Performing with five fingers

Lee’s condition was also hard on his family, who had to care for him daily. His mother Poong Ok Hee recalled she had fought a lot with her son because of his mood swings. He often resisted her advice and assistance.

Things began changing after he dined with his former piano teacher, Chun Yung Hae, in 2013. Chun encouraged him to play the piano again, saying there were more than 1,000 pieces for the left hand alone. That rekindled his passion for the piano, and Lee began practicing immediately that night.

In 2016, Lee made a formal debut as a one-handed pianist at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, where he received treatment and rehabilitation. After performing Camille Saint-Saens’ “6 Etudes for the Left Hand Alone,” Lee played “Amazing Grace” with Chun, with Lee using his left hand and Chun her right hand. At least one spectator cried.

“He is a pianist so he must play the piano. He was completely hopeless and in despair, so I tried to give him some hope. But I didn’t expect him to play as well as this,” said Chun, who served as dean of the College of Music at Seoul’s Kyung Hee University.

Performing a masterpiece with orchestra

Lee has steadily given recitals, appeared on TV programs and written a memoir. He now walks without assistance and communicates relatively smoothly in Korean.

Local media dub him as “Korea’s Paul Wittgenstein,” an acclaimed Austrian pianist who is considered a pioneer in one-handed piano music. He lost his right arm in World War I and commissioned left-hand repertories by famed composers, including Ravel, Strauss, Prokofiev and Britten. His brother was philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein.

On May 2, Lee is to appear at the annual Icheon Young-Artist International Music Festival in South Korea, performing with a festival orchestra. They’ll play Ravel’s “Piano Concerto for the Left Hand,” which was also commissioned by Wittgenstein.

It’s a highly difficult piece for a pianist, Lee said, but it’s something he’s been eager to play.

Chung Eun-hyon, head of Lee’s agency, Tool Music, said Lee has told him it’s his dream to play the concerto. Chung said he feels deeply emotional as he helps “make his dream come true.”

Dreams of a two-handed comeback

Before becoming a one-handed pianist, Lee said he focused on how to perfect skills to wow audiences. Now, he agonizes over how to convey his emotions and interpretation of music to people.

“He plays a sort of music that truly touches the heart of people and it’s not about finger dexterity,” said Lee Eungkwang, head of a cultural foundation responsible for the Icheon festival.

“I’m really curious what it was like when he played with both hands,” Lee said.

Lee Hun said he hopes to make a two-handed comeback one day, saying he succeeded in pressing a piano key once with his right hand at a concert in November 2024.

Medically speaking, prospects for Lee regaining the use of his right hand and performing with both hands are dim, according to his doctor at St. Mary’s Hospital, Koo Jaseong.

“I still would like to give him a round of applause to his efforts. Though rare, there have been reports of miraculous recoveries too,” Koo said.