Solo for One Hand

The central theme of the film is the story of the one-armed pianist Otakar Hollmann, who was repeatedly wounded into his right arm in the trenches of the first world war. After the war a large number of musicians had to leave their career because of war injuries. However, some of them reached virtuosity despite this handicap. Hollman’s passion for music convinced Leos Janacek to compose a unique piece for left arm pianists which also became an antiwar manifesto. The documentary film is based on the unpublished biography of Otakar Hollmann and his correspondence with Leos Janacek.