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Who composed a piano piece that needs both hands and the nose to strike the right notes: Beethoven, Bach, Mozart or Wagner?

Question #11784. Asked by shantaram.

Related Trivia Topics: Music  
queproblema
Answer has 15 votes
Currently Best Answer
queproblema
19 year member
2119 replies

Answer has 15 votes.

Currently voted the best answer.
The story goes that Mozart did.

"At an evening party, Mozart bet a case of champagne that Haydn could not play at sight a piece he had composed that afternoon. Haydn accepted the bet and proceeded to play it on harpsichord only to stop short after first few bars. It was impossible to continue because the composition required him to simultaneously strike notes at two ends of the keyboard and a note in the very center. Haydn exclaimed, 'Nobody can play this with only two hands.'

'I can,' Mozart said, and took his place at the keyboard. When he reached that problematic portion of his piece, Mozart bent forward and struck the central note with his nose.

Haydn conceded saying: 'With a nose like yours, it becomes easier.'"

--E. Van de Velde, Anecdotes Musicales; N. Slonimsky, Slonimsky's Book"

link http://www.kalvos.org/creshess2.html

Seems to me the old John Schaum piano course for children had a piece based on this story.

Sep 21 2008, 5:43 PM
puppy_luv16
Answer has 12 votes
puppy_luv16

Answer has 12 votes.
Mozart. He had a competition with Haydn to see who could compose the most difficult piece. He did by playing a piece with so many notes he had to use his nose to play.

link http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=990CEFD8153FE533A25757C0A9669D94649FD7CF

Dec 06 2009, 9:50 AM
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