For the Left Hand

Music is a Way of Surviving

When he was 10 years old, the gifted Chicago pianist Norman Malone was attacked by his father with a hammer to the head, leaving the boy paralyzed on his right side. Undaunted, Malone resolved to play piano with his left hand, eventually becoming a successful and beloved high school music teacher. All the while, he kept developing his art as a specialist in left-hand repertoire, never telling anyone outside his immediate family about his expanding skills or the reason for his disability. After Howard and Tribune photographer Zbigniew Bzdak began telling Malone’s story in the Tribune, the pianist started receiving invitations to give concerts. At age 78, Malone launched a long-delayed concert career. “For the Left Hand” is a documentary film to be released in 2021.