“What happened was that I watched a friend play Beethoven’s Waldstein Sonata and was completely blown away – that really did ignite my passion for music and I haven’t looked back. I wanted to play just like that. I went home and told my parents that I wanted to learn piano and they were incredibly supportive. Nicholas McCarthy, the one-handed pianist, who will be performing at the Snape Maltings this weekend - Credit: Nicholas McCarthy “I started to learn piano and my teachers basically said that I had natural aptitude and perhaps it should be taken further. I loved it. It was very much my thing – which was fortunate because I spent a very long time at the piano practising. My parents were amazing because I don’t come from a musical background at all.”