Wittgenstein was born in Vienna to Jewish parents, the son of the industrialist Karl

Wittgenstein and Leopoldine Maria Josefa Kalmus. His brother Ludwig was born two years
later. The household was frequently visited by prominent cultural figures, among them the
composers Johannes Brahms, Gustav Mahler, Josef Labor, and Richard Strauss, with whom the
young Paul played duets. His grandmother, Fanny Wittgenstein, was a first cousin of the
violinistJoseph Joachim, whom she adopted[1] and took to Leipzig to study with Felix
Mendelssohn.

Paul Wittgenstein (front left) with his siblings.

He studied with Malvine Bre and later with a much better known figure, the Polish
virtuoso Theodor Leschetizky. He made his public dbut in 1913, attracting favourable
reviews. The following year, however, World War I broke out, and he was called up for military
service. He was shot in the elbow and captured by the Russians during the assault on Ukraine,
and his right arm had to be amputated.[2]