He commissioned works for the left hand from a number of composers, most notably Janáček, Martinů, Schulhoff and Foerster.
On active service in World War I, a bullet went through his palm, injuring the metacarpus of the right hand but, contrary to some sources, he did not lose his right arm totally.
[3][4] After the war, being now unable to play the violin, he took up the piano, studying left-hand technique with Adolf Mikas in Prague until 1924.
By 30 October he had composed a work he called Capriccio for piano left-hand and chamber ensemble, but the first Hollmann knew of it was when he read about it in a newspaper.
[3] On 17 May 1954, in Prague, Hollmann and Aleš Jermář gave the first performance of Jarmil Burghauser's Ciacona for organ and piano.