Leon Fleisher | |
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 Fleisher in 1963 | |
| Born | (1928-07-23)July 23, 1928 San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Died | August 2, 2020(2020-08-02) (aged 92) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
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| Website | www |
Leon Fleisher (July 23, 1928 – August 2, 2020) was an American classical pianist, conductor and pedagogue. He was one of the most renowned pianists andpedagogues in the world. Music correspondent Elijah Ho called him "one of the most refined and transcendent musicians the United States has ever produced".[1]
Born in San Francisco, Fleisher began playing piano at the age of four, and began studying withArtur Schnabel at age nine. He was particularly well known for his interpretations of the two piano concertos of Brahms and the five concertos ofBeethoven, which he recorded withGeorge Szell and theCleveland Orchestra. With Szell, he also recorded concertos by Mozart, Grieg, Schumann, Franck, and Rachmaninoff.
In 1964, he lost the use of his right hand due to a neurological condition eventually diagnosed asfocal dystonia, forcing him to focus on the repertoire for the left hand, such as Ravel'sPiano Concerto for the Left Hand and many compositions written for him. In 2004, he played the world premiere ofPaul Hindemith'sKlaviermusik, a piano concerto for the left hand completed in 1923, with theBerlin Philharmonic. After being treated by neurologistDaniel B. Drachman, he regained some control of his right hand and played and recorded two-hand repertoire again.
He was also notable as a conductor, and especially as a teacher for over 60 years at thePeabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University, theCurtis Institute of Music and others. He was aKennedy Center Honors awardee in 2007, among many distinctions.
Fleisher was born on July 23, 1928, in San Francisco, the son of poor Jewish immigrants Bertha and Isidor Fleisher. His father was fromOdessa and his mother from Poland.[1][2][3] His father's business was hat-making, while his mother's goal was to make her son a great concert pianist.[1] Fleisher started studying the piano at age four, and made his public debut at eight. At age nine, he became one of the few child prodigies to be accepted for study with the renowned Austrian teacherArtur Schnabel, who taught him in a tradition that descended directly from Beethoven throughCarl Czerny andTheodor Leschetizky.[1] He also studied withMaria Curcio andKarl Ulrich Schnabel.[4][5][6] Fleisher played atCarnegie Hall with theNew York Philharmonic underPierre Monteux at age 16; Monteux called him "the pianistic find of the century."[1]
In the 1950s, Fleisher signed an exclusive recording contract withColumbia Masterworks. He was particularly well known for his interpretations of thepiano concerti ofBrahms andBeethoven, which he recorded withGeorge Szell and theCleveland Orchestra.[7] They also recordedMozart's Piano Concerto No. 25, theGrieg andSchumann piano concertos, Franck'sSymphonic Variations, and Rachmaninoff'sRhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.[8]
When he was 24, Fleisher became the first American to win a prestigious piano competition established by Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, which helped to catapult his career.[9] In 1964, at the age of 36, Fleisher lost the use of his right hand, due to a neurological condition that was eventually diagnosed asfocal dystonia.[1] In 1967, Fleisher commenced performing and recording the left-handed repertoire while searching for a cure for his condition. His first choice was Ravel'sPiano Concerto for the Left Hand.[1] In addition, he undertook conducting beginning in 1968, and became associate conductor of theBaltimore Symphony Orchestra in 1973,[1] and music director of theAnnapolis Symphony Orchestra. In the 1990s, Fleisher was able to ameliorate his focal dystonia symptoms after experimentalbotox injections to the point where he could play with both hands again.[10]
In 2004,Vanguard Classics released Fleisher's first "two-handed" recording since the 1960s,[1] titledTwo Hands, to critical acclaim.Two Hands is also the title of a short documentary on Fleisher byNathaniel Kahn, which was nominated for anAcademy Award for best short subject on January 23, 2007. Fleisher received the 2007 Kennedy Center Honors. Kennedy Center Chairman Stephen A. Schwarzman described him as "a consummate musician whose career is a moving testament to the life-affirming power of art."[11]
Fleisher's musical interests extended beyond the central German Classic-Romantic repertoire. The American composerWilliam Bolcom composed hisConcerto for Two Pianos, Left Hand for Fleisher and his close friendGary Graffman, who has also suffered from debilitating problems with his right hand. It received its first performance in Baltimore in April 1996. The concerto is so constructed that it can be performed in one of three ways, with either piano part alone with reduced orchestra, or with both piano parts and the two reduced orchestras combined into a full orchestra. Composers who wrote music for him also includedLukas Foss,Leon Kirchner andGunther Schuller.[1]
In 2004, Fleisher played the world premiere ofPaul Hindemith'sKlaviermusik (Piano Concerto for the Left Hand), Op. 29, with theBerlin Philharmonic conducted bySimon Rattle.[12] This work was written in 1923, forPaul Wittgenstein, who disliked and refused to play it. However, he had sole performing rights and kept the score, not allowing any other pianists to play it. The manuscript was discovered among his papers after the death of his widow in 2002. On October 2, 2005, Fleisher played the American premiere of the work, with theSan Francisco Symphony underHerbert Blomstedt.[13] In 2012, at the invitation of JusticeRuth Bader Ginsburg, Fleisher performed at theSupreme Court of the United States.[14]
He continued to be involved in music, both conducting and teaching for more than 60 years at thePeabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, the Curtis Institute of Music, and theRoyal Conservatory of Music in Toronto; he was also closely associated with theTanglewood Music Center. WithDina Koston, he co-founded and co-directed the Theater Chamber Players in 1968–2003, which was the first resident chamber ensemble of theSmithsonian Institution and of thePedagogy.[15][16] His students includeFrank Lévy,André Watts,Yefim Bronfman,Hélène Grimaud,Louis Lortie,Dina Koston,Jonathan Biss,Lori Sims,Nicholas Angelich,Joel Fan,Enrique Graf[17], and Galen Deibler.
His memoir,My Nine Lives, co-written withThe Washington Post's music criticAnne Midgette, was published in November 2010.[18][19]
Fleisher died in Baltimore, Maryland, on August 2, 2020, at age 92.[20][21]
Media related toLeon Fleisher at Wikimedia Commons
