The Selection
This month, in honor of his life and legacy (23 July 1928 – 3 August 2020), we are honoring American pianist and conductor Leon Fleisher.
About
Leon Fleisher was a renowned American classical pianist, pedagogue, and conductor, born in San Francisco, California in 1928.
Early Life
Fleisher began piano at age four and by 9 was considered a child prodigy and had begun lessons with famous Austrian teacher Artur Schnabel. Throughout his career, Fleisher also studied with Maria Curcio and Karl Ulrich Schnabel. By 16, Fleisher was performing with the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall and by the 1950s had signed with Columbia Masterworks.
When Fleisher was 36 he contracted a neurological condition that caused him to lose the use of his right hand, so the pianist, known for his concerti performances, focused on left-handed repertoire such as Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand.
Career
Fleisher recorded the Brahms and Beethoven piano concerti with the Cleveland Orchestra through Columbia Masterworks as well as Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 25 and Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. As Fleisher began his exploration of left-handed repertoire he also began conducting and became the associate conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 1973. In the 1990s, Fleisher was able to regain sufficient dexterity of his right hand once again through botox injections.
One of his most critically acclaimed recordings is Two Hands, released by Vanguard Classics in 2004, which was Fleisher’s first two-handed recording since the 1960s, and the title was later used for a short documentary on Fleisher by Nathaniel Kahn. Fleisher was described as “a consummate musician whose career is a moving testament to the life-affirming power of art” by Kennedy Center Chairman Stephen A. Schwarzman when Fleisher received the 2007 Kennedy Center Honors.
The world premiere of Paul Hindemith’s Klaviermusik (Piano Concerto for the Left Hand), Op. 29, was performed by Fleisher in 2004 with the Berlin Philharmonic under Simon Rattle, as was the American premiere of the work with the San Francisco Symphony under Herbert Blomstedt. Fleisher even played at the Supreme Court of the United States in 2012 at the invitation of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Apart from performing, Fleisher was incredibly involved in conducting and teaching—for more than 60 years—at the Peabody Institute, the Curtis Institute, and the Royal Conservatory of Music. In addition to the Kennedy Center Honors, Fleisher holds a gold medal of the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition, the President’s Medal of the Johns Hopkins University, Commander in the Order of Arts and Letters by the Minister of Culture of the French government, and nine honorary doctorates.
The Series
PL Pianist of the Month is a Piano League series that features one pianist a month, celebrating their achievements and dedications. You can nominate a pianist here.
