Role

:

Conductor  

Birth

:

July 23, 1928 in San Francisco, CA

Death

:

August 2, 2020 in Baltimore, MD

Period

:

Contemporary

 

 

Modern

Genre

:

Concerto

 

 

Keyboard

 

Leon Fleisher was born on July 23, 1928, in San Francisco, California. His parents were both immigrants from Eastern Europe, and his father was a successful businessman. Fleisher began playing the piano at the age of four, and by the time he was nine, he was studying with the renowned pianist Artur Schnabel. Fleisher made his debut with the New York Philharmonic at the age of 16, playing the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1. He quickly established himself as one of the most promising young pianists of his generation, and he went on to perform with many of the world's leading orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In 1964, Fleisher began experiencing a loss of sensation in his right hand, which was eventually diagnosed as a neurological condition called focal dystonia. This condition made it impossible for him to play with his right hand, and it threatened to end his career as a pianist. Fleisher refused to give up, however, and he began exploring other avenues of music. He became a conductor, and he also began teaching at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore. He also began performing left-handed piano repertoire, including works by Ravel, Prokofiev, and Bach. In 1995, Fleisher's condition was successfully treated with Botox injections, which allowed him to regain the use of his right hand. He returned to performing two-handed repertoire, and he continued to teach and conduct. Throughout his career, Fleisher has received numerous awards and honors. He was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors in 2007, and he was inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame in 2012. He has also received multiple Grammy nominations and awards, including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007. Some of Fleisher's most notable performances include his 1959 recording of Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1 with George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra, which is considered one of the greatest recordings of the work. He also recorded a highly acclaimed version of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 with George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra in 1961. Fleisher's recordings of the left-handed repertoire are also highly regarded, particularly his recording of Ravel's Piano Concerto for the Left Hand with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 1992. In addition to his performing career, Fleisher has also been a dedicated teacher. He has taught at the Peabody Institute since 1959, and he has also taught at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. Fleisher's legacy as a musician and teacher is a testament to his perseverance and dedication to his craft. Despite facing a major obstacle in his career, he refused to give up and found new ways to express himself through music. His contributions to the world of classical music will continue to inspire generations of musicians to come.

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