Leon Fleisher (July 23, 1928 – August 2, 2020) was an American classical pianist, conductor and pedagogue. He was one of the most renowned pianists and pedagogues in the world. Music correspondent Elijah Ho called him "one of the most refined and transcendent musicians the United States has ever produced". Born in San Francisco, Fleisher began playing piano at the age of four, and began studying with Artur Schnabel at age nine. He was particularly well known for his interpretations of the two piano concertos of Brahms and the five concertos of

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

, which he recorded with

George Szell George Szell (; June 7, 1897 – July 30, 1970), originally György Széll, György Endre Szél, or Georg Szell, was a Hungarian-born American conductor and composer. He is widely considered one of the twentieth century's greatest condu ...

and the

Cleveland Orchestra The Cleveland Orchestra, based in Cleveland, is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the " Big Five". Founded in 1918 by the pianist and impresario Adella Prentiss Hughes, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Se ...

. 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 as

focal dystonia Focal dystonia, or focal task specific dystonia, is a neurological condition, a type of '' dystonia'', that affects a muscle or group of muscles in a specific part of the body during specific activities, causing involuntary muscular contractions an ...

, forcing him to focus on the repertoire for the left hand, such as Ravel's ''

Piano Concerto for the Left Hand This is a list of concertos and concertante works for piano left-hand and orchestra. The first piano solo was an arrangement by Johannes Brahms of the Chaconne from Johann Sebastian Bach's Partita for Violin No. 2, BWV 1004, published in 1878. ...

'' and many compositions written for him. In 2004, he played the world premiere of

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ' ...

's '' Klaviermusik'', a piano concerto for the left hand completed in 1923, with the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...

. He regained some control of his right hand then, and played and recorded two-hand repertoire. He was also notable as a conductor, and especially as a teacher for over 60 years at the

Peabody Institute The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University is a private conservatory and preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1857 and opened in 1866 by merchant/financier and philanthropist George Peabody (1795–1869) ...

at Johns Hopkins University, the

Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship. Hi ...

and others. He was a

Kennedy Center Honors The Kennedy Center Honors are annual honors given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture. They have been presented annually since 1978, culminating each December in a gala celebrating five hono ...

awardee in 2007, among many distinctions.

Early life and studies

Fleisher was born on July 23, 1928, in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

, the son of Bertha and Isidor Fleisher. His parents were Jewish immigrants, his father from

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

and his mother from Poland. His family was poor. His father's business was hat-making, while his mother's goal was to make her son a great concert pianist. Fleisher started studying the piano at age four. He made his public debut at age eight. At age nine, he became one of the few child prodigies to be accepted for study with the renowned Austrian teacher Artur Schnabel, who taught him in a tradition that descended directly from Beethoven through

Carl Czerny Carl Czerny (; 21 February 1791 – 15 July 1857) was an Austrian composer, teacher, and pianist of Czech origin whose music spanned the late Classical and early Romantic eras. His vast musical production amounted to over a thousand works and ...

and

Theodor Leschetizky Theodor Leschetizky (sometimes spelled Leschetitzky, pl, Teodor Leszetycki; 22 June 1830 – 14 November 1915 was an Austrian-Polish pianist, professor, and composer born in Landshut in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, then a crown land of ...

. He also studied with Maria Curcio and Karl Ulrich Schnabel. Fleisher played at Carnegie Hall with the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

under

Pierre Monteux Pierre Benjamin Monteux (; 4 April 18751 July 1964) was a French (later American) conductor. After violin and viola studies, and a decade as an orchestral player and occasional conductor, he began to receive regular conducting engagements in ...

at age 16, and Monteux called him "the pianistic find of the century."

Performer and recording artist

In the 1950s, Fleisher signed an exclusive recording contract with Columbia Masterworks. He was particularly well known for his interpretations of the piano concerti of

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...

and

, which he recorded with

and the

. They also recorded Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 25, the Grieg and

Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

piano concertos, Franck's ''Symphonic Variations'', and Rachmaninoff's ''

Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini The ''Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini'', Op. 43, (russian: Рапсодия на тему Паганини, ''Rapsodiya na temu Paganini'') is a concertante work written by Sergei Rachmaninoff for piano and orchestra, closely resembling a piano ...

''. 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. In 1964, at the age of 36, Fleisher lost the use of his right hand, due to a neurological condition that was eventually diagnosed as

. In 1967, Fleisher commenced performing and recording the left-handed repertoire while searching for a cure for his condition. His first choice was Ravel's ''

''. In addition, he undertook conducting beginning in 1968, and became associate conductor of the

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore SO has its principal residence at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, where it performs more than 130 concerts a year. In 2005, it bega ...

in 1973, and music director of the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra. In the 1990s, Fleisher was able to ameliorate his focal dystonia symptoms after experimental

botox Botulinum toxin, or botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT), is a neurotoxic protein produced by the bacterium '' Clostridium botulinum'' and related species. It prevents the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine from axon endings at the neuromus ...

injections to the point where he could play with both hands again. In 2004, Vanguard Classics released Fleisher's first "two-handed" recording since the 1960s, titled ''Two Hands'', to critical acclaim. '' Two Hands'' is also the title of a short documentary on Fleisher by

Nathaniel Kahn Nathaniel Kahn (born November 9, 1962, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American filmmaker. His documentaries '' My Architect'' (2003) – about his father, the architect Louis Kahn – and '' Two Hands'' (2006) were nominated for Academy A ...

, which was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

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." Fleisher's musical interests extended beyond the central German Classic-Romantic repertoire. The American composer

William Bolcom William Elden Bolcom (born May 26, 1938) is an American composer and pianist. He has received the Pulitzer Prize, the National Medal of Arts, a Grammy Award, the Detroit Music Award and was named 2007 Composer of the Year by Musical America. He ...

composed his ''Concerto for Two Pianos, Left Hand'' for Fleisher and his close friend Gary 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 included Lukas Foss,

Leon Kirchner Leon Kirchner (January 24, 1919 – September 17, 2009) was an American composer of contemporary classical music. He was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and he won a Pulitzer Pr ...

and

Gunther Schuller Gunther Alexander Schuller (November 22, 1925June 21, 2015) was an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, educator, publisher, and jazz musician. Biography and works Early years Schuller was born in Queens, New York City ...

. In 2004, Fleisher played the world premiere of

's '' Klaviermusik'' (Piano Concerto for the Left Hand), Op. 29, with the

conducted by

Simon Rattle Sir Simon Denis Rattle (born 19 January 1955) is a British-German conductor. He rose to international prominence during the 1980s and 1990s, while music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1980–1998). Rattle was principa ...

. This work was written in 1923, for

Paul Wittgenstein Paul Wittgenstein (November 5, 1887March 3, 1961) was an Austrian-American concert pianist notable for commissioning new piano concerti for the left hand alone, following the amputation of his right arm during the First World War. He devised nove ...

, 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 the

San Francisco Symphony The San Francisco Symphony (SFS), founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley neighborhood. The San F ...

under

Herbert Blomstedt Herbert Thorson Blomstedt (; born 11 July 1927) is a Swedish conductor. Herbert Blomstedt was born in Massachusetts. Two years after his birth, his Swedish parents moved the family back to their country of origin. He studied at the Stockholm Ro ...

. In 2012, at the invitation of Justice

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( ; ; March 15, 1933September 18, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death in 2020. She was nominated by Presiden ...

, Fleisher performed at the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. Federal tribunals in the United States, federal court cases, and over Stat ...

. He continued to be involved in music, both conducting and teaching for more than 60 years at the

of the Johns Hopkins University, the Curtis Institute of Music, and the

Royal Conservatory of Music The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher as The Toronto ...

in Toronto; he was also closely associated with the

Tanglewood Music Center The Tanglewood Music Center is an annual summer music academy in Lenox, Massachusetts, United States, in which emerging professional musicians participate in performances, master classes and workshops. The center operates as a part of the Tanglew ...

. With Dina Koston, he co-founded and co-directed the Theater Chamber Players in 1968–2003, which was the first resident chamber ensemble of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Found ...

and of the

Pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

. His students include Frank Lévy,

André Watts André Watts (born June 20, 1946) is an American classical pianist and professor at the Jacobs School of Music of Indiana University. In 2020, he was elected to the American Philosophical Society. Life and early performances Born in Nurember ...

Yefim Bronfman Yefim "Fima" Naumovich Bronfman (russian: Ефим Наумович Бронфман; born April 10, 1958) is a Soviet-born Israeli-American pianist. Biography Bronfman was born in Tashkent, Uzbek SSR, and immigrated to Israel at the age of 15. H ...

, Hélène Grimaud, Louis Lortie, Dina Koston,

Jonathan Biss Jonathan Biss (born September 18, 1980) is an American pianist, teacher, and writer based in Philadelphia. He is the co-artistic director (with Mitsuko Uchida) of the Marlboro Music Festival. Early life and education Biss was born into a fam ...

Nicholas Angelich Nicholas Michael Angelich (December 14, 1970 – April 18, 2022) was an American pianist. He was noted for performing internationally with ensembles from Europe and North America. Early life Angelich was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on December 1 ...

, and

Joel Fan Joel Fan (b. United States, July 29, 1969) is an American pianist and Steinway Artist "who has won praise for his technical expertise, lyrical playing, and outstanding interpretation". The New York Times has described Joel Fan as an "impressive p ...

. His memoir, ''My Nine Lives'', co-written with the ''Washington Post'' music critic Anne Midgette, came out in November 2010.

Death

Fleisher died in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

, Maryland, on August 2, 2020, at age 92.

Awards and recognition

* 1952: Gold medal of the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition * 1992: Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences * 1994: Instrumentalist of the Year, by

Musical America ''Musical America'' is the oldest American magazine on classical music, first appearing in 1898 in print and in 1999 online, at musicalamerica.com. It is published by Performing Arts Resources, LLC, of East Windsor, New Jersey. History 1898–19 ...

* President's Medal of the

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

* 2006: Commander in the Order of Arts and Letters by the Minister of Culture of the French government * 2007:

* 2010: Instrumentalist of the Year, by the

Royal Philharmonic Society The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) is a British music society, formed in 1813. Its original purpose was to promote performances of instrumental music in London. Many composers and performers have taken part in its concerts. It is now a memb ...

Honorary doctorates

* Towson State University *

Boston Conservatory Boston Conservatory at Berklee (formerly The Boston Conservatory) is a private performing arts conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in dance, music, and theater. Boston Conservatory was founded ...

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...

Cleveland Institute of Music The Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) is a private music conservatory in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1920 by Ernest Bloch, it enrolls 325 students in the conservatory and approximately 1,500 students in the preparatory and continuing educatio ...

* San Francisco Conservatory of Music *

St. Olaf College St. Olaf College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American pastors and farmers led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after the King and the Patron Saint Olaf ...

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educati ...

Juilliard School of Music The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

of the

Discography

* ''Leon Fleisher: The Complete Album Collection'',

Sony Classical Records Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired by S ...

, 2013 * ''Mozart: Piano Concertos,'' including 2008 recordings of the Piano Concertos in A major, K. 414 and K 488, with Fleisher soloist and as conductor of the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, and of the concerto K. 242 with Katherine Jacobson Fleisher (his wife) as second pianist. Sony BMG Masterworks, 2009 * ''Schubert: Sonata in B-flat major, D.960 / Ländler (original LP release 1956)'', Sony BMG Masterworks, 2008 (digital re-release) * ''Debussy: Suite bergamasque / Ravel: Sonatine / Valses nobles et sentimentales / Alborado del gracioso (original LP release 1959)'', Sony BMG Masterworks, 2008 (digital re-release) * ''Mozart: Sonata in C major, K.330 / Sonata in E-flat major, K.282 / Rondo in D Major, K.485 (original LP release 1960)'', Sony BMG Masterworks, 2008 (digital re-release) * ''Liszt: Sonata in B minor / Weber: Sonata No. 4 in E minor, Op. 70 / Invitation to the Dance, Op. 65 (original LP release 1960)'', Sony BMG Masterworks, 2008 (digital re-release) * ''Copland: Piano Sonata / Sessions: ''From My Diary'' / Kirchner: Piano Sonata/Rorem: Three Barcarolles (original LP release 1963)'', Sony BMG Masterworks, 2008 (digital re-release) * ''Brahms: Quintet for Piano and Strings in F minor, Op. 34 (original LP release 1963)'', with the Juilliard String Quartet Sony BMG Masterworks, 2008 (digital re-release) * ''Brahms: Quintet for Piano and Strings in F minor, Op. 34, recorded 2007'' with the Emerson String Quartet for

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

* ''The Essential Leon Fleisher'', Sony BMG Masterworks, 2008 * ''The Journey'', Vanguard Classics, 2006 * ''Leon Fleisher: Two Hands'', (including a 2004 recording of

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

: Sonata in B-Flat Major, D.960), Vanguard Classics, 2004 *

: Piano Concerto and Grieg: Piano Concerto with the Cleveland Orchestra and Szell (original recordings 1960, remastered and reissued 2004 by Sony BMG) * ''

: The Five Piano Concertos, with the

led by

(original recordings 1959–61, remastered)'', Sony BMG Masterworks, reissued 1990 and in new remastering 2006 *

: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 (rec. 1958) and 2 (rec. 1962), with the

led by

; Handel Variations and Waltzes, op. 39 (rec. 1956);

Sony Masterworks Sony Music Masterworks (Sony Masterworks) is a record label, the result of a restructuring of Sony Music's classical music division. Before the acquisition of Bertelsmann's shares in the former Sony BMG, the label was known as Sony BMG Masterwor ...

, remastered and reissued 1997 * ''Leon Fleisher Recital'',

Sony Classical Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired by ...

, 1993 * ''Ravel, Prokofiev, Britten: Piano Works for the Left Hand'',

, 1993 * ''Mozart Piano Concerto No. 25'', with the Cleveland Orchestra led by George Szell

, reissued 1990

References

External links

* * * * * Bruce Duffie
Pianist/Conductor/Teacher Leon Fleisher
(interview) March 6, 1995 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fleisher, Leon 1928 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American male musicians American classical pianists American male classical pianists American male conductors (music) American music educators American people of Polish-Jewish descent American people with disabilities Classical pianists who played with one arm Deaths from cancer in Maryland Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellows of the Royal Conservatory of Music Jewish American classical musicians Jewish classical pianists Kennedy Center honorees Musicians from San Francisco Peabody Institute faculty Pianists from San Francisco Piano pedagogues Prize-winners of the Queen Elisabeth Competition Pupils of Artur Schnabel Pupils of Maria Curcio The Royal Conservatory of Music faculty 21st-century American Jews