Leon Fleisher facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Leon Fleisher
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Fleisher in 1963
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| Born | July 23, 1928 San Francisco, California, U.S.
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| Died | August 2, 2020 (aged 92) |
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Leon Fleisher (born July 23, 1928 – died August 2, 2020) was an American classical pianist, conductor, and teacher. He was known as one of the most famous pianists and teachers in the world. Many people, like music writer Elijah Ho, called him one of the most amazing and inspiring musicians the United States has ever seen.
Fleisher started playing the piano at age four in San Francisco. When he was nine, he began studying with the famous teacher Artur Schnabel. Leon Fleisher was especially known for playing the piano concertos by Brahms and Beethoven. He recorded these with George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra. He also recorded concertos by Mozart, Grieg, Schumann, Franck, and Rachmaninoff.
In 1964, a health problem called focal dystonia made him lose the use of his right hand. This meant he had to focus on music written only for the left hand. One famous piece he played was Ravel's Piano Concerto for the Left Hand. Many new pieces were also written just for him. Later, in 2004, he played the first public performance of Paul Hindemith's Klaviermusik, a left-hand piano concerto from 1923, with the Berlin Philharmonic. Over time, he got some control back in his right hand. This allowed him to play and record music for both hands again.
Leon Fleisher was also a respected conductor. He was especially known as a teacher for over 60 years. He taught at places like the Peabody Institute and the Curtis Institute of Music. In 2007, he received the Kennedy Center Honors, which is a very special award.
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Leon Fleisher's Early Life and Training
Leon Fleisher was born on July 23, 1928, in San Francisco. His parents were immigrants. His mother wanted him to become a great concert pianist. Leon started playing the piano when he was four years old. He played his first public concert at age eight.
When he was nine, he became one of the few talented young musicians to study with the famous Austrian teacher Artur Schnabel. Schnabel taught him in a style that came directly from Beethoven. Leon also studied with Maria Curcio and Karl Ulrich Schnabel. At 16, Fleisher played at Carnegie Hall with the New York Philharmonic. The conductor, Pierre Monteux, called him "the best young pianist of the century."
A Famous Performer and Recording Artist
In the 1950s, Fleisher signed a special contract to record music with Columbia Masterworks. He became very well known for playing the piano concertos by Brahms and Beethoven. He recorded these with George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra. They also recorded Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 25, the Grieg and Schumann piano concertos, Franck's Symphonic Variations, and Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.
When he was 24, Fleisher became the first American to win a major piano competition in Belgium. This award helped his career become even more successful. In 1964, at age 36, Fleisher faced a big challenge. He lost the use of his right hand because of a neurological condition called focal dystonia. This condition affects how the brain controls muscles.
Starting in 1967, Fleisher began performing and recording music written only for the left hand. His first choice was Ravel's Piano Concerto for the Left Hand. He also started conducting orchestras in 1968. He became an associate conductor for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 1973. In the 1990s, Fleisher found a way to help his hand condition. He received special injections that allowed him to play with both hands again.
In 2004, Fleisher released his first "two-handed" recording since the 1960s. It was called Two Hands and received great reviews. Two Hands is also the name of a short movie about him. This movie was nominated for an Academy Award in 2007. Fleisher himself received the 2007 Kennedy Center Honors. Stephen A. Schwarzman, who was the chairman of the Kennedy Center, said Fleisher was "a complete musician whose career shows how art can make life better."
Fleisher was interested in many types of music, not just the usual classical pieces. The American composer William Bolcom wrote his Concerto for Two Pianos, Left Hand for Fleisher and his friend Gary Graffman. Graffman also had problems with his right hand. This concerto could be played in different ways, either with one piano or both. Other composers like Lukas Foss, Leon Kirchner, and Gunther Schuller also wrote music for him.
In 2004, Fleisher performed the first public showing of Paul Hindemith's Klaviermusik (Piano Concerto for the Left Hand), Op. 29. He played it with the Berlin Philharmonic. This piece was written in 1923 for another pianist, but that pianist didn't like it and kept the music hidden. After the pianist's widow died in 2002, the music was found. In 2005, Fleisher played the American premiere of this work with the San Francisco Symphony. In 2012, he even performed at the Supreme Court of the United States.
He continued to be involved in music, both conducting and teaching, for over 60 years. He taught at the Peabody Institute, the Curtis Institute of Music, and the Royal Conservatory of Music. He also helped start the Theater Chamber Players, a group that performed chamber music. Many famous pianists were his students, including André Watts, Yefim Bronfman, and Hélène Grimaud.
His life story, called My Nine Lives, was written with music critic Anne Midgette. It came out in 2010.
Death
Leon Fleisher passed away in Baltimore, Maryland, on August 2, 2020. He was 92 years old.
Awards and Special Recognition
- 1952: Won the Gold medal of the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition
- 1992: Became a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- 1994: Named Instrumentalist of the Year by Musical America
- Received the President's Medal of the Johns Hopkins University
- 2006: Honored as a Commander in the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government
- 2007: Received the Kennedy Center Honors
- 2010: Named Instrumentalist of the Year by the Royal Philharmonic Society
Honorary Doctorates
Leon Fleisher received special honorary degrees from many universities, including:
- Towson State University
- Boston Conservatory
- University of Cincinnati
- Cleveland Institute of Music
- San Francisco Conservatory of Music
- St. Olaf College
- Amherst College
- Juilliard School of Music
- Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University
Discography
- Leon Fleisher: The Complete Album Collection, Sony Classical Records, 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
- The Essential Leon Fleisher, Sony BMG Masterworks, 2008
- The Journey, Vanguard Classics, 2006
- Leon Fleisher: Two Hands, (including a 2004 recording of Schubert: Sonata in B-Flat Major, D.960), Vanguard Classics, 2004
- Schumann: Piano Concerto and Grieg: Piano Concerto with the Cleveland Orchestra and Szell (original recordings 1960, remastered and reissued 2004 by Sony BMG)
- Beethoven: The Five Piano Concertos, with the Cleveland Orchestra led by George Szell (original recordings 1959–61, remastered), Sony BMG Masterworks, reissued 1990 and in new remastering 2006
- Brahms: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 (rec. 1958) and 2 (rec. 1962), with the Cleveland Orchestra led by George Szell; Handel Variations and Waltzes, op. 39 (rec. 1956); Sony Masterworks, remastered and reissued 1997
- Leon Fleisher Recital, Sony Classical, 1993
- Ravel, Prokofiev, Britten: Piano Works for the Left Hand, Sony Classical, 1993
- Mozart Piano Concerto No. 25, with the Cleveland Orchestra led by George Szell Sony Classical, reissued 1990
See also
In Spanish: Leon Fleisher para niños
