Leon Fleisher’s musical life began when at aged four he eavesdropped on his older brother’s piano lessons, and repeated them after his brother ran out to play with the kids on the block. Fleisher says he spent a happy childhood practicing. At age 8 or 9 he was playing parts of a Beethoven piano concerto with a WPA orchestra in his native San Francisco. His mother was ambitious for him and somehow managed to have him study with the great Arthur Schnabel, who had said he would not teach students under the age of sixteen.
Fleisher’s career sky rocketed. He recounts successes, some failures and always interesting encounters with the musical greats of the day: Yehudi Menuhin, Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Monteux, Pablo Casals.
At the height of his success, two fingers of his right hand began to curl, and eventually he could no longer play. These are dark, frustrating years as Fleisher searches for a cure from every sort of healer. Then he develops a repetoire of works written for the left hand, and begins to concertize again. Eventually an experimental treatment with the neurotoxin, Botox brings the long awaited ability to play with both hands.
This is a look into the world of music and the talented people who bring it to life, and I found it fascinating.
(Published 2010)
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