Fleisher, Leon (1928-2020), was an internationally known American classical pianist, conductor, and teacher. Critics praised Fleisher’s playing for its warmth, grace, and technical brilliance. He gained particular praise for his interpretations of piano works of the 1800’s and 1900’s, especially by the German composers Ludwig van Beethoven and Johannes Brahms.
Fleisher was born on July 23, 1928, in San Francisco. He performed in public for the first time at the age of 6. From 1938 to 1948, he studied with the famous Austrian pianist Artur Schnabel. At the age of 14, Fleisher played a piano concerto by the Hungarian composer Franz Liszt with the San Francisco Symphony, conducted by Pierre Monteux. In 1952, Fleisher became the first American to win the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition in Brussels, Belgium.
In the mid-1960’s, Fleisher developed a disabling condition in his right hand. For the next 30 years, he concentrated on performing piano music composed specifically for the left hand. In 1991, his condition was finally diagnosed as focal hand dystonia, a type of repetitive strain injury. In 1995, after years of treatment, Fleisher returned to performing with both hands.
Fleisher made his conducting debut in 1967 as cofounder of the Theater Chamber Players of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. He was associate conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra from 1973 to 1978. From 1986 to 1997, Fleisher was artistic director of the Tanglewood Music Center in Massachusetts.
Fleisher started his teaching career in 1959 at the Peabody Conservatory of Music (now the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University) in Baltimore. He also taught at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, and he conducted master classes throughout the world. Fleisher died on Aug. 2, 2020.
