Rest- am:alit

ltakm Cuistit,

248.476.0044

Orchestra conducted by George Szell,
he was stricken with focal dystonia, a
condition that left him without the full
use of his right hand.
The neurological illness, which took
hold in 1965, has met with success-
ful treatment only in recent years. He
celebrated his restored abilities with
the recording Two Hands and was the
subject of an Oscar-nominated docu-
mentary of the same title.
"When I finished a period of melan-
choly and whining [after first encoun-
tering the problems with my hand], I
realized my connection was to music,
not exclusively to being a two-handed
player;' says Fleisher, who now is
treated with periodic Botox injections
and deep tissue massage.
"Once I came to that realization, I
was able to find other ways to relate
to music — through conducting,
expanded teaching and examining the
left-hand repertoire."
As a conductor, Fleisher founded
the Theatre Chamber Players at the
Kennedy Center in 1967 and became
music director of the Annapolis
Symphony in 1970. He soon made
his New York conducting debut at
the "Mostly Mozart Festival" and was
named associate conductor of the
Baltimore Symphony.
Fleisher's teaching skills, influ-
enced by the intense early instruc-
tion he received from Artur
Schnabel, have been applied at the
Peabody Conservatory of Music
in Baltimore, Curtis Institute of
Music in Philadelphia and the Royal
Conservatory of Music in Toronto. He
also has given instruction internation-
ally through his work at festivals and
during master classes that have taken
him to Jerusalem, Paris and Madrid
among many other cities.
The musician's performances strict-
ly with the left hand have included
Concerto for Two Pianos Left Hand
composed by William Bolcom, a
University of Michigan professor who
knew that Fleisher would be working
with Gary Graffman, another instru-
mentalist coping with infirmities of
the right hand.
Fleisher's religious outlook did not
inspire his strength in finding various
ways to express his musical interests,
all the while trying different and dif-
ficult medical procedures.
"My spirituality emanates perhaps
less from organized religion and more
from, in a very real sense, the music
with which Hive Fleisher explains.
"Even though I'm not a strict, practic-
ing Jew, I feel myself very strongly to

be a Jew. It's my heritage, and it's in my
blood:"
Fleisher's musical devotion is shared
with family. His third wife, pianist
Katherine Jacobson-Fleisher, appears
with him in concert and recently
worked with him on a recording. Four
of his five children have music careers
— three of them are harpists (one of
whom also is a physical therapist) and
one a jazz singer-composer. The fifth
is a medical anthropologist.
"It was fun making the record-
ing with my wife, and I hope we will
have time to bring it out by the first
of the year:' says the pianist-conduc-
tor-teacher, whose early recordings
recently have been released in digital
format.
Fleisher, who wore a peace symbol
around his neck while attending the
Kennedy Center events, intently keeps
track of presidential politics and
anticipates the election that will take
place shortly after he leaves Detroit.
The musician has helped with the
Obama campaign.
"A few weeks ago in Maryland,
where I live, I called two of my good
friends and colleagues, Yo-Yo Ma and
Itzhak Perlman, and asked them to
join me in a fundraiser in the house of
a dear friend, Bob Meyerhoff' Fleisher
says.
"Bob has the greatest private collec-
tion of contemporary American art,
which is kept in three enormous pavil-
ions attached to his house in suburban
Baltimore. They accepted immediately,
and we priced tickets very high. We
raised more than $1 million."
After the election, Fleisher heads
out to November concerts in London,
Brussels and Lucerne but wants
Detroiters to know they are lucky
to have the continuing attention of
Leonard Slatkin, a colleague selected
as the new DSO musical director.
"Leonard is an extraordinarily
gifted person interested in the entire
repertoire Fleisher explains. "He has
built orchestras with much enthusi-
asm and discipline, and he talks to the
public."

❑

Leon Fleisher performs Oct.
30-Nov. 2 at Orchestra Hall
in the Max M. Fisher Music
Center, 3711 Woodward, in
Detroit. Performances are 8 p.m.
Thursday and Friday, 8:30 p.m.
Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct.
30-Nov. 2. $19-$119. (313) 576-
5111 or www.detroitsymphony.

Bu any dinner entree and receive
00
$ 4' off
the second dinner entree

Salads, pizza, sandwiches and ribs for 2 excluded.
One coupon per table
Expires: 11/01/08

Farmington Hills • Corner of Grand River & Haggerty Road
Auburn Hills • 1' miles south of the Palace of Auburn Hills

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Clothing for women and children • Gifts and Accessories
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(corner of Haggerty in the Newberry Square Plaza),

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248-960-7666

COM.

October 23 • 2008

C17