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December 4, 2015

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Age, handicap no barrier for American pianist

AFTER 83 years playing the piano, Leon Fleisher, the legendary US pianist, believes that he and his music have long integrated as one.

Nothing can break the bond — not even his problem with hand or age.

The 87-year-old pianist performed with Shanghai Symphony Orchestra last weekend, wowing the audience with his interpretation of Ravel and Strauss, and his persistence of music.

Fleisher seemed to have been born for music — he started learning the piano at the age of four and gave his first recital at eight.

As the youngest student of Artur Schnabel, Fleisher’s talent in piano was quickly recognized worldwide, particularly for his interpretation of Brahms and Beethoven.

He became the first American to win the Queen Elizabeth Competition in 1952, and won international acclaim over the next decade.

Li Yanhuan, a local music critic, said technique was only a tool for Fleisher to deliver the composer’s message, compared to most other US pianists who were fond of exhibiting dazzling techniques at that time.

“He may not be a pianist with endless energy, but the wisdom and humane vision in his music made him a distinguished interpreter of Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms,” says Li.

Many people, especially young piano learners, consider mastering the piano for strong and quick finger muscle through hours of practice, something Fleisher did not agree with.

“They believe it is a question of muscles, but actually, it is a question of brain. The brain tells the muscles what to do,” says Fleisher.

Sitting hours at the piano won’t help beyond a certain point, as there are limits for strengthening the finger muscles, according to Fleisher. It can even be dangerous if the unending practicing becomes mechanical.

“Having the fingers jumping on the ivories mindlessly does not produce music of quality, just quantity,” says Fleisher.

A medical condition on his right hand almost halted the young Fleisher’s career right at his peak in 1964. Fleisher noticed that his little finger started to weaken at first. He tried practicing more to overcome the problem, only to lose control of his right hand in 10 months. It was not until the 1990s that his problem was finally diagnosed as focal dystonia, a neurological condition that causes the fingers to curl into the palm of the hand.

“I felt like my whole life was over when I found that I was incapable of using my right hand at 35,” says Fleisher. “It was not only because I could not do anything else, but also I did not want to do anything else. Music is the most important thing in my life besides my family.

“It was a nightmare, and I had thought about shooting myself.”

Down for almost two years, Fleisher woke up one day to the realization that what he loved was music, not just the piano. He could still stay in with music even though he could not play with his right hand.

“The thought gave me courage again. I tried to channel my creativity in new ways which did not need the use of my right hand,” says Fleisher, “Basically, three things helped me to return to what I love — teaching, conducting and playing the piano with left hand.”

Fleisher says there are a number of compositions that only needed the use of one hand, especially the works of Austrian pianist Paul Wittgenstein who lost his right arm in the World War I. Wittgenstein paid many composers to write for five fingers. That includes Benjamin Britten, Sergei Prokofiev, Franz Schmidt and Richard Strauss.

Though many of the pieces for left hands are bad, there are still notes good enough for 1-2 recitals in public, Fleisher says.

“Ravel’s concerto for the left hand is the greatest of all, while Prokofiev’s work is also excellent,” he says.

There were also composers who were willing to write for Fleisher without asking for payment.

“The great men see composing for five fingers of left hand as a challenge that can boost their potential and creativity,” says Fleisher, “I felt honored and very grateful for their help.”

Persisting with music expanded his career to conducting in 1967, founding of the Washington DC-based Theater Chamber Players of the Kennedy Center, and then reviving his career in 1995 after being able to use some bit of his right hand with proper treatment.

There were times though when he suffered relapses in his right hand during concerts, he kept on his connection with the piano on stage.

He continued to teach music at schools like Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, where he has been the source of inspiration to hundreds of students since 1959. As a teacher, he carried on a tradition that came directly from Beethoven himself, and handed down through Carl Czerny, Theodor Leschetizky and Artur Schnabel.

“I don’t quite understand today that young people go to conservatory for compressed music study or what we call liberal arts education,” says Fleisher. “You go to a college, do it for four years, and then you are supposed to finish. That is not going to work.”

To play an instrument, Fleisher believes, is to ideally make it an extension of oneself.

“It is not a foreign object that you play on. You and it are one,” says Fleisher. “It may be a bit more difficult to understand for piano than other string or wind instruments, as it sounds whenever you press the keys. But to make that sound living and meaningful, the keys have to become an extension of your fingers.”

To achieve that, Fleisher believes that it is better to start learning since 5-7 years old, so that the learners and their instruments can grow together into one. “It will be very difficult to establish that connection if you start at 13 or even later,” says Fleisher.

Being taken by Schnabel as student since he was 9 years old benefited Fleisher greatly.

“He had questions whether he should take me, since he was not sure whether I could understand the concept and all the abstraction that goes into art and music at such a young age,” says Fleisher. “But he did. Schnabel became not only a teacher and a father, but also a god for me.”

As Fleisher recalls, Schnabel never played encores, not because he was not generous but he was persistent in bringing the best concert.

“He built the programs rolling high until it ended somewhere in the heaven. Any additional pieces may only bring the audiences down,” says Fleisher.

According to Fleisher, when musicians give numerous encore exhibiting difficult techniques, they do amaze the audience, but in a way more like acrobats rather than musicians.

“They tend to play loud and fast. It is wonderful to watch, but it has not much to do with music,” says Fleisher. “Schnabel had a timeless and priceless remark on that. He took the applause as a receipt not a bill, which means thank you for what you have done, rather than, give me more.”

Though Fleisher thinks that most of the international competition winners lists today are meaningless as they are usually a result of compromise among the jury, it still plays an important role in cultivating young talents.

“The winners will get concert opportunities which can help them grow better through experiences. It is like an injection,” says Fleisher. “It is very important that one learns from experiences and mistakes. Do not try to be perfect, yet do not repeat your mistakes as well.”




 

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