Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Home  ->  Artists  ->  Leon Fleisher

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Leon Fleisher - Piano Pianist and conductor Leon Fleisher accepted the 2007 Kennedy Center Honor at a star-studded gala in Washington DC, where Caroline Kennedy recognized him as “a piano prodigy from the Golden Gate who rose to the heights, embraced adversity and became a musician for all seasons.” A year of celebratory performances in 2008-2009 commemorating Leon Fleisher’s 80th birthday coincided with the resurgence of his early recordings on Sony Masterworks – regarded as some of the greatest in classical music – among them the complete Beethoven Piano Concertos, which were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame the same year. Fleisher enthralled capacity audiences with performances in New York, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, San Francisco and internationally in London, Brussels, Lucerne, Singapore, Tokyo, Vancouver and Toronto, re-affirming his place among the legendary pianists and musicians of our time. His first two-hand performances in over forty years in London, Brussels, and Lucerne and appearances in London, New York and Washington, DC as soloist with the London Philharmonic and Vladimir Jurowksi conducting were hailed as among the most moving and memorable musical events of the season. The Telegraph wrote: “Fleisher has a way of fixing the essence of a piece that reminds me of early Renaissance painters like Giotto. He captures the fleeting grace of a gesture, but in a way that makes it monumental.” He has been invited to return to all three cities in 2011 and 2012. Leon Fleisher’s acclaimed Carnegie Hall workshops came to Japan for the first time in the Fall of 2009 and he returned to the famed hall in May 2010 for a chamber music workshop, joined by Yo-Yo Ma and Pamela Frank. As part of his visit to Tokyo, his recital was filmed and subsequently televised by NHK, which is also preparing a documentary on the legendary pianist to be shown in 2010 or 2011. In addition to appearances throughout the U.S. as conductor and soloist, recitalist, chamber music artist, master class mentor and invaluable resource in college and university residencies, Mr. Fleisher will have shared his multiple gifts in Brazil, Ireland, Germany, Great Britain and Tawain and will be a featured artist at the 2010 Aldeburgh Festival. On November 30, 2010, Doubleday will publish Leon Fleisher’s memoir written with Washington Post chief music critic Anne Midgette. Leon Fleisher performed his first solo recital at the age of 8 and was on stage with the New York Philharmonic at 16, noted then by The New York Times as “one of the most gifted of the younger generation of keyboard artists” and by the great conductor Pierre Monteux as the “pianistic find of the century.” At the height of his career, at the age of 36, an accident injured his right hand; over ten months, he developed a condition now called focal dystonia, in which his brain ceased communication with the fourth and fifth fingers of his right hand, striking him silent. His condition baffled medical experts for decades; Fleisher embraced his connection to music, carving out a new career for himself as a gifted teacher, renowned conductor and prolific soloist of the piano repertoire for the left hand. Fleisher was, as the Times noted, “a pianist for whom ‘never’ was never an option.” Treatments including rolfing and botulinum toxin (botox) injections have helped restore the mobility to Fleisher’s right hand. For several years he has played with both hands again, winning enormous acclaim for his 2004 two-handed recording, aptly titled Two Hands. Fleisher’s story is the subject of the 2006 Oscar-nominated documentary film of the same name, written and directed by Nathaniel Kahn (My Architect), aired on HBO. Leon Fleisher’s “comeback,” wrote Holly Brubach in The New York Times in 2007, “has catapulted him up next to Lance Armstrong as a symbol of the indomitable human spirit and an inspiration to a broader public.” Performances for Season 25 (current season) Concert 3 Artists who also play the Piano Gregory Allen Alessio Bax Naida Cole Anne Epperson Grace Fong Helen Huang Sung-Mi Im Meng-Chieh Liu Alexandre Moutouzkine Jon Nakamatsu Gail Niwa Jon Kimura Parker Anna Polonsky Gustavo Romero André-Michel Schub Joyce Yang

Gregory Allen - Piano Grand Prize winner of the 1980 Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition in Tel Aviv; Second Prize at the 1978 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. Atar Arad - Viola Distinguished soloist in prestigious festivals worldwide and Professor of Viola at the University of Indiana at Bloomington. Ik-Hwan Bae - Violin Winner of the Queen Elizabeth Competition in Brussels and Concertmaster of the Hwaum Chamber Orchestra in Korea Alessio Bax - Piano Winner of the 2009 Avery Fisher Career Grant Jeff Bradetich - Doublebass Distinguished soloist and recording artist; Faculty member, University of North Texas Carter Brey - Cello Principal Cellist of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra Che-Yen Chen - Viola First prize winner of the 2003 William Primrose Viola Competition and “Yuri Bashmet prize” winner of the 2003 Lionel Tertis Viola Competition. Naida Cole - Piano Pianist Naida Cole has been hailed as "a dazzling star" by Gramophone magazine. She has quickly established a reputation as an individual artist with her own unique voice. Paul Coletti - Viola Winner of the Naumberg International Competition in New York and Professor of Viola at UCLA Luba Daneman - Violin Winner of the Chamber Music Competition at the Moscow Conservatory. Susan Dubois - Viola Winner of the Tertis International Competition in England and Professor of Viola at the University of North Texas. James Dunham - Viola Professor of Violin and Chamber Music at Rice University. Former Violist with the Cleveland Quartet. Anthony Elliott - Cello "His emotional communication is often profound, and his glittering, silvery tone captivates the ear." Anne Epperson - Piano Distinguished performer, recording artist, teacher and clinician. Professor of Collaborative Piano at the University of Colorado at Boulder’s School of Music. Norman Fischer - Cello Distinguished chamber music artist and professor of cello at Rice University Leon Fleisher - Piano Renowned as a pianist, conductor and teacher, now in his sixth decade before the public with the dynamic CD Two Hands. Grace Fong - Piano Praised as a "true musical colourist with enormous style and taste," an artist of "rare eloquence and grace" Roland Glassl - Viola 1st Prize Winner of the 1997 Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition in England and Violist in the Mandelring String Quartet in Germany Kenneth Goldsmith - Violin Professor of Violin at Rice University and Violinist of the Mirecourt Trio. He has taught on the faculties of colleges and universities throughout the United States. Yuval Gotlibovitch - Viola First prizes in 2003 Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition (U.K) and the 2004 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition (U.S.A) Augustin Hadelich - Violin Winner 2009 Avery Fisher Career Grant. Gold medal 2006 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis. Jaymee Haefner - Harp Professor of Harp at the University of North Texas. Recent performances in Mexico, Moscow, and Prague. Lynn Harrell - Cello A consummate soloist, chamber musician, recitalist, conductor, and teacher, his work throughout the world places him in the highest echelon of today’s performing artists. Gary Hoffman - Cello Internationally renowned as first North American to win the Rostropovich International Competition International Competition in Paris (1986) Yi-Jia Susanne Hou - Violin Gold Medalist, 3 International Violin Competitions: Concours Jacques Thibaud,1999; Lipizer,1999; Sarasate,1997. Nai-Yuan Hu - Violin Gold Medallist of the 1985 Queen Elizabeth Competition in Brussels and highly distinguished concert and recording artist. Director of the Taiwan Connection Music Festival. Helen Huang - Piano Winner of Avery Fisher Career Grant and Arthur Rubinstein Prize Sung-Mi Im - Piano “Her touch, phrasing, and sense of balance were magic” Tuscan Citizen. Jun Iwasaki - Violin First prize winner of Coleman Chamber Music Competition, Los Angeles Ko Iwasaki - Cello Winner of the Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow. Sarah Kapustin - Violin Prizewinner in many competitions and distinguished soloist and chamber musician and member of the Atlas Piano Trio. Barnabás Kelemen - Violin Barnabás Kelemen’s performances at the 2002 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis (IVCI) “radiated such charisma that one could almost forget that anyone else had come before.” David Kim - Violin Concertmaster of the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra Eric Kim - Cello Received the first William Schuman Prize awarded for outstanding leadership and achievement in music from Juilliard Katalin Kokas - Viola Gold Medallist of the Carl Flesch International Violin Competition and the Joseph Szigeti International Competition in Hungary. Scott Lee - Viola Winner of a Nathan Wedeen Management Award at the 1996 Concert Artists Guild Competition. Philip Lewis - Violin Founder/Artistic Director of CMI; Professor of Violin, University of North Texas; Performs in festivals worldwide. Jungshin Lim Lewis - Cello Grand Prize Winner of the Dong-Ah International Competition in Korea and Principal Cellist with the Richardson Symphony Orchestra. Cho-Liang Lin - Violin One of the finest virtuoso violinists in the world today. Meng-Chieh Liu - Piano Performs with major orchestras world-wide; Faculty member, Curtis Institute of Music Jon Manasse - Clarinet Principal clarinetist of the American Ballet Theater Orchestra and one of the nation´s most highly sought-after wind players. Stefan Milenkovich - Violin Recognized internationally for both exceptional artistry and his life-long commitment to humanitarianism Alexandre Moutouzkine - Piano Winner of the Maria Canals International Piano Competition in Spain. Jon Nakamatsu - Piano Grand Prize Winner of the 1997 Van Cliburn Piano Competition. Paul Neubauer - Viola First violist chosen to receive an Avery Fisher Career Grant Hai-Ye Ni - Cello Principal Cellist with the Philadelphia Orchestra Gail Niwa - Piano Gold Medalist at the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition Eugene Osadchy - Cello Associate Professor of Cello at the University of North Texas; Performs in music festivals throughout the USA and Canada George Papich - Viola Director of Chamber Music at the University of North Texas and distinguished violist. Jon Kimura Parker - Piano Internationally acclaimed concert pianist and Professor of Piano at The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston Anna Polonsky - Piano Member of the Chamber Music Society Two of Lincoln Center Gustavo Romero - Piano Gold Medallist of the Clara Haskil International Piano Competition in Switzerland; Professor of Piano at the University of North Texas Nathaniel Rosen - Cello Gold Medallist of the Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow and highly distinguished concert and recording artist. Paul Rosenthal - Violin Founder and Artistic Director of the Sitka Chamber Music Festival in Alaska, performs concerts and master classes worldwide. Nikola Ruzevic - Cello International performer and Professor of Cello, University of North Texas. Frederieke Saeijs - Violin 1st Grand Prize Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud International Violin Competition in Paris, France (2005). William Scharnberg - French Horn Professor of Music at the University of North Texas and Principal Hornist of the Dallas Opera Orchestra, Dallas Chamber Orchestra, Dallas Bach Society and Breckenridge Festival Orchestra André-Michel Schub - Piano Grand Prize Winner of the 1981 Van Cliburn Piano Competition and a distinguished recording artist John Scott - Clarinet Internationally-known Clarinetist; Professor of Music at the University of North Texas James Scott - Flute Flutist, distinguished soloist and Dean of the College of Music at the University of North Texas. Michael Shih - Violin Violinist Michael Shih, currently Concertmaster of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, has performed throughout the United States, his native Taiwan, and the rest of the world. Michael Tree - Viola One of the most widely recorded musicians in America and founding member of the Guarneri String Quartet. Bion Tsang - Cello Winner of an Avery Fisher grant and Bonze Medallist in the IX Tchaikovsky Competition. Keng-Yuen Tseng - Violin A native of Taiwan, Keng-Yuen Tseng began studying the violin at the age of five and made his performing debut at the age of seven. Ivo-Jan van der Werff - Viola Professor of Viola at Rice University and Violist with the Medici String Quartet for 24 years. William VerMeulen - French Horn Hailed as "an impeccable solo horn" by the Berlin Neue Zeit, William VerMeulen leads his generation of American Horn Soloists. Joyce Yang - Piano Silver medalist at the 2005 Twelfth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Carmit Zori - Violin Gold Medallist of the Naumberg and Leventritt International Competitions.

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