Customer Reviews

Leon Fleisher: Two Hands

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4 star:		(1)
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Aside from the digressions, I think some of David's points are well taken. However, I don't think he and the other reviewers appreciate this CD for what it is -- a recording of remarkable courage and tenacity by a great performer laid low by something not of his making. The performances on the CD are not perfect, but Fleisher's performances never were. Like Horowitz, we all heard the dirt but decided that the artistry far outweighed its importance. And, yes, Fleisher is no Lipatti, and Lipatti was also a tragic figure who perished in his prime; but it is a matter of unfair polemics to criticize one work because it doesn't measure up to another. Fleisher must be judged ultimately in terms of his performance and what he brings to it. And in this CD, he brings many gifts to his listeners and I don't care a fig about the way he pedals -- he touches us in places where no one else is permitted, and that journey alone is worth the $14.00.

This is a really fine recording of the Schubert sonata,
a favorite of mine and one of the great works for solo
piano. It even gets plugged in one of Kay Redfield Jamison's
books about bi-polar disorder for its emotional complexity.
Everything about this performance of the sonata is compelling
and characterful. Maybe Jamison was on to something--the admixture of serenity and turbulence seems to me to be what
is most attractive about this music.

Until Leon Fleisher played it at Carnegie Hall last year,
and I read the NYT review, I did not know that it had been
in his repertoire, but it makes sense since he was a pupil
of Artur Schnabel, who was a pioneer in performing Schubert
piano sonatas. As it turns out, Fleisher recorded the sonata
for Columbia, probably in the early '50s, and one wonders whether that recording could be better than this one fifty
years later and after all that the pianist has been through.
I doubt it.

Most classical music fans of my generation know the early recordings of Leon Fleisher, particularly those of the
Beethoven and Brahms concertos accompanied by the Cleveland Orchestra under George Szell. Yet after a really promising
career, this pianist suffered a neurological disorder with his
right hand and for many years could only play the handful of pieces written for the left hand, and he did them very well.

I don't know all the details of his recovery, but I recall that
he had some modest successes in regular repertory from time to time, but also some setbacks where he had intended to play regular (two-handed) pieces but could not manage to do so, I think in the early to mid-'90s, thirty years after his career stalled.

A few years ago, I heard him play the extremely demanding first concerto by Brahms, and then a year or so later the equally taxing second. Both seemed pretty solid, especially the first concerto, played in Chicago. Critics were mixed in their reviews. The reviews of the NYC Carnegie recital in October of 2003 were very favorable, and while I did not attend that event,
I am really pleased that Fleisher has now recorded the sonata.

The bonus pieces add a little variety to the disc, and there are some interesting remarks by the pianist in the liner notes.

What's more, it seems that some of the proceeds from sales will go to a medical research organization.

Fleisher came to my school a few years ago playing his Carnegie Hall program which is mainly featured on this disc. A friend of mine I think put it best, "He didn't play the piano he worked with it. The fingers moved, the hammers hit the strings and a state of absolute ecstasy descended on the crowd who were absolutely spellbound for the entire recital." In the age of younger and younger "virtuosos" this is a welcome return to the art of serving the music, not vice versa. The Bach pieces act as a warm-up to the rest of the recital. The night pieces by Debussy and Chopin take us into a dark world of colors and beauty. The Schubert sonata finishes the recital with a monumental work played immaculately. The balance between the hands is perfect and the clarity of the notes is the best I have ever heard in a pianist since a brilliant young virtuoso recorded the Brahms concertos with George Szell fifty years ago. Also pick up his left hand recitals as they are just as dazzling. This is easily the best solo piano release of the last half century. Wonderful!

Before the release of Leon Fleisher's "Two Hands," I had thought that Botox was strictly a new craze for vain Hollywood actors and socialites with more money than sense. I never thought it would have such utility that it could bring Leon Fleisher back to the public as a two-handed pianist. But, according to the liner notes, Botox treatments have alleviated Fleisher's dystonia (a cruel muscle disease that prevented the full extension of the fingers of his right hand) to the point that he can make concert appearances and record again after nearly four decades. Fleisher may not be recording any Liszt any time soon ("Even with the Botox, there are things that I cannot do," he confesses), but the repertoire of beloved piano favorites on this album are well within his technical and interpretive grasp. Some reviewers on this site have compared Fleisher's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" unfavorably with Dinu Lipatti's recording; while Lipatti's version may well be the single greatest piano recording ever, I see absolutely nothing wrong with Fleisher's version. Similarly, I think his versions of "Clair de Lune" and the great Schubert D. 960 Sonata on this CD are as fine as any I've heard on disc. Both as a document of human courage and of exquisite pianism by a major artist, this CD is a must-have.

Whether you elect to acquire this recording as a treasure of a modern day hero who overcame enormous obstacles that would have destroyed a lesser human being, or whether you simply want some definitive performances of some of the most beloved works in the piano literature, this recording by Leon Fleisher is one of the most rewarding CDs to be released in a long time.

Everyone knows the sad tragedy of Fleisher's disappearance from the concert stage due to the challenge of the loss of his right hand. That he persisted in becoming a phenomenal success in the left hand alone repertoire instead of accepting defeat is truly amazing. Now that he is able to return to the keyboard with both hands as facile and full of passion and intelligence as before he plays with more than artistry: he plays with alchemy. From the Bach transcriptions that call for extreme sensitivity from every digit, to the romance and vivre of Chopin, the elegance of Scarlatti E major Sonata to the wonder of the closing Schubert sonata which challenges every pianist, Fleisher performs with authority and beauty of tone and spirit.

This is a recording that belongs in every music lover's library and is the perfect gift for those special friends who understand what this special CD is all about. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, November 05

I was recently discussing the quality of this Fleisher's recording with my friend Leontsky, himself composer and pianist. We were both enthusiastic.I cannot resist reporting what Leontsky told me about that album : " The fact is nobody can be ever compared to this giant...He's the tenderness personified, the tenderness itself...whereas Gould, for example, is the Mind itself...Just listen to the Mazurka in C# minor or the Db major Nocturne played by Fleisher!...Fleisher hasn't two hands, he has one single Heart...Nobody can play like this without the intelligence of the Heart...I remember Busoni's old version of the famous Bach Choral...we are so far from Busoni...Fleisher is far beyond because he's understood what i've myself searched for years and years : how to sing through a piano...and, here, in this unbelievable recording, this piece of wood we call pianoforte suddenly becomes Fleisher's voice."
i told Leontsky that this recording was very successful now.
He answered : "This is a proof that people always make the right choice...which will always be the choice of the Heart...and the largest audience is to be trust forever."

I am currently learning to play Chopin's Nocturne 27.2 so I decided to buy this CD. I have many different recordings of Chopin's nocturnes--Maria Pires, Maria Tipo, Ivan Moravic, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Arthur Rubenstein, and now Leon Fleisher.

I have listened to Rubenstein for a long time (who hasn't). He plays with such control, such technical virtuosity, such subtle movement and gentle shadings it is quite impossible to describe. Rubenstein is so perfectly graceful, when the music stops, you are left to ponder how anything--or anyone (Rubenstein or Chopin)--could be so ethereal.

Maria Tipo's rubato is too eccentric for me.

Maria Pires is beautiful, but something is missing--although I still listen to her quite regularly.

Vladimir leaves me the most disappointed of all the artists. His Nocturnes are flat, completely devoid of emotion. I listened to them two or three times and put them away.

Ivan Moravic plays beautifully as well--but I don't like his left hand rubato. His bass, however, is unbelievably deep and emotional.

Finally, Leon Fleisher

I have listened to the piano all my life. I even play the piano every day for about an hour. All of the above recordings (even Rubenstein's) left me wanting something, but I never knew what it was--until I heard Leon play...

No one I have ever heard--in ANY piece of music--compares to Leon's interpretation of Chopin's 27.2. He says it was his mother's favorite piece, and it shows. He must have loved her greatly.

Others, who possibly do not actually play the piano may have their quibbles, but as pianist, his recording is sublime; his emotion is full; his control is without equal.

Listen carefully to his left hand; it is simply astonishing. The graceful shadings of his left hand are impossible to describe adequately. For the first time in my life, I "heard" the LH melody that only Leon and Chopin knew was there. Finally, I am convinced, THAT is how Chopin played. I imagine few have ever mastered the piano as Leon has. This CD is a MUST have for the serious pianist, or anyone else, who wants to have their eyes (and ears) opened to as to how exquisitely beautiful the piano can, and should, be.

The first time I played this CD, everyone stopped what they were doing and gathered in the room to listen, including my 5 and 7 year old daughters. Yes, the performances on the CD are not perfect, but they glow with heartfelt emotion. When I listen to the Bach transcriptions, the petty stresses of everyday life melt away and I am reminded that God can inspire greatness in man, not just wars. Fleisher's version of Clair de lune highlights its luminous simplicity. Isn't this what music and art are all about?

After more than 35 years of suffering from dystonia, his two-hand pianism emerges like a miracle! I can not detect even a hint of disability in his right hand. Like S.Richter in his later years, Fleisher's playing has a kind of rarified beauty and reverence for music.

Bach's Cantata arrangements, Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (Myra Hess) and Sheep may safely graze (Egon Petri), are played most beautifully with blissful simplicity. Scarlatti sonata is an expression of pure joy of making music. Chopin noctune and Debussy's Clair de lune are absolutely magical, second only to the miraculously atmospheric performance of Clair de lune by Richter.

Highlight of this cd is the awe-inspiring performance of Schubert's D960 Sonata. This is a superlative performance that can match the great recordings by Rubinstein and Richter in depth, delicacy and richness of playing. Fleisher defies the centuries-old nonsense that left-hand part must support right hand, by letting left hand part express itself as much as right hand part. The effect is a revelation. The piano produces lavishingly rich sounds like an orchestra. This performance is a moving testimony that adversity can be tunred into advantage, by an artist who, through much suffering, has learned the essence of what music is and what life is.

Commentary includes pianist's own very personal and touching episodes and insights on each piece, and on his mentor Schnabel's influence.

It is thrilling and soul-satisfying to hear Leon Fleisher's superb and sensitive playing of Bach, Scarlatti, Chopin, Debussy and Schubert after dystonia had prevented two-handed performances for more than 35 years.

The Fleisher tapes of Beethoven's piano concertos with George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra, before his disability, are treasures, and "Two Hands" shows that maturity has made his touch even more magical. His playing of Schubert's great Sonata in B flat Major rivals that of Leif Ove Andsnes, whom I have heard in person. For me, that is the ultimate accolade. Art Wild, Long Beach CA, 1/10/07