Washington, D.C, United States — Renowned American Pianist, Leon Fliesher, who battled hand condition dies from cancer at the age of 92.
Fliesher was born in San Francisco in 1928, to parents who emigrated to the US from Eastern Europe. His interest in paino began at the age of four, and by the age of nine he was invited to be a student of famous classical pianist Artur Schnabel.
Fliesher rose as a child prodigy in the 1940s before his playing career was disrupted by an injury to his right hand. He had developed a neurological condition, focal dystonia, which left him unable to play with his right hand.
Later on he channelled his career into conducting, teaching and mastering the left-hand repertoire for piano.
“I suddenly came to the realisation that my connection with music was greater than just as a two-handed piano player,” he told National Public Radio during an interview in 2000.
After three decades, in 1995 Fliesher regained use of his right hand after a series of therapies and he had flourished again with a two-handed career comeback. Fliesher recorded two highly acclaimed albums. One of them, called Two Hands, which is the title of an Oscar-nominated documentary about his life.
