Unheard Leon Fleisher
mainMikhail Khaikov has unearthed an unreleased 1951 radio broadcast of the 23-year old American pianist.
Dazzling fingers in Beethoven’s opus 10/3.
Fleisher died last August, aged 92.
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Whenever I listen to Mr. Fleisher play Beethoven I’m reminded of a story he told about playing Beethoven at a lesson with Schnabel. After a few minutes AS blurted out magnificent. A startled LS replied thank you to which AS quickly said I was talking about Beethoven.
Awesome … thank you, Norman, for letting us know about this, possibly the earliest recording of Leon Fleisher still existing today.
His performance of the slow movement of this sonata is by far the most convincing I have ever heard. It is also quite possibly the slowest, but he really forces one to listen.
And he was only 23 at the time.
The Mozart K. 488 performance with the Los Angeles PO under Bruno Walter that has circulated on several CD labels is from 12 June 1949, and the Brahms First with the NY Phil under Pierre Monteux is from 5 November 1944 (available on YouTube). It’s hard to fathom he was just 16 playing that work with that orchestra and that conductor.
Cool … so this is the first solo work recorded by Leon Fleisher (or at least the first recording of a Beethoven sonata…)?
Thanks for the Mozart and Brahms information!
Possible the earliest document we have of Fleisher?
Thanks, Norman and Mikhael Khaikov. Fleisher plays this seldom-heard early four-movement sonata fast and flawlessly, probably reflecting tempi of his teacher Schnabel, with whom he studied from age Anine. Impressisve finger-work. He was of the stellar American generation that included John Browning, Kapell, Abbey Simon, Graffman, Byron Janis, and Van Cliburn.
I absolutely adore this work and really admire this musician. It’s great to hear this performance; so full of clarity and momentum in the first movement!! Reminded me of his “Rage over a Lost Penny”!!! (See: Beethoven was already miles ahead of Mozart in this comparatively early sonata!)
Largo e Mesto: pure poetry and pointing the way to those final, great sonatas. Under Maestro Fleisher’s fingers it is three dimensional. And conversational!! You literally wait for the next complementary iteration.
Quite a find, and the piano sound is as good and often better than commercial recordings of the same vintage often managed, albeit with some ambient noise which I do not find too disfiguring (any more than the tiny technical flubs from Fleisher). I hear remarkably little clipping in the strong accents for example. So much basic repertoire we should have had from this artist in the stereo era, but do not.
Although it does nothing to lessen the injustice of essentially having his two hand career ended in 1965 his concerto recordings with GS/CO are for many of us not only essential listening but life enriching. As he indicated in his autobiography the single-most memorable performance of his career was a performance with those musicians of the Mozart concerto K 503 and in particular his dialog with Principal oboe Marc Lifschey. As I recall he said that in retrospect, although it seemed extreme at the time, he wished he had adopted Glenn Gould’s soaking ritual before playing.
So wonderful that he lives on through his music
Brilliant!