Two Hands: The Leon Fleisher Story

In 1964, Leon Fleisher was at the height of his career as a concert pianist when a minor accident—a cut on his right thumb—led to dystonia, causing his right hand's ring and little fingers to involuntarily curl. In recent interviews, Fleisher has described the aftermath: the end of a marriage, periods of despair and disappointment, and a 1983 surgery that briefly allowed him to return to performing. Eventually, through Botox and Rolfing, he regained the ability to play with both hands. In the intervening years, Fleisher found new passions in conducting, teaching, and performing compositions for one hand, which had been written in the early twentieth century for a World War I veteran.