Two Hands: The Leon Fleisher Story (2006)

In 1964, Leon Fleisher's career as a concert pianist was thriving. A seemingly minor accident - a cut on his right thumb - led to dystonia, the involuntary curling of his right hand's ring and little fingers. In recent interviews, Fleisher talks about what followed: the end of a marriage, despair and disappointments, surgery in 1983 that led to a brief return to the concert hall, and, finally, with Botox and Rolfing, the ability to play with two hands. In between, Fleisher discovers his ecstasies: conducting, teaching, and playing compositions for one hand commissioned in the early twentieth century for a World War I veteran.

Released Aug. 11, 2006 17 min None+

Genres: Biography, Documentary, Short

Keywords: mdblist.imdb-short, imdb.composition, imdb.newspaper-headline, imdb.headline, imdb.cut-hand, imdb.thumb, imdb.surgery + 14 more, imdb.pianist, imdb.despair, imdb.concert-pianist, imdb.archive-footage, imdb.treatment, imdb.teacher, imdb.injury, imdb.husband-wife-relationship, imdb.divorce, imdb.conductor, imdb.concert-footage, imdb.composer, imdb.comeback, awards.oscar-nominated