Leon Fleisher's comments and stories and fond reminiscences of George Szell brought me back to the days when the pair recorded the concertos he listed for Columbia Records. At the time, I was Executive Assistant to Goddard Lieberson, the president of the company. One afternoon in 1959, Mr. Szell burst into the office saying that he hoped my boss was their. He was, and in went the conductor: "This boy is a genius! I love him!" Of course, he was speaking of Leon Fleisher.
Absolutely wonderful! I was just going to check it out and watch the rest of it later, but it (i.e. Mr. Fleisher) was so fascinating that I kept on watching until the very end. It was totally engrossing. I was fortunate enough to hear him in person twice--first, ca. 1960, at Carnegie Hall (Rach. Pag.}, and then in Atlanta, late 62 or early 63, where he played the Beethoven Concerto No. 2 and the Paganini Rhapsody, after which a friend of Mr. Fleisher's took me backstage to meet and speak with him; two wonderful experiences I've never forgotten. Thank you so much for this marvelous video.☺
A successful 'digital experiment' sirs. Many thanks. A superb and meaningful convocation. But why was this limited to 1 hour where it should have been 2 hours - at least - given the potential breadth barring any stress on LF. All the same it made a difference and thanks.
Leon Fleisher's comments and stories and fond reminiscences of George Szell brought me back to the days when the pair recorded the concertos he listed for Columbia Records. At the time, I was Executive Assistant to Goddard Lieberson, the president of the company. One afternoon in 1959, Mr. Szell burst into the office saying that he hoped my boss was their. He was, and in went the conductor: "This boy is a genius! I love him!" Of course, he was speaking of Leon Fleisher.
Absolutely wonderful! I was just going to check it out and watch the rest of it later, but it (i.e. Mr. Fleisher) was so fascinating that I kept on watching until the very end. It was totally engrossing.
I was fortunate enough to hear him in person twice--first, ca. 1960, at Carnegie Hall (Rach. Pag.}, and then in Atlanta, late 62 or early 63, where he played the Beethoven Concerto No. 2 and the Paganini Rhapsody, after which a friend of Mr. Fleisher's took me backstage to meet and speak with him; two wonderful experiences I've never forgotten.
Thank you so much for this marvelous video.☺
A successful 'digital experiment' sirs. Many thanks. A superb and meaningful convocation. But why was this limited to 1 hour where it should have been 2 hours - at least - given the potential breadth barring any stress on LF. All the same it made a difference and thanks.