In Brief

of the philosopher) who lost his right arm in World War I. Says Fleisher, “There are over 1,000 pieces for the left hand alone, and most of them are crap—forgive me. But there is one recital’s worth, maybe two recitals’ worth, of really good stuff.” Fleisher is responsible for a lot of that stuff, as many composers of our own day came to write music especially for him.

I ask Fleisher whether, while practicing with his left hand, he would ever sneak in some right hand, just to check. “All the time, every day,” he says. Was it ever any different? “It was always the same”— “petrified flesh,” is one of the ways he puts it.

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of the philosopher) who lost his right arm in World War I. Says Fleisher, “There are over 1,000 pieces for the left hand alone, and most of them are crap—forgive me. But there is one recital’s worth, maybe two recitals’ worth, of really good stuff.” Fleisher is responsible for a lot of that stuff, as many composers of our own day came to write music especially for him.

I ask Fleisher whether, while practicing with his left hand, he would ever sneak in some right hand, just to check. “All the time, every day,” he says. Was it ever any different? “It was always the same”— “petrified flesh,” is one of the ways he puts it.