Eminent pianist, conductor and educator Leon Fleisher passed away on 2 August 2020 at the age of 92. Mr Fleisher was an Ong Teng Cheong Professor in Music at YST, and visited for a week-long residency in 2009. During the residency, he worked with our Piano students in masterclasses, and also conducted and played with our Conservatory Orchestra, performing Mozart’s Double Piano Concerto No. 7 in F major, K242, and Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27.
On Mr Fleisher’s passing, Prof Bernard Lanskey, Dean of YST shared, “Leon was a great musician and a wonderful man. As an artist, he charted a truly unique course and lived it to the fullest. Through his close personal connections with our Heads of Piano and Strings, Profs Thomas Hecht and Qian Zhou, first during their student days at Peabody, his profound legacy is deeply embedded in our institutional culture. It was a privilege for us to have been able to host him and work with him at YST. He influenced many, and his influence will continue to be remembered fondly.”
Prof Hecht studied with Mr Fleisher during his graduate studies, subsequently becoming the first-ever pianist that the Maestro appointed as his teaching assistant at the Peabody Institute. He reflected, “With the passing of Leon Fleisher the world mourns the loss of one of music’s greatest titans. He was an artist whose influence extended far beyond the legendary concerts and recordings; he was also the unrivalled teaching force who for decades transformed the lives of countless musicians. His indomitable spirit will no doubt continue to live on for many generations to come.”
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