Classical Pianist Brian Ganz & CC2nd.org Offer Free Tribute Concert To Leon Fleisher

Community Concerts at Second ("CC2nd") kicks off "phase one" of its 34th season on Sunday, September 27th at 3:30pm with A Tribute to Leon Fleisher, a webcast concert featuring pianist Brian Ganz, one of Fleisher's most acclaimed students playing works by Bach, Mozart and Chopin. Prior to the concert (at 3:05pm), CC2nd will present a pre-concert conversation with Mr. Ganz and pianist Marian Hahn, a former student of Fleisher's and a Peabody faculty member. Together they will tell stories about their time working with Fleisher and the immense influence he had on their careers and the world of music.

The concert will be streamed and available on multiple platforms-visit CC2nd.org to watch. Call 443-759-3309 for more information.

Leon Fleisher, a leading American pianist in the 1950s and early '60s who was forced by an injury to his right hand to channel his career into conducting, teaching and mastering the left-hand repertoire, died in August in Baltimore at the age of 92. He was a child prodigy and made his New York Philharmonic debut at 16. In 2007 he was the recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors and taught at the Peabody Conservatory until just before his death.

Ganz, widely regarded as one of the leading pianists of his generation, will celebrate Leon Fleisher's legacy as a performer, teacher, and friend. For this program, Mr. Ganz has chosen works inspired either directly or indirectly by Fleisher-such as arrangements of Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" and "Sheep May Safely Graze," as well as three stand-alone Mozart works, including a rarely heard minuet and gigue alongside the masterful Adagio in B minor. Mr. Ganz will finish the concert with repertoire for which he himself is quite well known: the works of Chopin, including the beloved Polonaise in A major, the Nocturne in D-flat major, two Mazurkas (C-sharp minor from Op. 30 and B minor from Op. 33) and the great "Heroic" Polonaise in A-flat major. We are very thankful that Mr. Ganz has agreed to produce and present this performance from his own home.

i??Ganz said, "I still vividly remember the day in 1977 that I auditioned for Leon Fleisher in his legendary room 413 at Peabody. I knew I was lucky to have the chance to study with him, but I really had no idea what a gift I had been given. Over the 43 years since then I never stopped learning from him, and truly I never will, because most importantly, he made me fall in love with learning itself. I am so grateful to the Community Concerts at Second to have this chance to thank him with music, and to join the many pianists and music lovers around the world in honoring his gift to us all."

CC2nd and Leon Fleisher have an important shared history. As a performer, Fleisher appeared on our very first season (1987-88), generously giving his time and talents to help launch what was a fairly audacious project-a community concert series provided free to all. At that performance, he dedicated and blessed our then-new Steinway piano by performing Bach's Chaconne (from the Partita in D minor) for left hand. Years later, his generosity showed through once again when he and his wife, Katherine Jacobson, performed at our 20th anniversary gala.

As a teacher, Fleisher's impact is unparalleled, and CC2nd has been fortunate to feature more than a dozen of his students as performers on our series, including Alon Goldstein, Ann Schein, Boris Slutsky, Kevin Kenner, Michael Adcock, Lura Johnson, Virginia Reinecke, Jenny Lin, Joel Fan, and Brian Ganz to name only a few. Additionally, Fleisher's students frequently appeared as finalists and winners at CC2nd's Russell C. Wonderlic Memorial Piano Competition.

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