Leon Fleisher: In Focus at the 92nd Street Y
The New York Times, December 15, 2010

In preparing for this review, I read several sizable chunks from Leon Fleisher’s newly published memoir, My Nine Lives, co-written by my friend and colleague Anne Midgette. What little part I managed to read confirmed what I’d already suspected: the book is a delight, a gripping personal story as well as a lively page-turner. I’m looking forward to reading the entire book over the holiday break.

While reading the book, I came upon a name I’d not seen or thought about in some time: Jacob Lateiner, another distinguished pianist and educator, and the artist who commissioned and premiered Elliott Carter’s Piano Concerto. This seemed like an appropriate coincidence on Saturday, which was Carter’s 102nd birthday. But sadder news followed: Lateiner died on Sunday, as I learned in a message from pianist Bruce Brubaker that evening.

You can read Brubaker’s memorial tribute to Lateiner on his ArtJournal blog, Pianomorphosis, here. The New York Times obituary is here. And you can listen to the finale from Lateiner’s 1957 Westminster recording of Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto in the video embedded below.