Critic’s Choice

Tue Jan 08, 2019 at 2:52 pm
By Steven Brown

Leon Flesher. Photo: Chris Hartlove

Leon Fleisher lost the use of his right hand for years, but a generous lifespan is giving the American pianist a long period back in action.

Fresh from his 90th-birthday commemoration last weekend with the Baltimore Symphony, Fleisher joins the Austin Symphony and music director Peter Bay on Friday and Saturday in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 12 in A major. Ever since Botox injections put Fleisher’s disabled hand back to work, this elegant concerto by the young Mozart has been one of the veteran pianist’s calling cards.

Bay and the orchestra will surround Mozart’s concerto with three contrasting sets of variations. Charles Ives’ rambunctious Variations on America will open the program. After intermission, Bay and company will offer the richness of Dvořák’s Symphonic Variations and the exuberance of Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra.

Performances are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday in Dell Hall. austinsymphony.org; 512-476-6064.


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