"The four-minute mile was a barrier that could never be broken, and then along came Roger Bannister," Fleisher says, "and now it's broken every Monday, Wednesday and Friday."
Likewise with piano playing.
Young pianists, Fleisher says, "especially Asian kids, scamper around the piano. They really belong in Cirque de Soleil. They get caught up in it. I can't blame them in a way - there's a delight in getting around those 88s. But that's not what music is about. Besides, some other kid down the block, or on another street, or in another country can play just a little bit faster."
At any speed, Fleisher's music-making at the piano remains an enriching experience, as two sublime recordings, his first of two-hand repertoire since the 1960s, reconfirm. The first of those, Two Hands, released in 2004, also led to an Oscar-nominated documentary of that name about Fleisher and his successful struggles.
It's no wonder that Fleisher is still in demand. This week's Baltimore concerts follow immediately after appearances in Germany - a recital with his wife, pianist Katherine Jacobson Fleisher, and concerts as conductor and soloist with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra.
Later this summer, he'll continue celebrating his birthday musically by performing concertos with the Boston and Chicago symphony orchestras.
Among other acknowledgments of his octogenarian status is a program in October that will find Fleisher making music with three pianists who were once his students - his wife, Yefim Bronfman and Jonathan Biss. "Great joys are joys that are shared," Fleisher says. This concert will be given in Boston, New York and Baltimore's Shriver Hall.
In addition, the pianist can be counted on to perform fundraising concerts for liberal political causes and animal rescue services.
"I haven't reached the point of nonactivity, where you sit back and come out with aphorisms," Fleisher says.
Maybe not, but he easily dispenses words of wisdom nonetheless, especially on the topic of a musician's fundamental responsibility.
"Music is a wonderful thing," he says, "but it's just dots on a paper until we come along and bring those dots to life. A self-aggrandizing approach to great music doesn't really work. It's very tempting to turn oneself into the star, but we ain't the stars. We are the middlemen."
As he turns 80, Fleisher remains one of the most compelling middlemen in the business.
tim.smith@baltsun.com
Leon Fleisher
Born: July 23, 1928, San Francisco
Principal teacher: Artur Schnabel
Orchestral debut: New York Philharmonic, age 16
Historic win: first American to take top prize at Queen Elisabeth Piano Competition in Brussels, 1952.
Music director : Annapolis Symphony, 1970-82
Associate/resident conductor: Baltimore Symphony 1973-78
Faculty member: Peabody Conservatory, 1959-present
Recipient: Kennedy Center Honors, 2007
If you go;
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, with pianist/conductor Leon Fleisher, performs at 8 p.m. Thursday at Music Center at Strathmore, 8 p.m. Friday at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. $25 to $60. 410-783-8000, bsomusic.org.
