Botox-aided pianist: Oscar documentary nod a ‘gas’

Pianist Leon Fleischer used Botox to regain movement in his hand. Photo by Eli Turner

Leon Fleischer was 37 and considered among the world's top pianists when he noticed the sluggishness in his right hand in 1963. Over several months, his fourth and fifth fingers progressively curled under, requiring an enormous effort to extend them.

At the time, the pianist was preparing for a European tour with the esteemed Cleveland Orchestra -- but conductor George Szell confronted him after a few days of rehearsal.

"He said, 'You can't go on like this,' and I agreed with him," Fleischer recalled.

"The gods know how to hit you when they want to hit you," he added. "I was a musicmaker who felt he could no longer make music.And I was absolutely devastated."

It took more than three decades of searching for a cure (during which he continued to perform the limited left-hand repertoire) for Fleischer to get a diagnosis -- the neurological disorder focal dystonia -- and an unlikely remedy: Botox. But when the 78-year-old was finally able to set out on a major concert tour in 2005, he once again earned rave reviews -- for playing with both hands.

He is back on tour again, this time with violinist Jaime Laredo, with whom he will perform Schubert sonatas at Royce Hall at UCLA on Feb. 24. The following evening, Fleischer will attend the Academy Awards ceremony at the Kodak Theatre, because a film about his life, "Two Hands," is a nominee in the short documentary category