PIANIST'S KEY IS PLAYING TO HIS STRENGTHS.

Byline: David Mermelstein

Correspondent

Classical music lovers know Leon Fleisher as a great American pianist whose virtuoso career was cut short 40 years ago. Moviegoers know Nathaniel Kahn, the son of visionary architect Louis I. Kahn, for "My Architect," his penetrating and highly praised documentary about his father.

Now these two disparate artists are united in a single project, Kahn's latest film, a documentary short called "Two Hands: The Leon Fleisher Story," which in 17 minutes poignantly traces Fleisher's early career, the life changes resulting from the crippling of his right fingers and his unexpected return to the concert hall as a two-handed pianist. Like "My Architect," the film is nominated for an Academy Award.

As it happens, the ceremony at which Kahn will learn whether he's an Oscar winner occurs in Hollywood the day after Fleisher is scheduled to appear at UCLA's Schoenberg Hall in an all-Schubert recital with violinist Jaime Laredo, his longtime friend.

And just as Kahn plans to attend Fleisher's recital the night before the Oscars, Fleisher has tickets to the awards ceremony, a rare black-tie occasion at which the pianist won't be the center of attention.

"It's a hoot for me," Fleisher, 78, says by phone from Paris. "I've never been, and I don't expect to win." As for Kahn's film winning, the pianist is at once hopeful and characteristically good-humored. To a suggestion that crossed fingers are in order, he replies, "I have to keep mine uncrossed."

Focal point 

As is made clear in "Two Hands," Fleisher suffers from a condition now diagnosed as focal dystonia in which the fourth and fifth fingers of his right hand curl inward. The affliction, which first began in 1964, derailed Fleisher's career in midcourse, forcing him to seek other outlets for his talents. In time, these included mastery of the piano repertory for left hand alone, conducting and teaching.

But successful as Fleisher was in these endeavors, there was always the hope, both in him and among the public, that he would return to the stage with ambidexterity restored. Years of frustration and false hope culminated in an operation in 1981 that allowed him to play with both hands, but only temporarily, as it turned out.

Lasting help arrived about a decade later and from a most unlikely source -- Botox. The drug is the world's most potent poison, botulinum toxin. Taken in minute doses, it can weaken muscles. In Fleisher's case, it inhibits the effects of focal dystonia.

The pianist currently receives Botox injections in his right forearm every four months. He credits the injections and the massage technique known as Rolfing with allowing him to practice and perform.

But according to Dr. Daniel Drachman, the neurologist who first began treating Fleisher with botulinum toxin in about 1990 and who appears in "Two Hands," it's the pianist who deserves most of the credit for his recovery. "He has figured out how to get around what is still left of the dystonia," says Drachman. "He couldn't have done this without the Botox, but on the other hand, the Botox hasn't cured his condition."

Fleisher characterizes his condition as "pretty much stable" since around 1995, though he acknowledges good and bad days. He also mentions that his repertory is selective. "I can't play everything," he says, adding that at his age, "it's getting to be where I'm not sure if it's the focal dystonia or the tolling of the years."

He manages in the time-

honored tradition of all artists, playing to his strengths, not his weaknesses. "I might redistribute some things from time to time, between the two hands," he says, "but that's something that all pianists do, more or less, healthy or not."

Child's play 

Kahn's interest in Fleisher goes back to his childhood. His mother played the piano and among her collection of LP's were several featuring Fleisher.

"It was like crystal," Kahn recalls of Fleisher's playing, "but also strong, even aggressive, and I really liked that."

The young Kahn was also struck by the seemingly glamorous life of a concert pianist epitomized on album covers of the period. "It seemed like the ideal life," says Kahn. "This was before I had any rock 'n' roll records, but in the classical world, Leon Fleisher is a rock star."

Though Kahn's fondness for Fleisher's musicianship never flagged, he did not learn of the pianist's use of Botox until reading about the beneficial effects of poisons in National Geographic in the spring of 2005. By that summer, he had approached the pianist about telling his story.

Fleisher knew neither of Kahn nor "My Architect." But once he'd seen Kahn's deeply personal tribute to his father, he consented to "Two Hands."

The pianist appears pleased at the result. "Nathaniel got a flow, a kind of continuity," he says, adding that he hopes the portrait, being just 17 minutes, is less than complete. "For what it does say, I think it's quite accurate."

LEON FLEISHER AND JAIME LAREDO

What: Pianist Leon Fleisher and violinist Jaime Laredo perform an all-Schubert recital.

Where: Schoenberg Hall, UCLA campus, Westwood.

When: 8 p.m. Saturday.

Tickets: $15 to $50. [phone] or www.uclalive.com.

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Photo:

Leon Fleisher's career as a pianist was cut short 40 years ago, but thanks to Botox, he is playing again.