AllMovie

Nathaniel Kahn's inspirational documentary Two Hands follows the dramatic trajectory of classical pianist Leon Fleisher. After debuting at an age early enough to be considered remarkable even for a prodigy, and quickly being hailed as one of the ten most gifted musicians in America ("the heir of Schnabel,") Fleisher drove his right hand into extreme focal dystonia during his intensive preparation for a recording of Johannes Brahms's B Flat Concerto. Never one to be daunted, Fleisher turned to pieces written solely for the left hand, and dramatically expanded the breadth of that catalogue. After his injury, his accomplishments outside the realm of concert performance crescendoed as well. These include founding the Theater Chamber Players at the Kennedy Center, conducting the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, mentoring such players as Andre Watts and Lorin Hollander, and serving as associate conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. In the late seventies and early eighties, Fleisher dove headfirst into the prospect of recovering his right hand, with a series of unsuccessful therapies that included biofeedback, acupuncture, and surgery; he fully succeeded by the late nineties, with an unusual therapy system called "Rolfing." In Two Hands, Nathaniel Kahn tells this story, via extended interviews with Fleisher, archival concert footage and vintage photographs. In the process, a complex portrait emerges of the musician that suggests untold determination and pays homage to the resilience of the human spirit.