Leon Fleisher receives Kennedy Center Honor

Pianist Leon Fleisher, who will be performing an All-Mozart program with the B.S.O. at Tanglewood on Aug. 8, was one of those honored by the Kennedy Center this year.

(Photo Credit: Tony Esparza)

An extraordinary mix of renowned artists, their friends and peers converged in Washington, D. C. on Dec 2 to salute Leon Fleisher, Steve Martin, Diana Ross, Martin Scorsese and Brian Wilson – this year’s Honorees at ‘The 30th Annual Kennedy Center Honors.’

The star-studded gala of entertainment and heartfelt tributes will be broadcast Wednesday, Dec 26 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network with Caroline Kennedy as host for the fifth consecutive year.

Kennedy introduced Fleisher as “a piano prodigy from the Golden Gate who rose to the heights, embraced adversity and became a musician for all seasons.”. World-renowned Grammy-winning cellist Yo-Yo Ma paid homage to Leon Fleisher : “Mr. Fleisher has created work that is the gold standard of this generation” and, speaking of his legendary recording of the Brahms First Piano Concerto, “that music is still seared in my memory.”

As American pianist and conductor Leon Fleisher accepts the 2007 Kennedy Center Honor and prepares for a year of celebrations of his 80th birthday, Sony BMG Masterworks releases The Essential Leon Fleisher, a commemorative anthology that features highlights from his greatest recordings. A special digital-only edition, with exclusive bonus tracks, is available December 11 on iTunes, and the 2-CD set hits stores January 15, 2008.