Katherine Jacobson Fleisher papers
Scope and Contents
The Katherine Jacobson Fleisher papers, 1973-2021, contain professional documents from Fleisher's career as a pianist and piano instructor. Materials include concert programs for solo performances and for the Fleisher-Jacobson Duo with her husband, Leon Fleisher; clippings and press releases from national and international publications; professional files related to Katherine Jacobson Fleisher's travels and participation at festivals; correspondence with musicians, arts administrators, and students; professional and personal photographs; and CDs of her performances and studio sessions.
Dates
- Creation: 1972 - 2021
Creator
- Fleisher, Katherine Jacobson (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for use at the Arthur Friedheim Library Archives of the Peabody Institute. Contact peabodyarchives@lists.jhu.edu for more information.
Conditions Governing Use
Single copies may be made for research purposes. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions. It is not necessary to seek our permission as the owner of the physical work to publish or otherwise use public domain materials that we have made available for use, unless Johns Hopkins University holds the copyright. All requests for permission to publish or perform materials in this collection must be submitted in writing to the archivist of the Arthur Friedheim Library.
Biographical / Historical
Katherine Jacobson Fleisher is a pianist and piano instructor. Born in 1948 in Albert Lea, Minnesota, she received her Bachelor of Music degree from St. Olaf College in 1970, studying piano with Ann Surace and Margaret Birkeland. At the Cleveland Institute of Music, she studied with Vitya Vronsky and Victor Babin, gave lessons at the CIM Preparatory, and earned her Master of Music degree in 1973. She began teaching at the Peabody Preparatory in 1977, where she co-chaired the Piano Department from 1977 to 1984. In 1982 she married pianist and Peabody Conservatory professor Leon Fleisher.
Katherine Jacobson Fleisher has won numerous concerto competitions, appeared at festivals such as Aspen and Tanglewood, and toured internationally as a soloist and duo pianist. In 1977, she won First Prize at the National Piano Ensemble Competition with duo partner Enrique Graf. She premiered a concertino by Phanos Dymiotis and has commissioned works by female composers, including Dina Koston and Luna Pearl Woolf. From the 1990s to the 2010s she performed regularly with Leon Fleisher as the Fleisher-Jacobson Piano Duo (sometimes referred to as the Fleisher Piano Duo). The duo toured internationally and recorded for Sony. Katherine Jacobson Fleisher and Leon Fleisher were active philanthropically in the Baltimore area, performing benefit concerts and raising funds for causes such as animal rights and disaster relief.
Extent
2.89 Cubic Feet (7 full-size letter boxes and 1 large flat box)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Katherine Jacobson Fleisher is a pianist and piano instructor. She taught at the Peabody Institute from 1977 to 2021 and performed as a soloist and as one half of the Fleisher-Jacobson Piano Duo with her husband, Leon Fleisher. Materials in the Katherine Jacobson Fleisher papers include concert programs for solo performances and for the Fleisher-Jacobson Duo; clippings and press releases from national and international publications; professional files related to her travels and participation at festivals; correspondence with musicians, arts administrators, and students; professional and personal photographs; and CDs of her performances and studio sessions.
Arrangement
The Katherine Jacobson Fleisher papers are arranged in five series.
Series 1: Programs, 1972-2018
Series 2: Clippings, 1973-2020 and undated
Series 3: Professional papers, 1978-2018
Series 4: Correspondence, 1973-2021
Series 5: Photographs and recordings, 1977-2013
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Katherine Jacobson Fleisher in approximately 2011 and 2022-2023.
Processing Information
Processed by Natalie Salive in December 2023. Programs and other papers acquired in approximately 2011 were minimally processed by archives staff at the time. The 2022-2023 accession included some programs and other documents that were redundant with the materials acquired in approximately 2011.
- Title
- Guide to the Katherine Jacobson Fleisher papers
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Natalie Salive
- Date
- 2023
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Peabody Archives Repository
Peabody Institute
1 E. Mount Vernon Place
Baltimore MD 21202 USA
peabodyarchives@lists.jhu.edu