The appellation “Living Legend” has been perhaps too widely applied; but at the age of 90, pianist Leon Fleisher really is one. A former child prodigy, his is a direct line to Beethoven. He studied with Artur Schnabel, who studied with Theodor Leschetizky, who studied with Carl Czerny, who studied with the Master himself.

When he performed with the New York Philharmonic under Pierre Monteux at the age of 16, Monteux called him “the pianistic find of the century.” Fleisher landed a recording contract with Columbia Records and began laying down benchmark recordings of Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, Grieg and Rachmaninoff with George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra.

Then everything changed.

Fleisher was diagnosed with focal dystonia in 1964. He gradually lost control of his right hand, and his career as a concert pianist was in jeopardy. His struggle with the affliction led to a period of soul-searching, and it forced him to diversify. He realized, as Schnabel had espoused, that music is music, regardless of the medium.

Fleisher began channeling his energy into teaching and conducting. He has been a venerable presence at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.

Fortunately, the left-hand piano repertoire is extensive, and Fleisher himself has added considerably to it, through commissioned works from contemporary composers or gifts from friends. His album, “All the Things You Are,” released a few years ago on Bridge Records, Inc., documents some of these. The album became a surprise hit, with The New Yorker’s Alex Ross lauding it as “one of his finest hours on record.”

Fleisher is an extraordinary artist and individual. Not only has he fought hard to regain control of his right hand – and done so, thanks to experimental treatments with, of all things, Botox – he is quite possibly the most gracious and generous interview subject I’ve ever encountered.

In honor of his milestone birthday, I’ve posted an unedited conversation we had four years ago for my radio program, “The Lost Chord.” In the version I whittled down for broadcast, selections were interspersed with performances from “All the Things You Are.” I realize there is a lot of extraneous material in the raw audio, but it’s all here for you to skim as you please:

Then I hope you’ll join me this afternoon for an assortment of Fleisher’s recordings, which will be among the featured offerings from 4 to 7 p.m. EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

PLEASE NOTE: Bill McGlaughlin will also be saluting Fleisher on “Exploring Music,” all this week at 7 p.m. I have glanced through the playlists; repertoire will not be duplicated.

Happy birthday, Leon Fleisher!