Leon Fleisher, a leading American pianist in the 1950s and early ‘60s, who was forced by an injury to his right hand to channel his career into conducting, teaching and mastering the left-hand repertoire, died August 2 in Baltimore. He was 92.

Mr. Fleisher searched for years for a cure to his malady, focal dystonia. He tried shots of lidocaine, rehabilitation therapy, psychotherapy, shock treatments, and others. Ultimately, he joined the faculty of the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore and devoted himself more fully to teaching there and at the Tanglewood Music Center, where he was artistic director from 1986 to 1997. He also studied the repertoire of works for the left hand composed by Ravel, Prokofiev and others.

Eventually, a deep massage techniques and Botox injections provided sufficient relief that he was able to resume his career as a two-handed pianist in 1995. He continued to play recitals and make recordings until last year.