Violinist Leonid Fleishaker Uses Musical Discipline to Cope With Parkinsons

Leonid Fleishaker, a 70‑year‑old violinist and former concertmaster, has turned the rigors of a lifetime on the strings into a practical approach for living with Parkinson’s disease. The Estero, Florida, resident received a diagnosis in 2019 after first noticing tremors at age 60, four years after subtle motor changes began. In April 2026 he self‑published a 47‑page memoir, Music Vs. Parkinson’s, now available on Amazon.

Fleishaker’s musical journey began at six when a violin, gifted by his engineer father and pianist mother in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), became his first teacher. He earned a master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music and spent the early 1980s freelancing in New York before becoming concertmaster for a leading chamber ensemble. By 1987 he had shifted to the business side of music, negotiating contracts and organizing tours for a Manhattan management firm. In 1990 he launched World Touring, an agency that booked international tours for orchestras and soloists. After relocating to Estero in 2015, Fleishaker continued arranging tours, including the 2023 visit of the Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine to the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall.

The Parkinson’s diagnosis followed a series of subtle motor changes. Fleishaker recalls the first tremor as “a strange, trembling sensation in my left arm” that he dismissed as fatigue. As the symptoms progressed, he consulted a neurologist and received a confirmed diagnosis. The disease has made walking and fine‑motor tasks increasingly difficult, and he can no longer play the violin at the level he once did. “I can’t pick up the violin for pleasure,” he says. “My tremors make it too difficult to play the instrument, especially at my former skill level.”

Instead of the violin, Fleishaker now turns to pickleball and bowling to counter stiffness and slowness. “With Parkinson’s … you’ll never win the war,” he says. “You can only slow things down.” He continues to listen to classical‑music radio throughout the day, finding that music helps focus his mind and maintain rhythm. In Music Vs. Parkinson’s, he explains how the discipline and rhythm of his musical training translate into coping strategies. “Improvement comes slowly through repetition and attention,” he writes. “A difficult passage may take weeks to master. A performance requires preparation long before the audience arrives.” He stresses patience, attention, and consistency—qualities honed as a violinist—as essential for managing Parkinson’s symptoms.

The book is priced at $12 for the paperback and $5 for the Kindle edition, with a free Kindle Unlimited option. Fleishaker will present the book and sign copies on Wednesday, Sept. 30, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the South County Regional Library in Estero. Admission is free, and registration opens on Aug. 30. The event is promoted on the library’s website.

Fleishaker hopes the memoir encourages others to discuss their condition openly. “If I get one person to talk about it, or to open up about it, then I would say to myself, ‘Yeah, I succeeded,’” he says. He is not a medical professional; he is a person who has lived with Parkinson’s for seven years and wishes to share how music has helped him navigate the disease.

The story illustrates how a professional musician’s lifelong habits can become therapeutic tools when faced with a progressive neurological disorder. Fleishaker’s experience underscores the potential of rhythm‑based activities and disciplined practice in mitigating Parkinson’s symptoms, while also highlighting the importance of community support for those living with the disease.