Video dialogue as text for online translation:
I’d like to ask you a question, if I may, on behalf of a pianist in the USA with focal hand dystonia.
This affects his right hand only. As he plays, his 2nd finger curls under his hand uncontrollably and this gets progressively worse until has to stop playing altogether. You can imagine how frustrating this must be for him.
My fiend has tried a variety of treatments with various therapists, but so far nothing really seems to be helping him significantly. On good days he thinks perhaps it’s just a matter giving it more time. On other days, he’s less optimistic.
I confess I didn’t know about focal hand dystonia until he told me about his diagnosis and have since discovered it’s a condition that affects many musicians from guitarists to drummers, in different ways. I asked my friend whether he knew of any pianist specifically that had had focal dystonia and had been cured. He said he didn’t.
Both Leon Fleisher and Byron Janis’s struggled with arthritis and their respective stories are well known and documented here on YouTube. However, the condition and treatment for focal dystonia and arthritis seem very different.
So I’m making this video with the hope to put him in touch with a pianist that had been affected by focal dystonia but had been able to manage or cure it sufficiently to be able to play again as they had been able to do before, and hopefully get advice from them.
So if you have some experience with this, we both would much appreciate your time in leaving a comment below.