Lillian Fuchs
Encyclopedia
Lillian Fuchs an American
violist, teacher and composer, is considered to be among the finest instrumentalists of her time. She hailed from a musically talented family: her brothers, Joseph Fuchs
, a violinist, and Harry Fuchs, a cellist, performed with her on numerous commercial recordings. Her children and grandchildren continue in her footsteps.
(former concertmaster of the Boston Symphony Orchestra
and first violinist of the Kneisel Quartet
) at the Institute of Musical Art, now the Juilliard School
. She enjoyed a distinguished teaching career at the Manhattan School of Music
, the Juilliard School
the Aspen Music Festival and School
and the Blue Hill Music School, which she founded with her brother Joseph. Martha Strongin Katz
, James Wendell Griffith, Geraldine Walther
, Lawrence Dutton
and Yizhak Schotten were her students. Her books of etude
s for the viola (Twelve Caprices for Viola, Fifteen Characteristic Studies for Viola, and Sixteen Fantasy Etudes) are in standard use today in universities and music schools around the world, and were much appreciated by the great Scottish violist, William Primrose
. She also composed a Sonata Pastorale for solo viola.
She performed many standard and non-standard pieces in the viola repertoire, including significant 20th century works. Fuchs was known for her warm, beautiful tone, expert musicianship and technical mastery. She owned a fine instrument made by Matteo Goffriller
(1659–1742) and was the life-long custodian of another lovely viola, darker in tone, by Gasparo da Salò
(1540–1609). She played with a bow made by the English bow maker, John Dodd
(1752–1839) and used a gut 'A' string, considering it a sacrilege to use a metal 'A' string on an old Italian instrument. (Dodd bows are often shorter than other viola bows, a quality Fuchs prized for the greater control it permitted and also for its sheer practicality, since she was of diminutive stature.)
Lillian Fuchs made her New York début on the violin in 1926, but soon switched to viola at the urging of Franz Kneisel
(she was once heard to say, much to the great surprise of the auditors present, that it had never been her idea to play the viola, as she considered the instrument to be too big for her!). She thereafter was a founding member of the Perolé Quartet
, playing viola with this ensemble from 1925 to 1945. She collaborated with the Budapest and Amadeus String Quartets (see below) and often in performance with her brothers Joseph, a violinist and Harry, a cellist. She played in a number of chamber groups, notably the Musicians Guild, and appeared as a soloist with major orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic and the Casals Festival Orchestra. In 1947, Bohuslav Martinů
composed and dedicated his 'Madrigals' for violin and viola to Lillian and Joseph Fuchs after hearing them perform the Mozart Duos at Town Hall in New York City.
A renowned teacher of viola, Fuchs was also an important teacher of chamber music, counting among her pupils Isaac Stern
, Pinchas Zuckerman and Dorothy Delay
. Lillian Fuchs's influence can be seen in her two daughters, Barbara Stein Mallow, 'cellist, Carol Stein Amado (deceased), violinist, her granddaughter, Jeanne Mallow, violist, and grandson, David Amado, conductor.
recordings are today collector's items (to be found often on eBay) and are otherwise unavailable commercially. DoReMi records has recently re-released a CD version of her 1950's recordings of the Bach
Cello Suites
. Her interpretation of the sixth suite (composed actually for a five stringed instrument, the viola pomposa) made such an impression on Pablo Casals
, that after a private performance she had made for him, he (as told by Miss Fuchs) said to her that it sounded better on the viola than on the cello. She was the first to perform and record the Bach Suites for the viola.
A complete list of her studio recordings (issued and unissued) and a partial list of archive recordings :
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
violist, teacher and composer, is considered to be among the finest instrumentalists of her time. She hailed from a musically talented family: her brothers, Joseph Fuchs
Joseph Fuchs
Joseph Fuchs was one of the most important American violinists and teachers of the 20th century, and the brother of Lillian Fuchs....
, a violinist, and Harry Fuchs, a cellist, performed with her on numerous commercial recordings. Her children and grandchildren continue in her footsteps.
Background
Lillian Fuchs began her musical studies as a pianist, later studying violin with her father and afterwards with Franz KneiselFranz Kneisel
Franz Kneisel was an American violinist and teacher of Romanian birth.Born in Bucharest, the son of a German bandmaster, he learned to play the flute, clarinet and trumpet, as well as the violin...
(former concertmaster of the Boston Symphony Orchestra
Boston Symphony Orchestra
The Boston Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1881, the BSO plays most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at the Tanglewood Music Center...
and first violinist of the Kneisel Quartet
Kneisel quartet
The Kneisel Quartet was a string quartet musical ensemble established in Boston, USA in 1885. It existed until 1917, and in its time became recognised as the leading string quartet in the United States. It also performed in Europe.-Personnel:...
) at the Institute of Musical Art, now the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
. She enjoyed a distinguished teaching career at the Manhattan School of Music
Manhattan School of Music
The Manhattan School of Music is a major music conservatory located on the Upper West Side of New York City. The school offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition...
, the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
the Aspen Music Festival and School
Aspen Music Festival and School
The Aspen Music Festival and School, founded in 1949, is an internationally renowned classical music festival that presents music in an intimate, small-town setting...
and the Blue Hill Music School, which she founded with her brother Joseph. Martha Strongin Katz
Martha Strongin Katz
Martha Strongin Katz is a violist and member of the faculty of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, where she teaches viola and chamber music...
, James Wendell Griffith, Geraldine Walther
Geraldine Walther
Geraldine Lamboley Walther is an American violist. Since 2005 she has been a member of the Takács String Quartet, replacing Roger Tapping as violist of the group. She is the former principal violist of the San Francisco Symphony, a role she held from 1976 through 2005...
, Lawrence Dutton
Lawrence Dutton
Lawrence Dutton is an American violist, and is currently a member of the Emerson String Quartet. He earned a Bachelor and Master's degree from the Juilliard School where he studied with Lillian Fuchs....
and Yizhak Schotten were her students. Her books of etude
Étude
An étude , is an instrumental musical composition, most commonly of considerable difficulty, usually designed to provide practice material for perfecting a particular technical skill. The tradition of writing études emerged in the early 19th century with the rapidly growing popularity of the piano...
s for the viola (Twelve Caprices for Viola, Fifteen Characteristic Studies for Viola, and Sixteen Fantasy Etudes) are in standard use today in universities and music schools around the world, and were much appreciated by the great Scottish violist, William Primrose
William Primrose
William Primrose CBE was a Scottish violist and teacher.-Biography:Primrose was born in Glasgow and studied violin initially. In 1919 he moved to study at the then Guildhall School of Music in London. On the urging of the accompanist Ivor Newton, Primrose moved to Belgium to study under Eugène...
. She also composed a Sonata Pastorale for solo viola.
She performed many standard and non-standard pieces in the viola repertoire, including significant 20th century works. Fuchs was known for her warm, beautiful tone, expert musicianship and technical mastery. She owned a fine instrument made by Matteo Goffriller
Matteo Goffriller
Matteo Goffriller was an Venetian luthier, particularly noted for the quality of his cellos.Although it is known that Goffriller was born in Brixen, little else is known of him prior to his days in Venice before 1685...
(1659–1742) and was the life-long custodian of another lovely viola, darker in tone, by Gasparo da Salò
Gasparo da Salò
Gasparo da Salò is the name given to Gasparo di Bertolotti, one of the earliest violin makers and expert double bass player of which many and very detailed historical records exist.He was born in Salò on Lake Garda, in a family with legal, artistic, musical and craft interests...
(1540–1609). She played with a bow made by the English bow maker, John Dodd
John Dodd (bow maker)
John Dodd an English bow maker.He was a gunlock fitter and then a money-scale maker before turning to bow making.John Dodd was a contemporary of François Tourte and worked in London...
(1752–1839) and used a gut 'A' string, considering it a sacrilege to use a metal 'A' string on an old Italian instrument. (Dodd bows are often shorter than other viola bows, a quality Fuchs prized for the greater control it permitted and also for its sheer practicality, since she was of diminutive stature.)
Lillian Fuchs made her New York début on the violin in 1926, but soon switched to viola at the urging of Franz Kneisel
Franz Kneisel
Franz Kneisel was an American violinist and teacher of Romanian birth.Born in Bucharest, the son of a German bandmaster, he learned to play the flute, clarinet and trumpet, as well as the violin...
(she was once heard to say, much to the great surprise of the auditors present, that it had never been her idea to play the viola, as she considered the instrument to be too big for her!). She thereafter was a founding member of the Perolé Quartet
Perolé Quartet
The Perolé Quartet was a respected American string quartet of the interwar period; the founding members were violinists Joseph Coleman and David Mankovitz, violist Lillian Fuchs, and cellist Julian Kahn...
, playing viola with this ensemble from 1925 to 1945. She collaborated with the Budapest and Amadeus String Quartets (see below) and often in performance with her brothers Joseph, a violinist and Harry, a cellist. She played in a number of chamber groups, notably the Musicians Guild, and appeared as a soloist with major orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic and the Casals Festival Orchestra. In 1947, Bohuslav Martinů
Bohuslav Martinu
Bohuslav Martinů was a prolific Czech composer of modern classical music. He was of Czech and Rumanian ancestry. Martinů wrote six symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. Martinů became a violinist in the Czech Philharmonic...
composed and dedicated his 'Madrigals' for violin and viola to Lillian and Joseph Fuchs after hearing them perform the Mozart Duos at Town Hall in New York City.
A renowned teacher of viola, Fuchs was also an important teacher of chamber music, counting among her pupils Isaac Stern
Isaac Stern
Isaac Stern was a Ukrainian-born violinist. He was renowned for his recordings and for discovering new musical talent.-Biography:Isaac Stern was born into a Jewish family in Kremenets, Ukraine. He was fourteen months old when his family moved to San Francisco...
, Pinchas Zuckerman and Dorothy Delay
Dorothy DeLay
Dorothy DeLay was an American violin instructor, primarily at the Juilliard School.She was born in Medicine Lodge, Kansas.-Career and education:...
. Lillian Fuchs's influence can be seen in her two daughters, Barbara Stein Mallow, 'cellist, Carol Stein Amado (deceased), violinist, her granddaughter, Jeanne Mallow, violist, and grandson, David Amado, conductor.
Recordings
Most of her vinylGramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
recordings are today collector's items (to be found often on eBay) and are otherwise unavailable commercially. DoReMi records has recently re-released a CD version of her 1950's recordings of the Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
Cello Suites
Cello Suites (Bach)
The Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello by Johann Sebastian Bach are some of the most performed and recognizable solo compositions ever written for cello...
. Her interpretation of the sixth suite (composed actually for a five stringed instrument, the viola pomposa) made such an impression on Pablo Casals
Pablo Casals
Pau Casals i Defilló , known during his professional career as Pablo Casals, was a Spanish Catalan cellist and conductor. He is generally regarded as the pre-eminent cellist of the first half of the 20th century, and one of the greatest cellists of all time...
, that after a private performance she had made for him, he (as told by Miss Fuchs) said to her that it sounded better on the viola than on the cello. She was the first to perform and record the Bach Suites for the viola.
A complete list of her studio recordings (issued and unissued) and a partial list of archive recordings :
- Johann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
Complete Cello Suites. Lillian Fuchs, viola. (Doremi CD DHR-7801) - Johann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
Suite No. 1 in G major, Suite No. 3 in C major. Lillian Fuchs, viola. (Decca LP DL 9914) - Johann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
Suite No. 6 in D major, Suite No. 2 in d minor. Lillian Fuchs, viola. (Decca LP DL 9544) - Johann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
Suite No. 4 in Eb major, Suite No. 5 in c minor. Lillian Fuchs, viola. (Decca LP DL 9660) - Johann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
Suite No. 2 in d minor. Lillian Fuchs, viola. Live recital recorded on March 28, 1958 at the Harvard Musical Association (in the sound archives of the Harvard Musical Association) - Ludwig van BeethovenLudwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
Serenade in D major for Flute, Violin, and Viola, Op. 25. Julius BakerJulius BakerJulius Baker was one of the foremost American orchestral flute players.He was well known as a teacher and served as a faculty member at the Juilliard School, Curtis Institute of Music, and Carnegie Mellon University...
, flute, Joseph FuchsJoseph FuchsJoseph Fuchs was one of the most important American violinists and teachers of the 20th century, and the brother of Lillian Fuchs....
, violin, Lillian Fuchs, viola. (Decca LP DL 9574) - Ludwig van BeethovenLudwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
Serenade in D major for Violin, Viola, and Cello, Op. 8. Joseph FuchsJoseph FuchsJoseph Fuchs was one of the most important American violinists and teachers of the 20th century, and the brother of Lillian Fuchs....
, violin, Lillian Fuchs, viola, Leonard RoseLeonard RoseLeonard Rose was an American cellist and pedagogue.Rose was born in Washington, D.C., his parents were immigrants from Kiev, Ukraine...
, cello. (Decca LP DL 7506) - Ludwig van BeethovenLudwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
String Quintet in C major, op. 29. Toshiya Eto, Lea Foli, violins; Lillian Fuchs, Rolf Persinger, violas; Leopold Teraspulsky, cello. Recorded on July 21, 1967 at the Aspen Amphitheater, Aspen Music Festival, Aspen, Colorado (Archive of the Pitkin County Library, Aspen, Colorado) - Ludwig van BeethovenLudwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
Trio in c minor, Op. 9, No. 3. Joseph FuchsJoseph FuchsJoseph Fuchs was one of the most important American violinists and teachers of the 20th century, and the brother of Lillian Fuchs....
, violin, Lillian Fuchs, viola, Harry Fuchs, cello. (Decca LP DL 9574) - Hector BerliozHector BerliozHector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts . Berlioz made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his Treatise on Instrumentation. He specified huge orchestral forces for some of his works; as a...
Harold en Italie. Lillian Fuchs, viola. Live concert recorded in Carnegie Hall on February 20, 1968 with the National Orchestral Association, John Barnett, conductor (see Leon BarzinLeon BarzinLéon Eugene Barzin was a Belgian-born American conductor and founder of the National Orchestral Association , the oldest surviving training orchestra in the United States...
). National Orchestral Association collection of rehearsal and concert recordings (1938–1968) at the Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound (New York Public Library for the Performing Arts) - Johannes BrahmsJohannes BrahmsJohannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, op. 25. Joseph FuchsJoseph FuchsJoseph Fuchs was one of the most important American violinists and teachers of the 20th century, and the brother of Lillian Fuchs....
, violin, Lillian Fuchs, viola, Harry Fuchs, cello, Artur Balsam, piano. (recorded on September 28–30, 1953 - Unissued recording. A limited number of private pressings were made.) - Johannes BrahmsJohannes BrahmsJohannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, op. 25. Jeaneane Dowis, piano, Sidney HarthSidney HarthSidney Harth was an American violinist and conductor.In 1957 Harth became the first American to receive the Laureate Prize in the Wieniawski Violin Competition held in Poland...
, violin, Lillian Fuchs, viola, Leopold Teraspulsky, cello. Recorded on August 14, 1972 at the Aspen Amphitheater, Aspen Music Festival, Aspen, Colorado (Archive of the Pitkin County Library, Aspen, Colorado) - Johannes BrahmsJohannes BrahmsJohannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
Piano Quartet No. 2 in A major, op. 26. Joseph FuchsJoseph FuchsJoseph Fuchs was one of the most important American violinists and teachers of the 20th century, and the brother of Lillian Fuchs....
, violin, Lillian Fuchs, viola, Harry Fuchs, cello, Artur Balsam, piano. (recorded on October 1 and 2, 1953 - Unissued recording. A limited number of private pressings were made.) - Johannes BrahmsJohannes BrahmsJohannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
Piano Quartet No. 3 in c minor, op. 60. Joseph FuchsJoseph FuchsJoseph Fuchs was one of the most important American violinists and teachers of the 20th century, and the brother of Lillian Fuchs....
, violin, Lillian Fuchs, viola, Harry Fuchs, cello, Artur Balsam, piano. (recorded on October 4, 1955 - Unissued recording. A limited number of private pressings were made.) - Johannes BrahmsJohannes BrahmsJohannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
String Quintet in G major, op. 111. Netherlands String Quartet (Nap De Klijn, Jaap SchröderJaap SchröderJaap Schröder or Jaap Schroeder is a Dutch violinist, conductor, and pedagogue.He studied at the Amsterdam Conservatory and at the Sorbonne in France. He has served as the director and concertmaster of the Academy of Ancient Music, and in 1982 he was appointed the visiting music director of the...
Violins; Paul GodwinPaul GodwinPaul Godwin was a violinist and the leader of a popular German dance orchestra in the 1920s-30s.- Biography :He was born on March 28, 1902, in Sosnowitz , his real name was Pinchas Goldfein. Early recordings on the POLYPHON label gave the name "Tanz-Orchester Goldfein". At the age of 20 he formed...
Viola, Carel Van Leeuwen, Cello) & Lillian Fuchs, viola. Recorded July 13, 1966 at the Aspen Amphitheater, Aspen Music Festival, Aspen, Colorado (Archive of the Pitkin County Library, Aspen, Colorado) - Johannes BrahmsJohannes BrahmsJohannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
String Sextet in G major, op. 36. Sidney HarthSidney HarthSidney Harth was an American violinist and conductor.In 1957 Harth became the first American to receive the Laureate Prize in the Wieniawski Violin Competition held in Poland...
, Teresa Harth, violins; Lillian Fuchs, Abraham Skernick, violas ; Zara NelsovaZara NelsovaZara Nelsova was a prominent cellist.She was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, to parents of Russian descent, and first performed at the age of five in Winnipeg...
, Leopold Teraspulsky, cellos. Recorded on August July 24, 1965 at the Aspen Amphitheater, Aspen Music Festival, Aspen, Colorado (Archive of the Pitkin County Library, Aspen, Colorado) - Johannes BrahmsJohannes BrahmsJohannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
Sonata in F minor for viola & piano Op.120 no. 1. Lillian Fuchs, viola, Edward Mobbs, piano. Live recital recorded on March 28, 1958 at the Harvard Musical Association (in the sound archives of the Harvard Musical Association) - Claude DebussyClaude DebussyClaude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp. Julius BakerJulius BakerJulius Baker was one of the foremost American orchestral flute players.He was well known as a teacher and served as a faculty member at the Juilliard School, Curtis Institute of Music, and Carnegie Mellon University...
, flute, Lillian Fuchs, viola, Laura Newell, harp. (Decca LP DL 9777) - Antonín DvořákAntonín DvorákAntonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
Piano Quartet in E-flat major, op. 87. Donald Weilerstein, violin, Lillian Fuchs, viola, Laszlo VargaLaszlo VargaLaszlo Varga is a Hungarian-American cellist who has a worldwide status as a soloist, recording artist, and authoritative cello teacher.-Biography:...
, cello, Rudolf FirkušnýRudolf Firkusny- Life :Born in Moravian Napajedla, Firkušný started his musical studies with the composers Leoš Janáček and Josef Suk, and the pianist Vilém Kurz. Later he studied with Alfred Cortot and Artur Schnabel. He began performing on the continent of Europe in the 1920s, and made his debuts in London in...
, piano. Recorded on June 28, 1976 at the Aspen Amphitheater, Aspen Music Festival, Aspen, Colorado (Archive of the Pitkin County Library, Aspen, Colorado) - William FlacktonWilliam FlacktonWilliam Flackton was an 18th-century bookseller, publisher, amateur organist, viola player and composer. He is perhaps best known today for his compositions for the viola....
Sonata in G major for Viola. Lillian Fuchs, viola. Live recital recorded on March 28, 1958 at the Harvard Musical Association (in the sound archives of the Harvard Musical Association) - Lillian Fuchs Sonata Pastorale. Lillian Fuchs, viola. Recorded on January 2, 4 & 17 1957. (Decca LP MG5414/5)
- Bohuslav MartinůBohuslav MartinuBohuslav Martinů was a prolific Czech composer of modern classical music. He was of Czech and Rumanian ancestry. Martinů wrote six symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. Martinů became a violinist in the Czech Philharmonic...
Three Madrigals for Violin and Viola. Joseph FuchsJoseph FuchsJoseph Fuchs was one of the most important American violinists and teachers of the 20th century, and the brother of Lillian Fuchs....
, violin, Lillian Fuchs, viola. (Decca LP DL 8510) - Bohuslav MartinůBohuslav MartinuBohuslav Martinů was a prolific Czech composer of modern classical music. He was of Czech and Rumanian ancestry. Martinů wrote six symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. Martinů became a violinist in the Czech Philharmonic...
Rhapsodie-Concerto. Lillian Fuchs, viola. Live concert recorded in Carnegie Hall on March 6, 1962 with the National Orchestral Association, John Barnett, conductor. National Orchestral Association collection of rehearsal and concert recordings (1938–1968) at the Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound (New York Public Library for the Performing Arts) - Bohuslav MartinůBohuslav MartinuBohuslav Martinů was a prolific Czech composer of modern classical music. He was of Czech and Rumanian ancestry. Martinů wrote six symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. Martinů became a violinist in the Czech Philharmonic...
Viola Sonata. Lillian Fuchs, viola. Recorded on February 4, 1957. (Decca LP MG5414/5) - Jacques de Menasce Sonata for Viola and Piano (1955). Lillian Fuchs, viola, Artur Balsam, piano. (Decca LP MG5414/5 and CRI LP CRI 154)
- Jacques de Menasce Sonata for Viola and Piano (1955). Lillian Fuchs, viola, Edward Mobbs, piano. Live recital recorded on March 28, 1958 at the Harvard Musical Association (in the sound archives of the Harvard Musical Association)
- Darius MilhaudDarius MilhaudDarius Milhaud was a French composer and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as The Group of Six—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions are influenced by jazz and make use of polytonality...
Sonata no. 1 for viola & piano (1944). Lillian Fuchs, viola, Edward Mobbs, piano. Live recital recorded on March 28, 1958 at the Harvard Musical Association (in the sound archives of the Harvard Musical Association) - Wolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
Divertimento for String Trio in Eb, K.563. Joseph FuchsJoseph FuchsJoseph Fuchs was one of the most important American violinists and teachers of the 20th century, and the brother of Lillian Fuchs....
, violin, Lillian Fuchs, viola, Paul TortelierPaul TortelierPaul Tortelier was a French cellist and composer.Tortelier was born in Paris, the son of a cabinet maker with Breton roots. He was encouraged to play the cello by his father Joseph and mother Marguerite , and at 12 he entered the Paris Conservatoire. He studied the cello there with Gérard Hekking...
, cello. (Koch CD 3-7004-2) - Wolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
Duos for Violin and Viola, K423, K.424. Joseph FuchsJoseph FuchsJoseph Fuchs was one of the most important American violinists and teachers of the 20th century, and the brother of Lillian Fuchs....
, violin, Lillian Fuchs, viola. (Columbia LP MS 6292/ML 5692) - Wolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
Duo No. 2 in Bb, K.424. Joseph FuchsJoseph FuchsJoseph Fuchs was one of the most important American violinists and teachers of the 20th century, and the brother of Lillian Fuchs....
, violin, Lillian Fuchs, viola. (Decca LP DL 8510) - Wolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
Piano Quartet in E-flat major, K. 493. Robert Mann, violin, Lillian Fuchs, viola, Leopold Teraspulsky, cello, Claude Frank, piano. Recorded on July 28, 1973 at the Aspen Amphitheater, Aspen Music Festival, Aspen, Colorado (Archive of the Pitkin County Library, Aspen, Colorado) - Wolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
String Quintet in C major, K.515 Amadeus QuartetAmadeus QuartetThe Amadeus Quartet was a world famous string quartet founded in 1947.Because of their Jewish origin, violinists Norbert Brainin, Siegmund Nissel and Peter Schidlof were driven out of Vienna after Hitler's Anschluss of 1938...
(Norbert BraininNorbert BraininNorbert Brainin, , was the first violinist of the Amadeus Quartet, one of the world's most highly regarded string quartets....
, Siegmund NisselSiegmund NisselSiegmund "Sigi" Nissel was an German-born British violinist who played second violin in the Amadeus Quartet and served as its administrator....
, Peter SchidlofPeter SchidlofPeter Schidlof was an Austrian-British violist and co-founder of the Amadeus Quartet.-Life and career:Born in Vienna, Schidlof fled Austria for England following the Nazi Anschluss in 1938. He won a scholarship to Blundell's School in Devon...
, Martin LovettMartin LovettMartin Lovett is an English cellist, known as the cellist with the Amadeus Quartet.When he was 11, his father, a cellist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, gave him his first lessons. At 15, he won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London. He joined the Amadeus Quartet at the age...
) & Lillian Fuchs, viola. Recorded on July 14, 1965 at the Aspen Amphitheater, Aspen Music Festival, Aspen, Colorado (Archive of the Pitkin County Library, Aspen, Colorado) - Wolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
Trio in Eb for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano, K498 "Kegelstatt". Reginald KellReginald KellReginald Clifford Kell was a British clarinetist.-Career:Born in York, England, Kell was the first prominent player to apply vibrato consciously and consistently to his tone, in which respect he modelled himself on his colleague the oboist Léon Goossens...
, clarinet, Lillian Fuchs, viola, Mieczysław Horszowski, piano. (Decca LP 9543, Deutsche Grammophon CD 000480602) - Wolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
Sinfonia Concertante in Eb, K364. Joseph FuchsJoseph FuchsJoseph Fuchs was one of the most important American violinists and teachers of the 20th century, and the brother of Lillian Fuchs....
, violin, Lillian Fuchs, viola, Aeterna Chamber Orchestra, Frederic Waldman, conductor. (Decca LP DL 710037) - Wolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
Sinfonia Concertante in Eb, K364. Joseph FuchsJoseph FuchsJoseph Fuchs was one of the most important American violinists and teachers of the 20th century, and the brother of Lillian Fuchs....
, violin, Lillian Fuchs, viola, Zimbler Sinfonietta. (Deutsche Grammophon LP LPE 17 124) - Wolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
Sinfonia Concertante in Eb, K365. Joseph FuchsJoseph FuchsJoseph Fuchs was one of the most important American violinists and teachers of the 20th century, and the brother of Lillian Fuchs....
, violin, Lillian Fuchs, viola, Prades Festival Orchestra, Pablo CasalsPablo CasalsPau Casals i Defilló , known during his professional career as Pablo Casals, was a Spanish Catalan cellist and conductor. He is generally regarded as the pre-eminent cellist of the first half of the 20th century, and one of the greatest cellists of all time...
, conductor. (Koch CD 3-7004-2) - Wolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
Sinfonia Concertante in Eb, K364. Joseph FuchsJoseph FuchsJoseph Fuchs was one of the most important American violinists and teachers of the 20th century, and the brother of Lillian Fuchs....
, violin, Lillian Fuchs, viola, New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Rafael KubelikRafael KubelíkRafael Jeroným Kubelík was a Czech conductor and composer.-Early life:Kubelík was born in Býchory, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary, today's Czech Republic. He was the sixth child of the Bohemian violinist Jan Kubelík, whom the younger Kubelík described as "a kind of god to me." His mother was a Hungarian...
, conductor. Live concert recorded on February 23, 1958 in Carnegie Hall. - Albert RousselAlbert RousselAlbert Charles Paul Marie Roussel was a French composer. He spent seven years as a midshipman, turned to music as an adult, and became one of the most prominent French composers of the interwar period...
Trio for Flute, Viola, and Cello, Op. 40. Julius BakerJulius BakerJulius Baker was one of the foremost American orchestral flute players.He was well known as a teacher and served as a faculty member at the Juilliard School, Curtis Institute of Music, and Carnegie Mellon University...
, flute, Lillian Fuchs, viola, Harry Fuchs, cello. (Decca LP DL 9777) - Franz SchubertFranz SchubertFranz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
Piano Quintet in A major, opus posthumous 114, D. 667, "Trout". Lea Foli, violin, Lillian Fuchs, viola, Claus Adam, cello, David Walter, bass, Brooks Smith, piano. Recorded August 21, 1976 at the Aspen Amphitheater, Aspen Music Festival, Aspen, Colorado (Archive of the Pitkin County Library, Aspen, Colorado). - Virgil ThomsonVirgil ThomsonVirgil Thomson was an American composer and critic. He was instrumental in the development of the "American Sound" in classical music...
Sonata da Chiesa (1926). Lillian Fuchs, viola, Peter Simenauer, clarinet, Fred Mills, trumpet, Paul Ingraham, horn, Edward Erwin, trombone, Virgil ThomsonVirgil ThomsonVirgil Thomson was an American composer and critic. He was instrumental in the development of the "American Sound" in classical music...
, conductor. (CRI LP 207, Hi-Fi/Stereo Review LP) - Ralph Vaughan WilliamsRalph Vaughan WilliamsRalph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
Flos Campi. Lillian Fuchs, viola. Live concert recorded in Carnegie Hall on February 20, 1968 with the National Orchestral Association, John Barnett, conductor and the Mannes School of Music Chorus, Harold Aks, director (see Mannes College The New School for Music. National Orchestral Association collection of rehearsal and concert recordings (1938–1968) at the Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound (New York Public Library for the Performing Arts)
Sources
- Broe, Carolyn. Progressive Etudes for the Viola. (Retrieved July 31, 2006.)
- Ronai, Laura. Review of the recently re-released Bach Suites. (Retrieved January 22, 2006).
- DoReMi Records Website. (Retrieved January 22, 2006).
- Mallow, Jeanne Website. (Retrieved January 22, 2006).
- Pinnolis, Judith, Contributions of Jewish Women to Music and of Women to Jewish Music (Retrieved July 23, 2007).
- Obituary, the New York Times October 7, 1995 by James R. Oestreich http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE2DB1038F934A35753C1A963958260
- Williams, Amadee Daryl. Lillian Fuchs, First Lady of the Viola (Studies in the History and Interpretation of Music). Published by Edwin Mellen Press, 1994.