Lillian Fuchs

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Lillian Fuchs (born November 18, 1902 , † October 5, 1995 in Englewood / New Jersey ) was an American violist, university teacher and composer.

Fuchs had piano lessons as a child and accompanied her brother, the violinist Joseph Fuchs, on the piano. At the New York Institute of Musical Art (today Juilliard School ) she then studied violin with Louis Svećenski and Franz Kneisel and composition with Percy Goetschius . She made her debut as a violinist in 1926, but then switched to the viola and became a member of the Perole String Quartet , of which she was a member until the mid-1940s. In addition, she toured the USA and Europe as a soloist and performed as a chamber musician with her brothers Joseph and Harry .

As a member of the Musicians Guild , which her brother Joseph co-founded and which also included Leo Smit , Leonard Rose , Frank Sheridan and the Kroll Quartet , she became a central figure in New York's musical life with numerous appearances in the Town Hall . In 1953 she appeared as a soloist at the Casals Festival in Prades, and in the following years also at the summer music festivals in Aspen and at Kneisel Hall in Blue Hill.

In 1947 Bohuslav Martinu composed a series of madrigals for violin and viola for her and her brother Joseph; to her he also dedicated the 1955 Sonata for Viola and Piano . Other composers also wrote works for her, such as Jacques de Menasce a Sonata for Viola and Piano (1957), Quincy Porter a Duo for Viola and Harp and a Duo for Violin and Viola (1962) and Vittorio Rieti a Triple Concerto for Violin, Viola , Piano and Orchestra (1973). Fuchs himself composed concert pieces for violin and viola and transcribed Mozart's violin concerto KV 216 and Bach's cello suites for her instrument. Her study pieces for viola were widely used ( Fifteen Characteristic Studies , 1965, Twelve Caprices , 1950 and Sixteen Fantasy Études , 1961), which William Primrose held in high esteem.

Fuchs was active as a teacher throughout her career. She began at the Manhattan School of Music in 1962 , taught at the Juilliard School from 1971 and at the Mannes College of Music in the 1980s . Her most prominent students were Isaac Stern and Pinchas Zukerman . In her later years she also performed as the Lillian Fuchs Trio with her twin daughters Barbara Stein Mallow (cello) and Carol Stein Amado .

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personal data
SURNAME Fuchs, Lillian
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American violist, university professor and composer
DATE OF BIRTH November 18, 1902
DATE OF DEATH 5th October 1995
Place of death Englewood