JAVS Fall 2005

rhe late Carol Amado and Barbara Stein Mallow.

Washington Heights. As the apartments had the same room configuration, this woman was struck by how many hours Fuchs would practice (often six hou rs a day, acco rding ro her) and that she wou ld move from room to room over rhe course of rhe practi ce hours and repeat certain phrases endlessly. The librar ian found rhis difficul t ro listen to , but was impressed by rhe small woman's discipline and sramrna. 1 T he Musician's Guild was a performing group of nine musicians, formed in 1947 by Joseph Fuchs and Willi am Kro ll. Lillian Fuchs was one of rwo violists in it (the other was Nathan Go rdon , violist in the Kroll Quartet) where she fre quentl y perfo rmed various solo and chamber wo rks for and wirh viola. She often perfo rmed the Moza rt Violin and Viola Duos wirh her brother at these conce rts.

chapter - Epilogue. The Epilogue essentially is about Miss Fud1s' death and the subsequent tributes paid to her. We also arc rold of rhc deaths of her daughter Carol and her brother Joseph since the original book was published ten years earlier. Mr. Williams has done rhc viola and music wo rlds a grea t service by documcnring rhc li fe of this remarkable artist. He has taken rhe time to research and locate many old reviews of the concerts she gave and pl ayed in. As one who had private lessons wirh Lillian Fuchs ar Blue Hill and rhe Yale Summer Music School ar Norfolk, CT. and for several years attended weekly chamber music sessions, coached by Ms. Fuchs at the home ofMrs. Levenrritt, this reviewer was swept back ro the special musical world of this superlative violist, artist, teacher and human being. Readers of this excel lent book will also be able ro mke in rhis special chapter of viola history and the musical and per sonal life of an outstanding woman who was not only the first female viola soloist of importance in Americ.'1, bur one of irs greatest string players, reachers, and record ing artists as well. r;

Her reaching LOok many turns. Initially, she rejected teaching at The JuiUiard School, because, "she did nor feel qualified ro reach the viola." Arone point she left rhe Manhanan School of Music because she felt that they empha sized orchest ral training at the expense of chamber music. She also taught at rhc Cleveland Institute of Music, the Aspen Music School and the Mannes Coll ege of Music. There arc some wonderful photos of her as a 1 0-year old, as a young woman in her early 20s with her Landolfi violin, photos of her fam ily, Lillian Fuchs with other musi cians, sud1 as J. de Menasce, harpist Laura Newel l, Quincy Porter, Joseph Fuchs, the Kneisel Q uartet, her daughters, and a sweet photo of her with her hus band at rhcir farm in Pennsylva ni a. There arc two appendices - one of biographies ofmany of the people wirh whom she performed or interacted with during her career and one of reviews of many of her concerTs and orher anicles about her. A discography and bibliogra phy conclude the book. This book has also been made avail able in a softcover version, slightly updated and modified, by iUniversc inc. Publishing. Mr. Williams has added some footnotes, updated the Appendix A (the biographical mes; for example, Lillian Fuchs' very talented grand-daughter, violist Jeanne Mallow is d1ere) and added anocl1cr brief

NOTES

' Some years ago, rhis reviewer had occas ion to meet a librarian, a woman who cold me rhar she li ved fo r many yea rs under Lillian Fuchs in her apartment on Pinehurst Avenue in

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