Lillian Fuchs

Lillian Fuchs (November 18, 1901 – October 5, 1995) was an American violist, composer, and teacher born in New York City. She appeared on Broadway in 1914 in the production Sari. Her brothers, violinist Joseph Fuchs and cellist Harry Fuchs, were also professional musicians, and the three siblings performed together on numerous recordings.

Fuchs began her musical training as a pianist before studying violin with her father and subsequently with Franz Kneisel, former concertmaster of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and first violinist of the Kneisel Quartet, at the Institute of Musical Art, now known as the Juilliard School. She also studied music composition there under Percy Goetschius. Kneisel later encouraged her to switch from violin to viola, a transition she made after her New York debut on violin in 1926. She became a founding member of the Perolé Quartet, with which she played viola from 1925 to 1945, and she also collaborated with the Budapest and Amadeus String Quartets. She appeared as a soloist with major orchestras including the New York Philharmonic and the Casals Festival Orchestra, and performed with chamber groups such as the Musicians Guild. Later in her career she formed the Lillian Fuchs Trio with her twin daughters. In 1947, composer Bohuslav Martinů 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.

Fuchs composed several works for viola that remain in standard use at universities and music schools worldwide, including Twelve Caprices for Viola, Fifteen Characteristic Studies for Viola, Sixteen Fantasy Etudes, and a Sonata Pastorale for solo viola. She was the first to perform and record the complete Bach Cello Suites on viola, using her Matteo Goffriller instrument for all six. Her interpretation of the sixth suite made a strong impression on Pablo Casals, who, after a private performance, told her it sounded better on the viola than on the cello. DoReMi Records later reissued her 1950s recordings of the Bach suites on CD.

Fuchs owned two violas of approximately 16 inches each — one made by Matteo Goffriller (1659–1742) and another, darker in tone, by Gasparo da Salò (1540–1609). Both instruments were passed on to her granddaughter, Jeanne Abby Mallow. She played with a bow made by English bow maker John Dodd (1752–1839), which sold at Tarisio Auctions in May 2014 for $22,800. She preferred Dodd bows for the greater control their shorter length afforded and for their practicality given her small stature. She used a gut A string, which she considered essential on an old Italian instrument.

Her teaching career spanned several major institutions, including the Manhattan School of Music, the Juilliard School, the Aspen Music Festival and School, and the Blue Hill Music School, which she co-founded with her brother Joseph. Among her students were Martha Strongin Katz, James Wendell Griffith, Geraldine Walther, Lawrence Dutton, Yizhak Schotten, Isaac Stern, Pinchas Zukerman, and Dorothy DeLay. Her musical influence extended into her family as well: her daughter Barbara Stein Mallow became a cellist, her daughter Carol Stein Amado a violinist, her granddaughter Jeanne Abby Mallow a violist and violinist, and her grandson David Amado a conductor.