Works by Mozart, Fauré, Bach, Martinu, Saint-Saëns (arranged by Ysaÿe), and Ravel. Joseph Fuchs, violin; Hamao Fujiwara, violin; Joseph Villa, piano. (VAI Audio VAIA 1190)

Lauded by Nathan Milstein as "the greatest American-trained violinist," Joseph Fuchs (1899-1997) studied at Juilliard with Franz Kneisel from the age of 14, later becoming a member of the faculty for 53 years. He was still teaching until his death just short of his 98th birthday.

This disc is especially welcome since so many Fuchs recordings have gone out of print. It documents a masterly live performance the 75-year-old Fuchs gave in New York in December 1974 (he played his final recital 18 years later at the age of 93 in Carnegie Hall).

Fuchs is sensitively partnered by pianist Joseph Villa in sonatas by Mozart and Fauré, the Martinu Sonata for Two Violins (with his pupil Hamao Fujiwara), and pieces by Saint-Saëns and Ravel. In these works and Bach's Chaconne for solo violin, Fuchs's soaring interpretations display a technical security that belies his age. One is tempted to wonder, if he played this well at 75, how much better would he have been at 93, with an additional 18 years of experience! This CD will be appreciated by connoisseurs of distinguished violin playing.

Vincent La Selva Conducts
Verdi's Complete Opera Overtures

Verdi: Complete Opera Overtures (La Forza del Destino, Oberto, Nabucco, Luisa Miller, Giovanna d'Arco, Les Vêpres Siciliennes, Un Giorno di Regno, La Battaglia di Legnano, Stiffelio, Alzira, Aida). Bern Symphony Orchestra, Vincent La Selva, conductor. (Newport Classic NPD 85649)

This new CD serves as a fitting commemoration of La Selva's "Viva Verdi!" festival, containing on a single, nearly 80-minute disc all 10 of Verdi's canonical operatic overtures, plus the rarely recorded overture to Aida. La Selva conducts with fervor and emotional conviction that inspires musicians and listeners alike, one founded on a core of discipline that never loses control even at the most dramatic moments. The Bern Symphony plays alertly and responsively, and the sound is well engineered.

If La Selva seems especially at home in the Stifellio overture, he ought to be; he gave the American premiere of the opera in 1976, two decades before its first performance at the Met.

The nine-minute, unpublished Aida overture—not to be confused with the brief prelude that customarily introduces performances of the opera—was withdrawn by Verdi before opening night, and remained unheard until Toscanini was allowed a single performance in 1940. It is currently played from a score that was taken down by dictation from a recording of the Toscanini broadcast. Although unsuitable as an opera prologue (it gives away all the hit tunes in advance), it is regrettable that Verdi did not permit its use as an eminently effective concert overture.

La Selva has been teaching at Juilliard for 33 years. A graduate of the School, he joined the faculty in 1969, the year Juilliard's home at Lincoln Center opened. During the past 29 years, his New York Grand Opera has presented over 150 free performances of 56 different operas that have been seen by three million people: an impressive legacy of service to both music and the public.

Mention this column at the Juilliard Bookstore to receive a 5-percent discount on this month’s featured recordings. (In-store purchases only.)

Michael Sherwin is marketing manager of the Juilliard Bookstore (bookstore.juilliard.edu). He has held Rockefeller and Fromm Foundation Fellowships in music criticism, and has written for High Fidelity and Musical America.