Young musicians -- spellbound -- watched a private performance Monday afternoon by award-winning violinist Axel Strauss, who performs tonight in the Napa Valley Symphony's last concert of the season.

At one point, Strauss plucked strings with two hands that chased each other across the instrument, creating a mesmerizing melody of highs and lows that seemed to defy reality.

At the students' urging, Strauss repeated that difficult portion of Maurice Ravel's "Tzigane" three or four times, later admitting that it usually amazes a jaw-dropped audience. "Sometimes I'm surprised at how fast I can play," he said.

Some students left the "Meet the Masters" class with higher musical standards and resolved to practice more.

"I just wish I could play with that much passion," sophomore violinist Alaina Hernandez said. "It's hard to be that into the music. You saw how he moved."

Strauss appeared at Napa High School courtesy of the symphony's education foundation. He is the fourth musician this year to participate in the volunteer program.

Asher Raboy, symphony conductor, introduced Strauss to students as the best violinist that ever played with Napa's symphony.

The son of two amateur violinists from Lubeck, Germany, Strauss began studying violin at age 4. There were ups and downs to having parents familiar with his chosen instrument: His mother attended his violin classes, methodically taking notes of his mistakes. He resisted her efforts at first, but realized later that it paid off. His parents always gave him the option of quitting violin classes, but insisted that, "If you continue, you have to do it right."

By the time he entered high school, Strauss was practicing three hours a day while "trying to have a normal childhood."

Since then, Strauss has performed around the world, studied with Dorothy DeLay at the Juilliard School and worked with artists Itzhak Perlman, Mitsuko Uchida and Bruno Canino. He moved to the United States in 1996.

As a professor of music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, he enjoys performing and teaching, which he called the "ideal combination." Napa is a natural getaway for him.

Strauss advised would-be musicians to master a repertoire with works that emphasize their strengths.

Spencer May, a 12-year-old Napa Valley Language Academy student, showed up for Strauss' session. In an impromptu private class after the performance, Strauss critiqued the student's rendition of a piece. May learned to vary the intensity to create color. "Now, when you play it, it'll be more exciting," Strauss said.

Thanks to symphony donors, each student in Monday's class received tickets to the 8 p.m. concert tonight. Strauss will perform Vaughan Williams' "The Lark Ascending" and Ravel's "Tzigane," in addition to works by Maxwell Davies and Dvorák. Strauss performed the same works at a Sunday concert.

Ironically, most Napa High School students said they'd have to miss the concert because of their own orchestra practice session. They perform April 3, with a line-up that includes portions of the "Lord of the Rings" soundtrack by Howard Shore.

The symphony's public relations director, Cookie Deckter, was on hand to recruit students for the new Napa Valley Youth Symphony, which was formed last fall.

"It's a choice between music and their sports," Deckter said. "I'd always choose music. I always have."

Strauss was impressed by the attentiveness of the student audience. "They usually seem engaged in an event like this. There's always great interaction."

Students asked how he plucked the strings so fast, why his violin has only one "peggy thing" for tuning and what kind of violin he plays. The violin, an 1845 J.F. Pressenda on loan, only has one "fine-tuner," he explained, because some theorize that it makes it easier to find the right notes. The plucking, he further explained, is like diagonally pulling clothes from clothespins across a line.

"He's got a great personality," sophomore violinist Meliza Mokurani noted. "He's not bland like most violinists."

Students seemed to enjoy Strauss' laid-back style and humor, which Theresa Gable, symphony operations director, said is exactly the point of the master's class.

"It demystifies what it's like to be a performer," Gable said. The symphony's programs for students include master's classes, fifth-grade conducting workshops and a family symphony that includes an activity book for children, all intended to close the gap between music and children.

Strauss is the fifth musician to join the symphony as a guest this season. He comes to Napa with many honors, including as the first German violinist to win the Naumburg Violin Award, in 1998. In 1991, he won the silver medal at the Enescu Competition in Romania and has been recognized with many other awards, including top prizes in the Bach and Wieniawski competitions.

He has performed at venues around the world, including with the Shanghai Symphony, Hamburg Symphony Orchestra and Budapest Philharmonic.

He has recorded the violin version of the "Sonatas Opus 120" by Brahms, the "Duo for Violin and Cello" by Zoltán Kodály, a live recording of the "Sibelius Violin Concerto" and a selection of Mendelssohn's "Songs Without Words," arranged for violin and piano.

Strauss hopes his master's class encouraged students to keep pursuing music, even if they don't have the talent to become professionals. They would regret leaving it behind, he assured them.

"I don't think humans can exist without music," Strauss said. "People are placing less and less importance on it, and this is when we need it the most."

Heather Osborn can be reached at 256-2265 or hosborn@napanews.com