Philip Farkas
Encyclopedia
Philip Farkas was principal horn
ist in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
for many years; he left in 1960 to join the music faculty at Indiana University Bloomington
. He wrote The Art of French Horn Playing which is considered by many to be the seminal work for horn players. Other books that he wrote include The Art of Brass Playing, The Art of Musicianship, and A Photo Study of 40 Virtuoso Horn Players' Embouchures. Nancy Jordan Fako has also written a biography about his life: Philip Farkas and His Horn - A Happy, Worthwhile Life. Later in his life he helped design the Holton Farkas horn.
lessons; this was Farkas’ first introduction to music. Around the age of twelve his Boy Scout
troop needed a bugler, so Farkas volunteered for the job. He sought tutoring from a neighbor who played the trumpet
, and soon became very good. Around the age of fourteen he started to develop asthma
, his parents thought it would be best if he played a wind instrument
. The school only had a bass drum
and a tuba
available at the moment, so Farkas choose the tuba
.
Farkas had to take a street car to school, and because of the tuba’s size, the conductor began to complain that it took up too much room. Farkas asked him what instrument would be more convenient and the conductor pointed to a French horn case belonging to a band that was on the street. Soon after, Farkas and his father went to downtown Chicago and rented a Schmidt French Horn for three dollars a month.
After playing his horn for a while he fell in love with it and decided to pursue a profession as a horn player. While still in high school he became the youngest member of the All-Chicago High School Orchestra, First horn player in the Chicago Civic Orchestra, and first horn in the Kansas City Philharmonic; this was his first professional job as a horn player.
He played first chair in the Chicago Symphony, Boston
, and Cleveland orchestras as well, being the only horn ever offered the solo horn positions in these five major orchestras and the youngest principal player in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
. Farkas was also a music Professor; he taught at Indiana University
, Northwestern University
, Cleveland Institute
, Kansas City Conservatory, De Paul University, and Roosevelt University
. He also held many clinics and performed as a soloist nationwide. Farkas founded a publishing company; Wind Music Inc… He also partnered with Chicago
trumpeter Renold Schilke
in the founding of Schilke Music Products and as consultants to the musical instrument division of Yamaha. He received a doctorate in music, presented by Eastern Michigan University
in April 1978.
He is very well known for designed a top-selling French horn made by the Frank Holton Company (which is still the top selling to this day) as well as a large selection of mouthpiece
s. He published four best-selling books to help French horn players, brass players, and all musicians improve in the art. His first book: The Art of French Horn Playing, is nicknamed the bible of French horn players. It is written to help a blossoming musician to even a professional horn player improve.
Farkas was known to have a kind, cheery personality, and was very much a perfectionist. He made a big impact in the world of music, as well as to many lives along the way. He continued to practice his horn every day until his death on December 21, 1992 at the age of 78.
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
ist in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1891, the Symphony makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival...
for many years; he left in 1960 to join the music faculty at Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University Bloomington is a public research university located in Bloomington, Indiana, in the United States. IU Bloomington is the flagship campus of the Indiana University system. Being the flagship campus, IU Bloomington is often referred to simply as IU or Indiana...
. He wrote The Art of French Horn Playing which is considered by many to be the seminal work for horn players. Other books that he wrote include The Art of Brass Playing, The Art of Musicianship, and A Photo Study of 40 Virtuoso Horn Players' Embouchures. Nancy Jordan Fako has also written a biography about his life: Philip Farkas and His Horn - A Happy, Worthwhile Life. Later in his life he helped design the Holton Farkas horn.
Life
On March 5, 1914, Philip Farkas was born to Anna Cassidy Farkas and Emil Nelson Farkas. While his parents were ignorant about music, his mother encouraged him to take pianoPiano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
lessons; this was Farkas’ first introduction to music. Around the age of twelve his Boy Scout
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
troop needed a bugler, so Farkas volunteered for the job. He sought tutoring from a neighbor who played the trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, and soon became very good. Around the age of fourteen he started to develop asthma
Asthma
Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...
, his parents thought it would be best if he played a wind instrument
Wind instrument
A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator , in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into a mouthpiece set at the end of the resonator. The pitch of the vibration is determined by the length of the tube and by manual modifications of...
. The school only had a bass drum
Bass drum
Bass drums are percussion instruments that can vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished. The type usually seen or heard in orchestral, ensemble or concert band music is the orchestral, or concert bass drum . It is the largest drum of...
and a tuba
Tuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
available at the moment, so Farkas choose the tuba
Tuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
.
Farkas had to take a street car to school, and because of the tuba’s size, the conductor began to complain that it took up too much room. Farkas asked him what instrument would be more convenient and the conductor pointed to a French horn case belonging to a band that was on the street. Soon after, Farkas and his father went to downtown Chicago and rented a Schmidt French Horn for three dollars a month.
After playing his horn for a while he fell in love with it and decided to pursue a profession as a horn player. While still in high school he became the youngest member of the All-Chicago High School Orchestra, First horn player in the Chicago Civic Orchestra, and first horn in the Kansas City Philharmonic; this was his first professional job as a horn player.
He played first chair in the Chicago Symphony, Boston
Boston Symphony Orchestra
The Boston Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1881, the BSO plays most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at the Tanglewood Music Center...
, and Cleveland orchestras as well, being the only horn ever offered the solo horn positions in these five major orchestras and the youngest principal player in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1891, the Symphony makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival...
. Farkas was also a music Professor; he taught at Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
, Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
, Cleveland Institute
Cleveland Institute of Music
The Cleveland Institute of Music is an independent music conservatory located in the University Circle district of Cleveland, Ohio, United States and is overseen by president Joel Smirnoff and Adrian Daly, dean....
, Kansas City Conservatory, De Paul University, and Roosevelt University
Roosevelt University
Roosevelt University is a coeducational, private university with campuses in Chicago, Illinois and Schaumburg, Illinois. Founded in 1945, the university is named in honor of both former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The university's curriculum is based on...
. He also held many clinics and performed as a soloist nationwide. Farkas founded a publishing company; Wind Music Inc… He also partnered with Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
trumpeter Renold Schilke
Renold Schilke
Renold Otto Schilke was a professional orchestral trumpet player, instrument designer and manufacturer. He founded and ran Schilke Music Products Incorporated, a manufacturer of brass instruments and mouthpieces.-Youth:...
in the founding of Schilke Music Products and as consultants to the musical instrument division of Yamaha. He received a doctorate in music, presented by Eastern Michigan University
Eastern Michigan University
Eastern Michigan University is a comprehensive, co-educational public university located in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Ypsilanti is west of Detroit and eight miles east of Ann Arbor. The university was founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School...
in April 1978.
He is very well known for designed a top-selling French horn made by the Frank Holton Company (which is still the top selling to this day) as well as a large selection of mouthpiece
Mouthpiece (brass)
On brass instruments the mouthpiece is the part of the instrument which is placed upon the player's lips. The purpose of the mouthpiece is a resonator, which passes vibration from the lips to the column of air contained within the instrument, giving rise to the standing wave pattern of vibration in...
s. He published four best-selling books to help French horn players, brass players, and all musicians improve in the art. His first book: The Art of French Horn Playing, is nicknamed the bible of French horn players. It is written to help a blossoming musician to even a professional horn player improve.
Farkas was known to have a kind, cheery personality, and was very much a perfectionist. He made a big impact in the world of music, as well as to many lives along the way. He continued to practice his horn every day until his death on December 21, 1992 at the age of 78.
- “It is my desire to create such a book, containing not only the findings of my own years of experience, but that of my teachers, which prompts me to write so complex a subject as horn playing. But, if some day I might hear a solo beautifully played and would hear the soloist say afterward 'Your book helped me do that,' I would feel repaid for my effort a hundred times over”
- - Philip Farkas, The Art of French Horn Playing
Published works
- Philip Farkas, A Photographic Study of 40 Virtuoso Horn Players' Embouchures, (Bloomington, Indiana: Wind Music, Inc., 1970), 41 pp.
- Philip Farkas, The Art of Brass Playing: A Treatise on the Formation and Use of the Brass Player's Embouchure, (Atlanta, Georgia: Wind Music/TAP Publications, 1962), 65 pp.
- Philip Farkas, The Art of French Horn Playing: A Treatise on the Problems and Techniques of French Horn Playing, (Bloomington, Indiana: Wind Music, Inc., 1956), 95 pp., ISBN 0-87487-021-6
- Philip Farkas, The Art of Musicianship: A Treatise on the Skills, Knowledge, and Sensitivity Needed by the Mature Musician to Perform in an Artistic and Professional Manner, (Atlanta, Georgia: Wind Music/TAP Publications, 1976), 51 pp.
Biography
- M. Dee Stewart, ed., Philip Farkas: The Legacy of a Master: The Man who Defined Symphonic Horn Playing as Seen Through his Writings and the Comments of Colleagues and Students, (Northfield, Illinois: Instrumentalist Publishing Company, 1990), 157 pp.
- Nancy Jordan Fako, Philip Farkas & His Horn: A Happy, Worthwhile Life, (Elmhurst, Illinois: Crescent Park Music Publications, 1998), 296 pp., ISBN 0-9662587-0-3.