Philip Farkas

Philip Farkas (March 5, 1914 – December 21, 1992) was the principal horn player 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.

On March 5, 1914, Philip Farkas was born to Anna Cassidy Farkas and Emil Nelson Farkas. (March 5th is known by many as the Horn Duumvirate Date, as it was the birth date of both Farkas and Barry Tuckwell, perhaps the two greatest horn players ever.) While his parents were ignorant about music, his mother encouraged him to take piano 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 in band, but the school only had a bass drum and a tuba available at the moment, so Farkas chose 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 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 horn for three dollars a month.

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