Philip Farkas papers, 1951-1990, bulk 1954-1976
A Guide to his Papers at the Indiana University Archives
Finding aid prepared by Hannah Keeney
Summary Information
Repository
Indiana University Archives
1320 East Tenth Street
Herman B Wells Library E460
Bloomington, IN 47405-7000
Phone: 812-855-1127
Email: archives@indiana.edu
http://www.libraries.iub.edu/archives
Creator
Farkas, Philip.
TitlePhilip Farkas papers, 1951-1990, bulk 1954-1976
Collection No.
C553
Extent
0.9 cubic feet (3 boxes)
Language
Materials are in English
Abstract
Philip Farkas was a Distinguished Professor of
Music at Indiana University and a world-renowned French horn player. The Philip Farkas
papers primarily encompasses Farkas’ manuscripts and final drafts documenting the writing
process of
The Art of Horn Playing as well as two acclaimed
publications,
The Art of Brass Playing and
The Art of Musicianship.
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research. Advance notice is required.
Biographical Note
Philip Farkas was born in Chicago on March 5, 1914 to Emil and Anna Cassidy Farkas. Though
not musically gifted themselves, his parents encouraged young Philip to explore music
through piano lessons. At age twelve he joined the Boy Scouts and became the troop's bugler
until he was fourteen. Around this same time Farkas began playing the tuba in band. In 1927
a streetcar conductor refused to allow him to ride with the tuba on the grounds that he was
blocking traffic, and pointed to a fellow passenger's horn case as an instrument of more
acceptable size. Immediately following this encounter he and his father went out and rented
a Schmidt horn for $3 a month. Farkas fell in love with the instrument and decided to become
a professional horn player.
Farkas went on to become the youngest member of the All-Chicago High School Orchestra,
first horn player in the Chicago Civic Orchestra, and in 1933, without having finished high
school, he began playing as a professional first horn with the Kansas City Philharmonic. In
1936 he became the youngest member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, playing first horn
until 1941. He then performed with the Cleveland Orchestra (1941-1945) and the Boston
Symphony Orchestra (1945-1946) before returning to the Cleveland Orchestra for a year and
then on to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (1948-1960). During this time Farkas also worked
as an instructor, teaching horn both privately and at the Kansas City Conservatory,
Cleveland Institute, DePaul University, Roosevelt University, and Northwestern
University.
In 1960 the then Dean of the Indiana University School of Music, Wilfred Bain asked Farkas
to consider leaving his work with the orchestra to become the horn professor at Indiana
University. Farkas agreed and served in that capacity for 22 years. When he retired in 1982,
Farkas continued to perform as a soloist and taught as a clinician all over the United
States. He died in Bloomington on December 21, 1992.
Arrangement
Collection is organized into two series: Publications and Subject files.
Scope and Content Note
This small collection of the Philip Farkas papers are organized into two series,
Publications (1954-1976) and Subject files (1951-1990). The bulk of the collection consists
of handwritten drafts, figures, and correspondence related to three of his publications:
The Art of Horn Playing,
The Art of
Brass Playing
, and
The Art of Musicianship.
This collection also includes a significant number of photographs of both Farkas and other
musicians, as well as photos for his publications. These are housed separately from the
manuscripts; contact the Archives Photographs Curator for additional information.
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Indexing Terms
-
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
IUCAT, the IU Libraries' online catalog.
Materials about related topics, persons or places can be found by searching the catalog
using these terms.
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Related Material
Additional publications and research materials may be accessed in
IUScholarworks. Related photographs may
be available in the
University Archives Photographs Database
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
2002/014
Usage RestrictionsThe donor(s) of this collection have not transferred their copyrights for the materials to the Trustees of Indiana University.
For more information, please contact the Indiana University Archives staff.
The Indiana University Archives respects the intellectual property rights of others and does not claim any copyrights for
non-university records, materials in the public domain, or materials for which we do not hold a Deed of Gift. Responsibility
for the determination of the copyright status of these materials rests with those persons wishing to reuse the materials.
Researchers are responsible for securing permission from copyright owners and any other rights holders for any reuse of these
materials that extends beyond fair use or other statutory limitations.
Digital reproductions of archival materials from the Indiana University Archives are made available for noncommercial educational
and research purposes only. If you are the copyright holder for any of the digitized materials and have questions about its
inclusion on our site, please contact the Indiana University Archivist.
Preferred Citation
[Item], Philip Farkas papers, Collection C553, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.
Provenance
Gift of Philip Farkas’ daughter, Margaret Radke, in 2002.
Processing InformationProcessed by Hannah Keeney.
Completed in 2014.
Folder List
Series:
Box 1
Publications, 1954-1976
undated
The Art of Brass Playing,
1962
Notebooks 1-3, 1954-1962
General, 1962
The Art of Horn Playing,
1954-1955
Correspondence - Bach, Vincent, 1955
The Art of Musicianship,
1976
Edwards Brothers correspondence, 1976
Notebooks 1-3, 1951-1976
Permissions requests, 1976
Typescript, 1951-1976
(Folder 1 of 2)
Box 2
Typescript, 1951-1976
(Folder 2 of 2)
The Art of Musicianship, 1976
Figures, 1951-1976
(2 folders)
(See Oversized - Box 3)
Typographic Insight, 1951-1976
Horn Playing Figures and Diagrams (probably from one of the books), undated
(See Oversized - Box 3)
Series:
Subject Files, 1951-1995,
undated
"An interview with Philip Farkas," by Rob
Enslin, 1988
Horn Exercises, undated
International Brassfest program (held at IU), 1995
Newspaper clippings, 1951-1991
New York Conference for Scholarships Award, 1973
Philip Farkas Discography thru 1980, 1951-1980
“Philip Farkas and the Lufthorn,”(photocopy of
cartoon by Jim Collorafi), 1984
Philip Farkas pamphlet, undated
Teo, Adaleine – Correpondence, 1989-1990
Box 3
Oversized Materials
