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Heroes of the Horn

French Horn Players of the BSO

Close-up of the French horn section from the inaugural season of the BSO (1881-82), under Georg Henschel, conductor

Principal Edward Schormann, Louis Lippoldt, Anthony Gumpricht, and Carl Schumann comprised the very first French horn section in the BSO. (Collage by James Notman)

Principal French Horn, 1881-Present

Members of the Horn Section, 1881-Present

The early years

Xaver Reiter, BSO Principal Horn from 1886 to 1890

(Photograph published in The Heroes of Valhalla by Norman Schweikert)

The cover and program page for the March 29 and 30, 1889 concert featuring Xaver Reiter as soloist — Program for BSO concert of March 29 and 30, 1889, which featured a performance of Mozart’s Horn Concerto No. 4 in E-flat Major, K. 495, performed by Xaver Reiter

A muscular man sits on a rock in front of water dressed in an older style bathing costume — Heinrich Lorbeer leans against a rock in bathing clothes

Lorbeer’s remarkable stamina enabled him to enjoy a 46-year tenure in the BSO’s French horn section, from 1891 to 1937. He was said to be a very strong swimmer. (Photographer unknown)

George Wendler, BSO Principal Horn, 1913-1928

(Carl J. Horner)

1930s-1970s

Brief bio and sketch by Gerome Brush of horn player George Boettcher, BSO Principal Horn 1928-1936 — George Boettcher served as principal horn from 1928 to 1936

(Sketch by Gerome Brush, 1936)

Poster with oval headshots of each member of the orchestra from the 1928-1929 season, with the a red rectangle highlighting the horn section — Close-up of the horn section during the 1928-29 season, under Serge Koussevitzky, conductor

From left to right: principal George Boettcher, Serge Pogrebniak, Cornelius Van Den Berg, Heinrich Lorbeer, Willem Valkenier, Georg Schindler, Marcel Lannoye, and George Blot. (J. E. Purdy)

A man dressed in a tuxedo stands backstage by some wooden lockers holding his horn — Stagliano poses with French horn

Backstage photograph of James Stagliano with French horn. Stagliano joined the French horn section in 1946 and was BSO Principal Horn from 1950-1971. (David Nilsson)

Six men sit in a row on Symphony Hall stage holding their French horns and looking at music stands in front of them — Members of the BSO horn section during the 1965-66 season, from left to right: Ralph Pottle, Osbourne McConathy, Charles Yanchich, Paul Keaney, Thomas Newell, Harry Shapiro, and principal James Stagliano

(Photographer unknown)

Six men in tuxedos stand holding their French horns in front of a case holding historical instruments and a painting of Serge Koussevitzky — The BSO horn section in 1970, including (left to right): Paul Keaney, Charles Yancich, Ralph Pottle, David Ohanian, Harry Shapiro, and principal James Stagliano

(Photographer unknown)

1980-present

Charles Kovalovski sits on the left playing his French horn while Kurt Masur conducts on the right — BSO Principal Horn Charles Kovalovski performs Richard Strauss’ Concerto for Horn No. 1 in E-flat major, Op. 11 under the baton of Kurt Masur at Tanglewood, July 21, 1984

(Walter Scott)

Five men in tuxedos stand backstage; four men hold French horns and the man in the middle is conductor Seiji Ozawa, with his bow tie untied — Seiji Ozawa stands with members of the horn section after the BSO’s April 15, 1994 performance of Robert Schumann’s Konzertstück in F major for 4 horns, Op. 86

From left to right: Daniel Katzen, Jay Wadenpfuhl, Seiji Ozawa, principal Charles Kavalovski, and Richard Mackey. (Miro Vintoniv)

An older Elliott Carter stands next to James Sommerville in tuxedo holding his French horn; both are standing in the hallway at Symphony Hall with a bust of Arthur Fiedler and an exhibit case behind them — Elliott Carter and James Sommerville (BSO Principal Horn 1998-2022) following the world premiere performance of Carter’s Horn Concerto in Symphony Hall, November 15, 2007

The work was commissioned by the BSO. (Michael Lutch)

The first page from the music score to Elliott Carter's Horn Concerto — The first page of the score to Elliott Carter’s Horn Concerto, premiered by the BSO and James Sommerville (Principal Horn 1998-2022)

Four French horn players stand at the front of the stage while the orchestra plays behind them; the three men wear white performance jackets for Tanglewood and Rachel Childers wears a deep blue dress with draping folds — BSO French horn players Rachel Childers, Gus Sebring, Jason Snider, and Michael Winter perform Robert Schumann’s Konzertstück in F major for 4 horns, Op. 86 at Tanglewood with François-Xavier Roth conducting, August 8, 2019

(Hilary Scott)

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