Sadness at the death of London’s principal horn
mainThe death has been reported in Australia of Barry Tuckwell, principal horn of the London Symphony Orchestra in its liveliest era and its chairman in turbulent times. He was 88.
Barry came to Britain in 1951 and won a seat in the Halle’s horn section under John Barbirolli. Four years later he was named principal at the LSO, which would send its chief conductor packing after an outbreak of fisticuffs. He held the first horn seat for 13 years, and was loud enough to be elected chairman, a role he exerted with vigour. Ernest Fleischman never forgave Barry for firing him as general manager after he had just secured for the orchestra its residency in the unbuilt Barbican Centre. Ernest went on to rebuild the LA Phil, agreeing reluctantly to a reconciliation with Barry not long before he died.
Barry left the LSO for an international solo career, which went well for a while. He is reckoned to be the most prolific horn player on record. Later on he took up conducting, returning home as chief conductor of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra in 1980.
He was a live wire in London’s vibrant Australian scene. His sister Patricia married the Queen’s cousin, the Earl of Harewood, and Charles Mackerras was a close mate. Barry was a convivial fellow, always ready with a cheery quip. The last time I saw him in Australia, he came rushing over to demand the latest ins and outs of the London orchestral scene.
photo (c) Fritz Curzon
Arguably the greatest horn player of all time. I’m pleased he had such a long life.
That’s a very bold statement indeed. There were horn players of his time whom I rate higher.
That’s why I wrote “arguably”. Just who would you rate higher Mr. Guest?
Maybe Dale Clevenger…
Dennis Brain?
Dennis Brain…didn’t he play in a slightly earlier era?
Dale Clevenger…really, you are very funny.
Really? Is this the time???
Oh really? A bit mean spirited when Barry has just died, land a tad superior in tone. Pays to be generous in life. Who are these players you don’t mention? Barry Tuckwell was a phenomenally good player as many are and have been but also a wonderfully nice man whom friends and colleagues got along within Britain and beyond. Nothing prima donna about Barry.
There are testimonials I rate higher than yours.
Looking for the greatest? In music? The greatest pianist? The greatest conductor? The greatest hon player? Madness.
A great artist Adrian. But the catogary of greatest horn player of all time must surely go to Denis Brain
Wagner would have said Franz Joseph Strauss, father of Richard, although he was a cranky old coot.
Sure, he was one of the Biggies, but “the best of all times”?…He followed in the tradition of the Brain family, like Alan Civil, and then there were Hermann Baumann, Roland Berger, Gerd Seifert and Dale Clevenger…
The b/w photo stems from one of the easiest sessions I ever had the pleasure of “shooting”. RIP Barry.
Dear Fritz, It’s a lovely pic, from a press handout. I will credit it without delay. best wishes, Norman
When Tuckwell was a soloist with the Monterey Symphony, back in the 1970s, I had the pleasure of interviewing him for a radio broadcast. On the subject of new music, I remember him glowing at the prospect of a new concerto by William Walton, alas never to be. I treasure that memory and all his rare recordings (Pinto, Koechlin, etc.) that remain in my library.
A legend ! RIP
Wonderful player. And a great champion of new music, too. A number of composers were inspired to write for him, amongst them Olly Knussen, who penned his beautiful concerto.
What a great character! He was always fun to have around.
swell obit by Mairi Nicolson, ici: abc.net.au/classic/read-and-watch/news/vale-barry-tuckwell/11876484 “You, God of horn!” A Japanese fan approached Tuckwell after a concert with this apt appellation and the words stuck, Barry wryly tweaking his personal email to include the letters “GoH.”..Surprisingly, a big influence on his playing style was jazz trombonist Tommy Dorsey. “My hero! A master at phrasing, breathing and tonal control, he showed me how to play melodies on a brass instrument, and play them in a truly vocal style.”..[didn’t Ol’ Blue Eyes credit TD as his inspiration as well?]
Thanks for this. I heard Barry play as soloist a couple of times. Super player. And he’s right about Tommy Dorsey!
Yes, dd, Sinatra credited Dorsey with teaching him the art of phrasing and breath control.
Back to the subject at hand: I love Barry Tuckwell’s playing, and own and enjoy many of his records. “The Greatest”? How about just saying he was one of the greats? He certainly was….
I hope that those horrible fires in Australia did in no way hasten his death.
Thanks, Barry, for all the beautiful hornistry.
And for that excellent ‘stache!
As I understand it, Tuckwell *chose* to retire from solo playing in 1997, while still on top form as a player, concluding with a recital entitled “Farewell to the Horn” on 25/01/1997 at the Harbor Court Hotel, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Lebrecht’s expression “went well for while” is, therefore, misleading, in that it implies erroneously that Tuckwell’s solo career ended due to factors beyond his control.
Quite right SVM. To write Tuckwell’s solo career “went well for while” is a huge understatement. He was hugely successful for about 30 years.
Quite right. He seemed to be around for a long time as a solo horn player. It can be debated who was the greatest but no doubt that Tuckwell was a very fine player indeed.
Thank you for making that comment. I was about to make the same observation. Tuckwell had it all (intact) throughout his long and illustrious career. He gave endless pleasure to musicians and listeners. He led the way and set a new standard.
Hear hear! Alas, I am too young to have heard Tuckwell perform live, but his recordings constitute a formidable legacy (and I say this despite *not* being a horn player). Another important legacy is his enrichment of the horn repertoire, both through plucking existing works out of obscurity and through the corpus of new works he commissioned/premièred/&c. (as an accompanist, I have had the pleasure of playing one such work, Thea Musgrave’s /Music for Horn and Piano/).
I met him as a participant at the BSO Academy. He said the thing that helped him decide to step back was he noticed that some of the notes he could always hit weren’t there.
Big influence on my playing and my career. As a teenager I listened to his recordings endlessly. RIP, condolences to his family and friends.
I was introduced to Barry Tuckwell as a very young boy via Decca release – The World of the Horn. Since then I have enjoyed his playing right through to his splendid recording of the Knussen concerto – one of my favourite CDs. RIP
Would be interesting to hear more about his decade (or more?) in Western Maryland (Hagerstown…of all places) and the people he touched there. Anyone?
His album “A Sure Thing”, with arrangements of Jerome Kern songs, is epic- some of the most beautiful horn playing ever recorded.
His Brahms Horn Trio with Perlman and Ashkenazy is one of the finest recordings of anything, IMO, and the recorded sound has held up remarkably well to boot.
Music Director of the Maryland Symphony Orchestra
http://www.marylandsymphony.org/news/horn-virtuoso-and-former-mso-music-director-barry-tuckwell-has-died-aged-88
In the early 2000s I met Barry at a drinks reception at Peabody Institute in Baltimore where he was on faculty. Introduced by a faculty member friend, Barry asked what I taught. “Acoustics” I replied. He quipped with a big smile, “So you are one of the bastards who makes or breaks us.” I assured the great man that I tried to do more making than breaking. During this time he was also music director of the Maryland Symphony in Hagerstown, MD about 60 miles west of Bal’more, hon.
A superb and wonderful musician. Rest in peace.
Vale, Legend!
Yes, he was LSO principal horn, most recently about 50 years ago. A better headline would be “Death of Legendary Hornist.”
I just finished re-listening to the Kertesz/LSO recording of the Brahms Serenade #1. A masterclass for the horn which Mr. Tuckwell pulls off with virtuosity and panache. Superb recording and playing.
Very sad news. RIP
No mention by commenters of Philip Myers as a top-tier horn player? An oversight? Or is there something else at play?
Jasper