Philly’s trumpet dies
RIPThe prodigious American trumpet player Frank John Kaderabek has died at home, aged 94.
He played successively as principal trumpet of the Dallas Symphony (1953-1958), associate principal trumpet in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Fritz Reiner (1958-1966), principal trumpet of the Detroit Symphony (1966-1975), and principal trumpet of the Philadelphia Orchestra (1975-1995).
A wonderful player who I heard many times with the Philadelphia orchestra. A player with personality. His vibrato-laden sound was large and not to everyone’s taste (Ormandy loved it Muti did not). However he led a phenomenal brass section and his time playing with Herseth in Chicago was undoubtedly formative (you hear him playing with the CSO in the Reiner Pines recording for example). His sound is perhaps best heard in the Levine Mahler 5 recording with the Philadelphians. I miss his playing in these days of rather characterless principal trumpets…………RIP
Glenn Dodson – principal trombone – couldn’t stand his intonation. Successor 1st trumpet David Bilger was finer IMHO.
He has just retired. Maybe they can get Michael.Sachs…..
To be fair, Gilbert Johnson was a tough act to follow! Can’t say why Ormandy made the choice he did then… but it didn’t go well for Kaderabek.
Didn’t go well for 20 years???
The story goes that Ormandy had heard Solti with the CSO and wanted a bigger brass sound. Kaderabek certainly had that monster sound. He played 15 auditions in his life and won 12 of them. I will never forget a Poem of Ecstasy under Muti – perfect for his large (Harry James) sound. Simply out of this world. Herseth, Kaderabek, Broiles, Voisin, Murphy, all legends. Nobody today is anywhere close to what these men did.
There are a lot who come close,and are even better, because they don´t stick out like a sore thumb. Mike Sachs, Tom Rolfs(and Siders,the other BSO Tom), Chris Martin ,Philip Cobb, James Fountain,Tom Hooten, and tons of Scandinavian players. Though I am a lifeong fan of Maurice Murphy.
Excepting Sachs I respectfully don’t agree, I find them technically wonderful but just not interesting (as Murphy was – I once heard him in Mahler 5 – fabulous – that Black Dyke Mills background fully in evidence). I like Stefan Dohr (horn) in the BPO for the same reason – personality………..I will say I like Jeff Inouye…….
Played 14 auditions, won 12
I can’t begin to tell you how much I admired your Dad’s playing. I wrote him a letter in the mid-80s and he wrote back the loveliest letter in reply. The guys I know in the Philly area who are brass people all say he was both superb and the nicest guy in the world (not that typical for principal trumpets!).
The guy just died. What’s the point of trashing him, except to be tasteless. He must have done something right to have won all of those principal jobs.
Thank you
What a horrible thing to say-particularly at this moment. You must be a very unhappy person to need to commit this to writing for everyone to see.
John Kelly; a bassoonist friend of mine that grew up with the Philly sound and sometimes played with them often said that Muti put an end to the famous and characteristic Philly sound that went back to Stokowski. Do you find that is true? My bassoonist friend bemoaned this state of affairs.
Your bassoonist friend is right. I came to the US in 1983 and heard the orchestra many times at Carnegie Hall and in the Academy of Music conducted by Muti, Ormandy and Tennstedt among others. Ormandy in his dotage was still getting “his” Philadelphia sound in Rachmaninov and pretty much everything with lots of strings. Magnificent unforgettable performances of Mathis der Maler and Pictures at an Exhibition. Just stunning. The orchestra knew what he wanted and delivered. Muti wanted “the right sound for the composer” and a much less dense string sound (his Mendelssohn sounded like Mozart and still does). So this is where the change occurred and while Muti would still get “the Philadelphia sound” where appropriate (e.g. Liszt Faust Symphony) it was rarely deployed. Tennstedt got a wonderful Mahler-sound (e.g. Kaderabek with his Czech background – parents – was just great in the folk music-y sections of Mahler 1 and 3). Sawallisch really wanted a more “German” blended sound. Having said all this and gone on for far too long, listening to YNS conduct Rachmaninoff (even accompanying Yuja Wang last year in her Rach marathon) – OMG the “Ormandy sound” was there in spades. The conductor just has to ask and they have that tradition – it can still be heard on occasion! And YNS even gets what I assume was the Stokowski sound occasionally as he did once at Carnegie Hall in the Lohengrin Act 1 Prelude with free bowing in the violins – incandescent!!!!
I always prefer the “sound of the composer” to a one size fits all approach.Yes,a nd Mendelssohn should sound more like Mozart than Rachmaninoff. But in certain repertoire,the Russians, Respighi,many American classics, Ormandy´s recordings(both with Johnson and Kaderabek) are gorgeous. I just listened live to two Rachmaninoff concerts with the Philadelphians under YNS in Baden Baden, and he really has a knack to get a fantastic sound of them.Lush, but much more nuanced and transparent at the same time..And real fire!!!!!
Yes. Find Muti’s Poem of Ecstasy on YT with the Philadelphians – Kaderabek at his best – and no vibrato…….
Absolutely. You would have to go hear the Curtis Insitute of Music Symphony Orchestra to hear the true Philly Sound. Sawallisch brought back half, but not all of it. For no good reason, despite having an annual Stokowski concert program, they have never had Jose Serebrier conduct it. It’s rather typical in Philadelphia to have the pretense of maintaining a tradition while not actually doing so. The same holds for the Curtis Institute.
He was an also a member of a great CSO trumpet section early in his career.
Thanks Frank for all the wonderful sounds that came from the bell of your trumpet!
I studied (not trumpet) In Philadelphia during the early 80’s. I think many, like me, were very impressed by what a nice and friendly man Mr. Kaderabek was. The most freakishly outstanding evidence of his virtuosity, to me, is the Shaherazade recording. I don’t know how a tongue can move so fast!
Very sorry to hear this. One of the most dominating performances I ever heard was him playing Beethoven 9th with Philadelphia at the old Robin Hood Dell. He absolutely led the orchestra through all the difficult rhythmic moments that exist in that piece. I’ve never forgotten it in forty years. Had lunch with him and Charlie Schlueter once, just sat there and listened to the two of them talk about orchestra, music, life. Real privilege. Sorry he’s gone.