Philip Farkas

Philip Farkas, Holton H179 "Farkas"

Philip Farkas’s legendary career as a musician, teacher and author spans more than a half-century. As a youngster, he discovered the horn seren-dipitously, as it proved to be a more compact alternative to the tuba, which would not fit through the door of the streetcar that took him to school.

A chance meeting with executives from the Holton company and Farkas’s desire for one French horn that would incorporate the good qualities of the many horns he was using led to the creation of Holton’s initial Farkas model horn in 1958.

Farkas left the Chicago Symphony in 1960 to begin a distinguished teaching career at the Indiana University, Bloomington. America’s senior statesman of the horn retired from academia in the early 1980s, but continued to practice two to three hours a day until his death in December, 1992.

H-179 Specifications

Key: F-Bb
Pitch: A445 with independent Bb tuning
Bore: 11.89 mm (.468")
Mouthpipe: .310 venturi of nickel silver
Lever action: Noiseless string action, short stroke with stainless steel springs
Valve rotors: Tapered hand-lapped brass
Bearing plates: Tapered brass Branches, bows and ferrules: Nickel silver
Slides: Both inside and out are solid nickel silver
Bell: 12.25" diameter large-throated hand-hammered nickel silver
Waterkey: On mouthpipe
Options: Extra-long main and Bb tuning slides, detachable bell and flat case available as model H279