Friedrich Adolph Borsdorf (born Dittmansdorf,

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

, 25 December 1854; died

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, 15 April 1923), was a German player of the

French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most ...

. Borsdorf was born in

in 1854. He studied the French horn at the Conservatoire in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

and played in a military band. In 1879 he moved to England where he stayed for the rest of his life, becoming the most important horn player in England. The

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...

Hans Richter offered him a job in the orchestra at

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

. In 1904 he joined the newly formed London Symphony Orchestra. The four horn players in that orchestra were excellent players and were often called “God’s Own Quartet”. Borsdorf and his colleague Franz Paersch had learned to play on wide-bore horns that were made in Germany. However, both changed to playing narrow-bore instruments made in France by Raoux. Though not quite as powerful as the German models, they produced a particularly clear sound. Borsdorf became a professor at the Royal College of Music when it was

founded Founding may refer to: * The formation of a corporation, government, or other organization * The laying of a building's Foundation * The casting of materials in a mold See also * Foundation (disambiguation) * Incorporation (disambiguation) In ...

in 1882. He also taught at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

. He soon became the best horn player in

. He was playing principal horn in the orchestra which Henry Wood conducted at the very first Promenade Concert in the

Queen’s Hall The Queen's Hall was a concert hall in Langham Place, London, opened in 1893. Designed by the architect Thomas Knightley, it had room for an audience of about 2,500 people. It became London's principal concert venue. From 1895 until 1941, it ...

in 1895 (the fourth horn was A. E. Brain Sr., grandfather of Dennis Brain). He was also in the orchestra when Richard Strauss’s ''Till Eulenspiegel'' was given its first performance in England in 1896 with the composer conducting. In 1913 he became ill and had to have teeth removed. There was also another problem for him: World War I broke out in 1914 and there was a lot of anti-German feeling in England. After the war he rarely played in public. Borsdorf died in 1923. He had done more than anyone else to improve the standard of horn playing in England. He taught many talented pupils, including A. E. Brain Jr.,

Aubrey Brain Aubrey Brain (12 July 189321 September 1955) was a British horn player and teacher. He was the father of Dennis Brain. Biography Aubrey Harold Brain was born in London in 1893. He came from a musical family. His father, Alfred Edwin Brain Sr. w ...

, Frank Probyn and his own three sons, Oskar, Francis and Emil, who all became professional horn players. The younger Borsdorfs changed their surname to Bradley because of anti-German sentiment; Oskar became (as Oscar Bradley) a successful

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and conductor for CBS. He died in 1948, aged 59.Oscar Bradley, IMDb entry
/ref> Francis stayed in London, retiring from the

ENO Eno may refer to: Music * English National Opera, London * ''Eno'', an album by Japanese band Polysics * "Eno", a song by X-Wife from '' Rockin' Rio EP'' Organisations and businesses * Eno (company), a Chinese clothing and accessories busine ...

orchestra in 1976.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Borsdorf, Adolf 1854 births 1923 deaths German classical horn players 19th-century German musicians 20th-century German musicians Academics of the Royal College of Music Academics of the Royal Academy of Music People from the Kingdom of Saxony