Posted by Brian Frederiksen on December 22, 2003 at 08:32:44:
In Reply to: CSO History ?? posted by john meyer on December 21, 2003 at 20:33:55:
Here is the section from ARNOLD JACOBS: SONG AND WIND about CSO tubists.
Other Tubists of the CSO
Jacobs was the Chicago Symphony’s sixth principal tubist.
The original tubist of the Chicago Orchestra, later renamed the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, was August Helleberg Sr. Born in Denmark on March 7, 1861. He was with the Chicago Orchestra from 1891-95.
Frederick Otte played both tuba and bass with the orchestra. He appears on the personnel roster in the bass section from 1895-98 and 1901-14, and as principal tuba, 1895 -1914. Otte was born in Germany in April 1855, and died in Chicago on October 8, 1914.71
Born in Germany in 1873, the first known professional experience for Emil Gatterfeld was as principal bass of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra from 1906 to 1907. From 1907 thru 1908, he was in the bass section of the New York Symphony Orchestra, [not to be confused with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra with which it merged in 1928]. In the CSO, he was a bass player from 1911-19 and principal tuba from 1914-17. He was in the bass section of the Chicago Civic Opera in 1923-24. Gatterfeld died April 21, 1948.72
Another tubist who also played bass, William Dietrichs was principal tuba from 1917-20, and in the bass section from 1919-20. Previously, he was with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra as a bass player from 1913-16 and principal tuba from 1913 to 1917.
Jacobs’ predecessor, George Hamburg was born in Chicago on February 22, 1886, and was the CSO’s principal tuba from 1920-44.
Edward Kleinhammer joined the symphony during the 1940-41 season, the final years of Hamburg’s career. He remembers Hamburg as a very nice man and recalls that Hamburg knew of Jacobs by reputation prior to 1942.
While Jacobs’ contact with him was limited, when asked about Hamburg, he stated, “He was a very nice man. I got so embarrassed, because I called him Mr. Hamburger when he called me one time, and I’ll never forget that. He laughed—he had been called that before.
“I think he was having some sort of health problem and had to leave. I’m not sure. He may have had surgery due to cancer. I remember going up to see him, and he asked me to buy his Alexander tubas, which I did.”
Hamburg died in Chicago on February 6, 1963.
At one point, the CSO had two tuba players. Fred Boos was listed in the personnel roster on bass, 1932-45, second tuba, 1938-45, and as a librarian, 1938-56. He was born May 29, 1881, in Joliet, Illinois and died July 25, 1967 in Chicago. It was Fred Boos who built Jacobs’ mute, which he used nearly his entire career with the CSO.