Legendary hornist Dale Clevenger has died. Clevenger played for the American Symphony Orchestra (under Leopold Stokowski) and the Kansas City Philharmonic (where he was principal), before finding a permanent roost with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He served as principal there from 1966 to 2013. Music directors and principal conductors during that time included Jean Martinon, Sir Georg Solti, Daniel Barenboim, Bernard Haitink (who died in October), and Riccardo Muti.
Clevenger shared a Grammy Award with his colleagues in the brass sections of the Chicago Symphony and Philadelphia and Cleveland Orchestras, for their now-classic 1968 collaboration “The Antiphonal Music of Gabrieli.”
In 2003, he gave the world premiere of John Williams’ Horn Concerto. He was also acclaimed for his performances of Mozart and Richard Strauss.
Clevenger died yesterday in Italy. He was 81 years old.
In Strauss’ “Till Eulenspiegel”
From Mahler’s Fifth Symphony
Playing Haydn
Benjamin Britten’s “Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings”
Grammy-winning Gabrieli
An interview with Bruce Duffie