The Philadelphia Orchestra is billed as "The World's Greatest Orchestra." Surely its fame from the development years under the leadership of Leopold Stokowski through the many following seasons under Eugene Ormandy to the present day is richly deserved. And the exceptional artistry of the woodwinds of this orchestra is also legendary. Among the most admired and influential to generations of outstanding pupils were Marcel Tabuteau, oboe; William Kincaid, flute; Ralph McLean, clarinet; and J. Walter Guetter followed by Sol Schoenbach, bassoons. Today's teams of woodwind principals, all brilliant artists, are John DeLancie, oboe Murray Panitz, flute; Anthony Gigliotti, clarinet, and Bernard Garfield, bassoon.
The entire bassoon section has a smoothly blended tonal concept, uniformity of musical approach and perfect balance an example of artistic teamwork par excellence. All four live in the same area just outside Philadelphia. Their reed styles and instruments are closely matched to achieve the most beautiful refinement of performance as a specific color unit in this most extraordinary orchestra.
Bernard H. Garfield. Joining the orchestra as Principal Bassoonist in 1957, Mr. Garfield is a graduate of New York University and the Royal College of Music in London. He also holds a degree in composition from Columbia University and has produced works for woodwind trios, quartets, piano solos, bassoon pieces, and songs. He organized and directed the New York Woodwind Quintet (1946-57) and has appeared widely as a soloist. He has recorded with the Philadelphia Orchestra: Mozart's Concerto K. 191 in B-flat (Columbia MS 6451) Weber's Andante and Hungarian Rondo (Columbia MS 6977) and the Mozart and Haydn Sinfonias Concertante (Columbia ML 5374). He is a member of the Philadelphia Woodwind Quintet and teaches at Temple University.
John Shamlian. Mr. Shamlian, the orchestra's assistant first bassoonist, is a native Philadelphian and a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music. He also attended the Royal College of Music in London. While overseas he was a member of the London Symphony Orchestra from 1947 to 1951 and freelanced with the B.B.C. Orchestra and Royal Philharmonic then under the direction of Sir Thomas Beecham. Mr. Shamlian joined the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1951 and is a faculty member at Temple University.
Adelchi Louis Angelucci, second bassoonist. Mr. Angelucci comes from a musical Philadelphia family and attended the Curtis Institute of Music after graduation from South Philadelphia High School. He served with the Philadelphia Orchestra for a single season, 1944-45, and then returned after wartime service in 1950. Previous symphony affiliations were with the Pennsylvania Symphony, the National Symphony of Washington for nine seasons and ballet and opera orchestras in Philadelphia from 1930 to 1950. Formerly a faculty member at the Philadelphia Musical Academy, he now teaches bassoon and piano privately. Mr. Angelucci is also renowned among his musical friends as a superb chef.
Robert Pfeuffer, Contrabassoon. Mr. Pfeuffer was born in Cleveland and received both his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He studied bassoon with L. Hugh Cooper of Detroit and was a member of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra from 1951 until 1962 when he joined the Philadelphia Orchestra. He is a faculty member of the New School of Music.