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The Chicago Symphony Orchestra family mourns the loss of Frank Kaderabek, who served as a member of the trumpet section from 1958 until 1966. He died at his home in East Falls, Pennsylvania, on December 28, 2023, at the age of ninety-four.
Kaderabek was born in Cicero, Illinois, on May 24, 1929, the son of Czech immigrants—his father a butcher and his mother a seamstress. He began playing trumpet in middle school and continued as a student at Morton High School. In 1946, at seventeen, Kaderabek began studies with Edward Masacek, who had been a member of the CSO’s trumpet section since 1921.
He won a scholarship to the Chicago Musical College (now the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University) and began studies in the fall of 1948. During his freshman year, Kaderabek first heard the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in February 1949 as a member of the Chicago Musical College Chorus, performing in Mahler’s Second Symphony under the baton of Fritz Busch. During the 1949–50 season, he was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and studied with the CSO’s principal trumpet Adolph “Bud” Herseth.
In 1950 Kaderabek joined the West Point Band, serving for three years during U.S. involvement in the Korean War. Following military service, he became principal trumpet of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in 1953, a position he would hold for five years. A month before beginning his tenure in Dallas, Kaderabek was invited to perform as an extra trumpet with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on Fritz Reiner‘s first concerts as sixth music director in October 1953, in Berlioz’s Overture to Benvenuto Cellini and Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben. He also performed as principal trumpet of the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra from 1954 until 1957.
In the fall of 1957, Kaderabek was invited by Reiner to audition for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and won the position of assistant/third trumpet. He began his tenure in March 1958, continuing to perform under seventh music director Jean Martinon. He won the principal trumpet spot in the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 1966, and in 1975, he was hired by music director Eugene Ormandy as principal trumpet of the Philadelphia Orchestra, a position he would hold until his retirement in 1995.
For more than three decades, Kaderabek was on the faculty at the Curtis Institute of Music, and he also taught at West Chester University, Oakland University, University of Michigan, and Temple University. In his retirement, he continued to practice the trumpet every day, and he enjoyed woodworking, refinishing old furniture, collecting model trains, visiting flea markets, and reading (particularly about history). Always the student, he began piano lessons in his late eighties.
“The finest hours were always when the Orchestra sat on the stage and played its heart out,” Kaderabek remembered during a 1988 interview for the CSO’s Oral History Project. “Even after being away from this orchestra now for twenty-two years, I still remember that and I still think it’s a tribute to the artistry of all of those people.”
Frank Kaderabek is survived by his beloved wife of sixty-three years, Mary; daughters Elizabeth (Michael Tucker), Laura (Adam Eyring), and Sarah (John Galbraith); and sons Vincent and Anthony (Ella Fok); seven grandchildren: Dylan, Nina, Luke, Nicholas, Tristan, Elly, and Nadja; and his devoted dog Blarney. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Humane Society, the Red Cross, or the American Federation of Musicians Local 77. Tributes have been posted online here and on the International Trumpet Guild website.
A celebration of life and reception will be held at Laurel Hill West in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, January 6, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. To join virtually, click here (meeting ID: 856 3427 1824, passcode: 683446).
This article also appears here.
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra family joins the music world in mourning the death of Irwin Hoffman, a titled conductor with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1964 until 1970. Hoffman died yesterday at the age of 93.
On August 13, 1964, Merrill Shepard, then-president of The Orchestral Association, announced that Hoffman had been engaged as the CSO’s new assistant conductor, beginning with the 1964-65 season. Hoffman was to serve the Orchestra and assist music director Jean Martinon in a variety of capacities, including conducting rehearsals and concerts (including youth concerts), leading the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, as well as new score review.
Hoffman’s debut program with the Orchestra was as follows:
December 17 & 18, 1964
VILLA-LOBOS Uirapurú
BARTÓK Violin Concerto No. 1
Victor Aitay, violin
MAHLER Symphony No. 1 in D Major
Martinon promoted Hoffman to associate conductor the following year. He would serve in that capacity for three seasons, and in January 1968, Association president Louis Sudler announced that Hoffman would be acting music director for the 1968-69 season. (On December 17, 1968, the Association announced that Georg Solti would become the Orchestra’s eighth music director, beginning with the 1969-70 season.)
For the 1969-70 season, Hoffman’s title was conductor and he led several weeks of subscription and popular concerts. In subsequent seasons, he returned as a guest conductor and most recently led the Orchestra in January 1977 with the following program:
January 12, 13, 14 & 15, 1977
January 17, 1977 (Uihlein Hall, Milwaukee)
KAY Of New Horizons
SIBELIUS Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 47
Esther Glazer, violin
PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, Op. 100
Hoffman made his conducting debut at the age of seventeen with the Philadelphia Orchestra at Robin Hood Dell. He also studied at the Juilliard School and later with Serge Koussevitzky at the Tanglewood Music Festival. Hoffman has held titled positions with several orchestras, including the Grant Park Music Festival; Vancouver Symphony Orchestra; Martha Graham Dance Company; Florida Gulf Coast Symphony, later the Florida Orchestra; Bogotá Philharmonic in Colombia; Costa Rican National Symphony Orchestra; and the Santiago Philharmonic Orchestra in Chile.
Kurt Loft of the Florida Orchestra has posted a beautiful tribute here.
On November 26, 2014, we celebrate the ninetieth birthday of Irwin Hoffman, a titled conductor with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1964 until 1970.
On August 13, 1964, Merrill Shepard, then-president of The Orchestral Association, announced that Hoffman had been engaged as the CSO’s new assistant conductor, beginning with the 1964-65 season. Hoffman was to serve the Orchestra and assist music director Jean Martinon in a variety of capacities, including conducting rehearsals and concerts (including youth concerts), leading the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, as well as new score review.
Hoffman’s debut program with the Orchestra was as follows:
December 17 & 18, 1964
VILLA-LOBOS Uirapurú
BARTÓK Violin Concerto No. 1
Victor Aitay, violin
MAHLER Symphony No. 1 in D Major
Martinon promoted Hoffman to associate conductor the following year. He would serve in that capacity for three seasons, and in January 1968, Association president Louis Sudler announced that Hoffman would be acting music director for the 1968-69 season. (On December 17, 1968, the Association announced that Georg Solti would become the Orchestra’s eighth music director, beginning with the 1969-70 season.)
For the 1969-70 season, Hoffman’s title was conductor and he led several weeks of subscription and popular concerts. In subsequent seasons, he returned as a guest conductor and most recently led the Orchestra in January 1977 with the following program:
January 12, 13, 14 & 15, 1977
January 17, 1977 (Uihlein Hall, Milwaukee)
KAY Of New Horizons
SIBELIUS Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 47
Esther Glazer, violin
PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, Op. 100
Hoffman made his conducting debut at the age of seventeen with the Philadelphia Orchestra at Robin Hood Dell. He also studied at the Juilliard School and later with Serge Koussevitzky at the Tanglewood Music Festival. Hoffman has held titled positions with several orchestras, including the Grant Park Music Festival; Vancouver Symphony Orchestra; Martha Graham Dance Company; Florida Gulf Coast Symphony, later the Florida Orchestra; Bogotá Philharmonic in Colombia; Costa Rican National Symphony Orchestra; and the Santiago Philharmonic Orchestra in Chile.
Happy birthday, maestro!