Reprints from the

International Trumpet Guild Journal

A Tribute to Frank Kaderabek: 42 Years of Great Music Making
– John Raschella (Dec 96)

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 Frank Kaderabek (1986)

4 ITG Journal / December, 1996 © 1996 International Trumpet Guild

 A Tribute to Frank Kaderabek:
42 Years of Great Music Making
BY JOHN RASCHELLA

F
rank Kaderabek was born in 1929 in Chicago, JR: Did you come from a musical family?
Illinois. His parents were Czechoslovakian FK: No. My father was a butcher by trade, and
immigrants who came to the United States he had a tough life. I was an only child and origi-
in 1921. During his 42-year career he performed with nally wanted to play the violin. In fact to this day,
orchestras in Dallas, Chicago, most of the music I listen to is
Detroit, and Philadelphia. He will either violin or opera. I feel it
be remembered as a great helps a lot in the development of
contributor to the art of trumpeting phrasing.
with his own unique style of JR: What sold you on playing
performance. the trumpet as a child?
His legacy will remain in re- FK: We had a friend of the fam-
cordings that are models for fu- ily who played trumpet in local
ture generations and will continue polka bands. As a little kid I
through his students. On behalf of watched him play always red in
all his former students, I would the face and I thought, “Gee it
like to express gratitude to Frank can’t be that hard!” Of course at
for his professional and personal the time I didn’t know his ruddy
inspiration. complexion came from drinking
The following interview took more than he should!
place a few weeks before Frank’s JR: Who was your first trum-
retirement as principal trumpet of pet teacher?
the Philadelphia Orchestra in Sep- FK: Well, I grew up in a Czech
tember 1995. He now resides with community near Chicago and my
his wife Mary on their farm in first teacher was a family friend
Berks County, Pennsylvania and is who would come to the house for
active as a recitalist and clinician. lessons. We all spoke Czechoslo-
He also is trumpet instructor at vakian. In fact, I learned Czech
the Curtis Institute of Music. before I spoke English. He played
piano, violin, and other instru-
JR: How do you feel about your ments. This was in 1938 at the
retirement as principal trumpet height of the depression. He sold
with the Philadelphia Orchestra? my father an old Courtois trum-
FK: I’m really looking forward pet with the A key on it for $40
to it. First, I’ve been blessed with and told me to put my lips to-
a wonderful career that’s spanned gether and smile. That’s the way
42 years playing with symphony I’ve played ever since! I was basi-
orchestras. I started out as first Frank Kaderabek (high school 1947) cally taught the old school of
trumpet with the Dallas Sym- stretching the lips back for the
phony as a young kid just out of West Point. After upper register and tensing the diaphragm. We know
five seasons in Dallas, I went to Chicago and played this now to be incorrect.
eight seasons as associate principal with the Chicago When I turned 17, my high school (Cicero, IL) had
Symphony Orchestra (CSO) under Fritz Reiner and a wonderful music program. They would bring play-
Jean Martinon. My next stop was principal trumpet ers from the CSO to coach the students. It was then
with the Detroit Symphony for nine seasons and then that I studied with Edward Masacek and played in a
principal trumpet with the Philadelphia Orchestra lot of dance bands. Ed was an excellent teacher and
beginning in 1975. After 42 years of work it will be would really tear things apart during my lessons. He
nice to have some time to relax and enjoy the non- was the first to teach me transposition and the Clarke
hectic environment of a 52-week season! solos.

© 1996 International Trumpet Guild December, 1996 / ITG Journal 5

 him quite well. I loved the sound, I loved what he said
with the horn, and he played with such ease, warmth,
and skill. If he played You Made Me Love You, he was
talking about love and, by God, every gal in the
ballroom was just smitten by it. He could really turn
on the whole place. Another great musician was Rafael
Méndez. What Méndez showed was possible on the
trumpet really inspired me as a player. I also ad-
mired Bud Herseth as a great player who made quite
an impression on me. As for sound, my favorite would
have to be Harry Glantz. I was fortunate to hear him
play on many occasions with Toscanini and the NBC
Symphony at Carnegie Hall. Unfortunately, there
was such a ring to his sound that recordings of that
era never did justice to it. You know he didn’t use
huge equipment. It was a Bach 3C mouthpiece and a
medium large bore Benge B-flat trumpet, but boy, he
got an incredible sound out of it. Bill Vacchiano and
Roger Voisin were also favorites of mine, great play-
ers with incredible styles.
JR: Tell us about West Point.
FK: We had a great band at West Point. Anytime a
war breaks out you’re gonna have a lot of talented
guys try out for the band! I was solo cornet in the
band and my assistant was Kenneth Schermerhorn.
Kenneth is a fine conductor now and at that time a
Kaderabek with the Morton High School Dance Band (1947)
fine trumpet player. At first trumpet was Mel Broiles,
a super player and his assistant was David Zauder,
JR: How much did you practice in high school? who is second trumpet with the Cleveland Orchestra.
FK: I was lucky to get in an hour a day. My Dave and I used to go to New York together for
parents wanted me to learn a trade. I went to school lessons with Harry Glantz. It was a great time! I’ll
from 7:30 to 5:00 as a tool and die apprentice. At never forget what a great band that was.
night, I played dance band gigs to help out the fam- JR: After West Point what was your first orches-
ily. As a result, I didn’t have the luxury of a lot of tra job?
practice time. FK: Well, first of all, let me say that most of my
JR: During this time did you see yourself becom- lessons in New York were with Nathan Prager (2nd
ing a classical trumpet player? trumpet, New York
FK: No. I really wanted to be another Harry James. Philharmonic). He was
At 17 I could imitate him to a tee. I loved playing his a super player. I used
solos in dance bands. I especially loved playing his to watch him with the
ballads. It was 1945 at the height of the big band era! Philharmonic section in
After a year as a tool and die maker, I enrolled at the awe. He defined the role
Chicago Musical College where I played two years in of the second trumpet
the Chicago Civic Orchestra. At that time I studied player for me. He
with Bud Herseth who I admired a great deal. In played everything on
1950 the Korean war broke out, and I auditioned for the B-flat trumpet and
and won a spot at West Point. After hearing many could match tones with
great broadcasts of the NBC Symphony and the New anyone. He was a mas-
York Philharmonic, I was eager to go to New York ter teacher and player. I
and study with the great Harry Glantz and Bill owe a huge debt of grati-
Vacchiano. It was during this time I decided to make tude to Nat Prager.
a living in the symphony orchestra. As for my first job, in
JR: Which trumpet performers had the biggest those days if an orches-
effect on you? tra needed a player,
FK: I’d have to say, without a doubt, Harry James. they would go to New
I never studied with him, but later in life got to know Kaderabek & Nathan Prager York and call the great

6 ITG Journal / December, 1996 © 1996 International Trumpet Guild

teachers and have their top students go down and
audition for the conductor. Nat Prager sent me down
and I auditioned and won the principal job with the
Dallas Symphony. For the audition, and the subse-
quent five years in Dallas, I only played the B-flat
trumpet. I also used it in the summers playing in the
Grant Park orchestra. In fact, the horn was a Benge
B-flat – the third trumpet that Eldon Benge ever
made. I still have that horn.
JR: Can you tell us about your audition and years
under Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony?
FK: Before the start of my fifth season in Dallas, I
played extra with the CSO on Debussy’s La Mer.
During that time the associate principal trumpet
player was having problems with the soft solo in the
first cornet part, and Reiner fired him that day. I was Renold Schilke, Vincent Cichowicz, & Frank Kaderabek
CSO at Grant Park (1955)
called that evening and was not asked but told I
would be auditioning for Reiner the next morning. I
had no idea what the position was and as the norm job as I was very happy playing first in Dallas, but
there was no repertoire list. You just stood on stage after a lot of thought I took the position.
and the music director would call out excerpts to JR: What was working under Reiner like?
play. I played the next morning and played every- FK: There was always a tremendous amount of
thing on the B-flat trumpet including “Goldenberg tension playing for him. He liked to play mind games
and Schmuyle.” When I was finished, Reiner said with people. He rarely laughed and was pretty cranky
“That’s it, we don’t need to hear anyone else, you’ve most of the time. I must say he treated me very well
got the job.” Well, I didn’t know if I really wanted the and the orchestra played extremely tight with him
conducting. When he would turn the band on in a
piece like Ein Heldenleben or Zarathustra, the or-
chestra was really exciting. I do feel that the orches-
tra played great for him, more out of fear than want-
ing to please him. I mean this man would fire people
for mistakes they didn’t even make. The sad thing
was the CSO management supported Reiner’s dicta-
tor-like tactics until the union helped musicians pro-
tect themselves with the creation of tenure, arbitra-
tion, and mediation.

Kaderabek with Harry Glantz, Bud Herseth,

Kaderabek in 1955, First Trumpet with the Dallas Symphony & Vincent Cichowicz (New York, 1964)

© 1996 International Trumpet Guild December, 1996 / ITG Journal 7

 JR: How many years were you in the CSO?
FK: Eight. Four with Reiner, one with guest con-
ductors, and three with Jean Martinon who, I must
say, I really liked. He was a gentleman and an excel-
lent conductor and composer.
JR: Why did you leave Chicago for Detroit?
FK: Well, I really missed playing principal a lot.
When Detroit opened up, I thought this would be
great. It was a great orchestra with a fine season and
my good friend Arthur Krehbiel was first horn there.
They called me to audition and, with only six days to
prepare, I went and played for Sexton Erhling, the
music director. Like my CSO audition, there was no
list, you just stood on stage and banged out excerpts.
JR: When did you make the switch from B-flat to Eugene Ormandy and Frank Kaderabek (1979)
C trumpet?
FK: When I joined the CSO, the orchestra owned personnel manager called and said they wanted to
four silver-plated Bach C trumpets. That’s what they hear the standard literature. Well, their idea of stan-
had me play. Reiner even wanted us to all play the dard was two tables full of music! At the audition I
same size mouthpiece so we could all sound alike! played Pines of Rome, Firebird, Petrouchka, Pictures,
That sounds good in theory but it doesn’t work. As we Bartok Concerto, Mahler No. 5, Mahler No. 3, and
all know, if a particular set up works for you, stick Mahler No. 1 including the Blumine Movement, which
with it. No two people sound the same on the same nobody had played and as far as I know hasn’t been
equipment. played since! After all that playing they asked if
JR: What do you recall about your Philadelphia there was anything that I would like to play. I had
audition. been working on the Martin Concerto for seven wind
FK: It was another short notice audition. I had instruments so I played some of that. After that they
about 10 days to prepare for it. Mason Jones, the asked if I had anything else to play. I saw my piccolo
sitting there and thought, “What the hell?” so I played
some of the Brandenburg Concerto No. 2. You know, I
really didn’t think I’d get the job because I was 45
years old and had not gone to Curtis, but they fooled
me and offered me the job.
JR: What’s it been like playing in Philadelphia the
last 20 years?
FK: Well, during my first five years I had the good
fortune to work with Eugene Ormandy. When I came
here Ormandy was 75 years old, and I thought I’d be
working with a senile old man. Boy what a shock I
was in for! This guy was as sharp as a tack. And the
orchestra played with that grand Philadelphia sound
that I had always known. When Muti came in the
sound changed and now with Sawallisch it’s so much
different. I really miss the Ormandy sound of the
orchestra.
JR: Who were your favorite conductors?
FK: I had a few. One guy not too many people
knew that conducted in Chicago was Hans Rosbaud.
This guy was phenomenal. He’s the only conductor
I’ve played for who made sense of Schoenberg and
Berg. His Mahler, Mozart, and Beethoven were
also very special. I also loved Ernest Ansermet. Of
course I enjoyed Ormandy and Stokowski and also
Fruebeck De Burgos. Jean Martinon was another
Kaderabek with the Detroit Symphony at Carnegie Hall.
great one. Unfortunately, most of the ones I liked are
October 1969 (Photo by Mel Broiles) all dead!

8 ITG Journal / December, 1996 © 1996 International Trumpet Guild

 JR: What about today’s conductors? Jerry Callet had one that a guy had traded him for
FK: Well, how can I say this without sounding and I bought it and have played it ever since. My
offensive? When I came to Philadelphia, Ormandy piccolo is a 1967 Selmer and I use a Bach 7EW
knew everyone in the orchestra. We were like a fam- mouthpiece. My D trumpet is a Benge that I bought
ily. He had a real ear for the sound he wanted and he from Renold Schilke in 1953. I love it for “Goldenberg
knew how to get it. I find the current crop of conduc- and Schmuyle,” as well as the Messiah and even
tors just breeze in do their show and leave. Most Bach’s Magnificat. My B-flat is a Selmer K-modified
don’t balance the orchestra or even attempt to fix trumpet.
pitch. It really horrifies me. I really hope in the JR: How do you feel solo recitals have helped your
future conductors get back into listening and shaping orchestra playing?
the orchestra. They need to create their own sound FK: The kind of stamina it takes to perform a
that they can be proud of like the great conductors whole recital is very good for your playing. One needs
that I’ve mentioned. additional challenges in that some weeks the orches-
JR: What’s your favorite brass section of all time? tra may not be playing difficult music and the solos
FK: Well, I’ve played with some exceptionally good help keep you expressive and not stale.
brass sections. The CSO brass section was very good. JR: What are the differences in today’s players
They played with real dedication, even with all the versus the players of your generation?
internal problems that were going on within the or- FK: I’m glad you asked me that. You know, when I
chestra at that time. There was a great work ethic by was a kid, we didn’t have C trumpets, Ds, piccolos,
everyone. We could really “light it up” on the big etc. The Brandenburg Concerto was kind of a dirty
pieces. We also had great brass sections of players word in those days. We played the B-flat trumpet
from other orchestras at Grant Park in the summers. and the emphasis was on the fundamentals. For solo
As for tone quality, the Philadelphia brass section, contests in high school you played the Clarke or
during my first years there, had the best tone. Bellstedt solos. You learned the complete Arban and
Ormandy would never let us dominate the string complete St. Jacome methods. It amazes me today
sound as we did in Chicago. Overall, I’d have to say how few students have ever heard of St. Jacome’s
those years in Chicago were pretty amazing. method book. We were taught scales, chromatics,
JR: What equipment are you currently using? multiple tonguing, cadenzas, and even trills. The most
FK: I play a gold-plated large bore Selmer C trum- important thing however was dedication…dedication
pet model C75, and my mouthpiece is a Monette C15. to one’s craft. My generation did not have all the
In 1980, I was at the trumpet museum in Pottstown, fancy trumpets, but I think we tongued better and
Pennsylvania. I tried out this Selmer C trumpet and our sounds were of top priority. We really worked to
fell in love with it. It was only built from 1968-72 and have a lovely tone quality that was special. From
had a large bell and radial valves. My old friend Glantz to Méndez to Harry James, we all had one

Adolph Herseth,
Adolph Scherbaum,
Frank Kaderabek,
& Vincent Cichowicz
(Chicago, 1964)

© 1996 International Trumpet Guild December, 1996 / ITG Journal 9

 FK: Yes. In our efforts to make the profession
fairer, screens are now used for at least preliminary
rounds. It’s a great idea except that when you have a
committee sitting behind a screen listening to 100
people playing the same excerpts people get impa-
tient and bored. They start getting real picky about
this note was dropped or this note was a hair flat or a
bit rushed. I think they start to forget that there’s got
to be some individuality in the player. The people
auditioning today know this, so they strive to play
real clean and in tune. They end up losing the big
picture and not making it at all in music.
JR: As the trumpet teacher at the Curtis Insti-
tute, what do you look for in students who audition
for you?
Frank Kaderabek, Timofei Dokshidzer, & Charles Colin (1981) FK: I want someone who’s not afraid to take the
bull by the horns and express something! They must
thing in common, tone quality of the highest degree. possess a good sound and good fundamentals. Hav-
Today’s players seem to be much more note conscious ing been a student at Curtis yourself, you know with
and lax in basic fundamentals of playing. only four trumpet students enrolled at the school at a
JR: Do you hear a lack of personality in today’s time, the demands are very high, and the student
players? must be able to function at a professional level. The
FK: I think one of the sad things today is that student orchestra at Curtis plays twice as well as the
somebody will play the Haydn Concerto, for example, Dallas Symphony that I played with in 1953. It’s a
and people think it’s great if he doesn’t miss a note! pretty amazing school!
Music is about saying something and not about missed JR: What method books do you recommend?
notes. I think that kind of narrow-mindedness is FK: The Arban and St. Jacome methods of course
detrimental to our profession and I’ll tell you why. – also Walter Smith Top Tones for Trumpet, Charlier
The thing that makes live music great is listening to 32 Etudes, Clarke Technical Studies, Nagel Speed
different people playing different styles. You would Studies, and Bitsch etudes. For upper register devel-
hear Al Hirt play Dixieland, Harry James playing a opment I use the Colin Lip Flexibility Studies, Claude
ballad, Bud Herseth, Harry Glantz, Bill Vacchiano, Gordon Tongue Level Studies, and the scales in the
and Roger Voisin play the same music with totally Top Tones book. I also advocate pedal tones focusing
different styles and that’s what made going to con- on keeping the muscles of the face relaxed at all
certs fun! Today, however, we have conductors who times. I try to tailor the books to the needs of the
want the Philadelphia Orchestra to sound like the individual.
Berlin Philharmonic! Or worse
yet, have no idea of what sound
they’re looking for. Orchestras
today are all beginning to
sound alike. If our profession
is going to survive, people have
got to be able to express them-
selves. Live music is a matter
of interpretation. There is no
one way, or right or wrong way,
only your way. Young players
today seem inhibited in ex-
pressing themselves musically
for fear of doing something
wrong or stylistically risqué.
You can’t grow musically with
blinders on.
JR: Does the audition
screening process have some-
Miroslav Kejmar, Bob Giardinelli, William Vacchiano, & Frank Kaderabek (NYBCfS, 1984)
thing to do with that?

10 ITG Journal / December, 1996 © 1996 International Trumpet Guild

 Selected Recordings of Frank Kaderabek
An American Trumpet in Prague: Music by Vivaldi, Bach,
Stanley, Saint-Saens, Tartini, Clarke, Fibich-Scotti,
and Levy. Music Vars CD
With the Philadelphia Orchestra, 1975 to June 1995
Holst, The Planets, Ormandy, RCA
Kodaly, Hary-Janos, Ormandy, RCA
Bizet, Carmen, Ormandy, RCA
Mahler, Symphonies 5,9,10, Levine, RCA
Mahler, Symphony No. 1, Muti, EMI
Stravinsky, The Rite of Spring, Muti, EMI
Stravinsky, Petrouchka, Muti, EMI
Scriabin, Poem of Ecstasy, Muti, EMI
Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Muti, EMI, and
Frank Kaderabek & Rafael Méndez (1977) Philips
Prokofiev, Symphony No. 5, Muti, EMI, and Philips
For solos at Curtis, we use Legend by Enesco; Tchaikovsky, Swan Lake, Sawallish, EMI
Sonate by Hindemith; concertos by Tomasi, Jolivet,
Haydn, and Hummel; Concertino by Jolivet; and vari-
ous Clarke solos. I put etudes and solos above exerpts marathon. If you want a job today you really have to
for practicing. I feel if you can make great music with train for it. You have 15 minutes, to convince a com-
an etude it makes excerpts much easier. A Walter mittee that can’t see you, that they can’t live without
Smith etude in C on a C trumpet is harder than any you. You have to project your style and musical abil-
orchestral excerpt in the entire literature. If you can ity to that committee in a way that will help you
make these sound easy, then musical excerpts are a achieve your dreams. So in one word – prepare!
piece of cake. JR: If you could do it all over again would you do
JR: Do you have advice for players taking audi- anything differently?
tions today? FK: I really doubt it. I’ve been blessed with a great
FK: As you remember from your days at Curtis, I career, good health, and a beautiful family. I’ve had
instituted a series of mock auditions for the four my ups and downs and there have been been less
Curtis students. For the mock audition you would than perfect days, but it’s all in the past now. I feel I
dress up in a suit and play the complete list for the have accomplished more than I ever dreamed I would.
other students for whatever audition you were tak- When I gave up tool and die making and got my first
ing. I and the other students would then critique you. job in Dallas I was in heaven. If I only had gone that
Playing for your own colleagues is a great way to far, I would have felt that I accomplished something.
prepare for the stress of an actual audition. I never in my wildest dreams thought I’d play in
Another helpful tool is a tape recorder. It amazes Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, and toured all over
me how few people take the time to tape themselves the world. In fact my wife Mary and I thought Detroit
and critically analyze their playing when preparing was the end of chasing rainbows for me. When Philly
to take an audition. When sending an actual audition called me at age 45, I felt I owed it to myself for all
tape make sure you are musically and artistically the years of practice to give it a shot, and I’m so glad I
satisfied with everything on that tape or don’t bother did.
sending it. Too many players don’t do this, they make JR: Do you still practice every day!
a tape and think it’s good enough, only to find out FK: Yes, as soon as we’re done (it was 11:00 p.m.!)
after being turned down that there were problems – I’ve got to practice. I’ve got a Mahler 5th rehearsal
with their playing. in the morning and the performance tomorrow night.
I had 14 auditions in my career and won 12 of the The next day I’m performing the Arutunian in the
jobs. Some of the jobs I wasn’t even interested in, but afternoon and that evening Pines of Rome. In closing
I wanted the audition experience. It wasn’t that I let me just say it’s been a great ride the last 42 years
was so good as much as it was the fact I was pre- and I’ve truly been blessed.
pared. You could shake me out of a sound sleep the
night before an audition and I’d blow that list down About the Author: John Raschella is a former stu-
from memory. I’d play for teachers, colleagues, or dent of Frank Kaderabek and 1980 Curtis Institute
anyone who would listen and critique me. It’s hard graduate. He has been a member of the Syracuse
work and there’s no easy way around it. Playing an Symphony Orchestra since 1981 and teaches at
audition is like training for an Olympic event or Hamilton College in Clinton, New York.

© 1996 International Trumpet Guild December, 1996 / ITG Journal 11