Bernard Garfield ''(né'' Bernard Howard Garfield; born May 27, 1924) is an American bassoonist, composer, teacher, and recording artist. Born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, behi ...

, he is best known for his long tenure as the principal bassoonist of the

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscripti ...

from 1957 to 2000.

Career

Garfield studied at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, ...

(1948 BA, English Literature) and received a master's degree in musical

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature * Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

in 1950. He received the

ARCM Associate of the Royal College of Music (ARCM) is a diploma qualification of the Royal College of Music, equivalent to a university first degree. Like the Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music diploma (LRAM), it was offered in teaching or perf ...

diploma from the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

in 1945 and an honorary doctorate in 2009 from the

Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship. ...

. He served in the U.S. Army from 1943-1946. In 1946, Garfield organized the

New York Woodwind Quintet The New York Woodwind Quintet is an ensemble-in-residence at the Juilliard School in New York City, originally appointed in 1987. At Juilliard, the members of the New York Woodwind Quintet present seminars each year for student woodwind ensembles, g ...

, of which he was the director until 1957. From 1949 to 1957 Garfield held the position of principal bassoonist of the Little Orchestra Society of New York. He was also principal bassoonist with the

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...

Orchestra from 1950 to 1957. Garfield's most noted engagement is his 43 years as the principal bassoonist of the

, from 1957 to 2000. Upon his retirement, his position was fulfilled by his student, Daniel Matsukawa. As a teacher, Garfield was on the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music from 1976 to 2008. He also taught at

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptists, Baptist minister Russell Conwell an ...

from 1957-2004. In addition to performing and teaching, Mr. Garfield is also a noted composer. His compositions include woodwind trios, three quartets for bassoon with string trio, piano solos, songs, and duets for bassoon and piano. A list of his complete works can be found on his official website. (See the external link below.)

Discography

Among Garfield's solo recordings with the Philadelphia Orchestra are the Mozart Sinfonia Concertante, K. 297b (1957), the Mozart Bassoon Concerto, K. 191 (1961), the Haydn Sinfonia Concertante (1958) and the Weber Andante e Rondo Ongarese, Op. 35 (1962). A comprehensive list of Mr. Garfield's recordings may also be viewed on his website.

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garfield, Bernard 1924 births United States Army personnel of World War II Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni Columbia University School of the Arts alumni Living people American classical bassoonists New York University alumni Musicians of the Philadelphia Orchestra Associates of the Royal College of Music