“Norman Schweikert was a longtime horn player for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra who also taught at Northwestern University,” writes Bob Goldsborough in Sunday’s (1/6) Chicago Tribune. “Schweikert also was one of the founding members of the International Horn Society. Schweikert, 81, died of congestive heart failure Dec. 31 at his home, said his wife of 57 years, Sally…. In 1971, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s then-music director, Georg Solti … hired [Schweikert] as assistant principal horn…. In 1975, Schweikert was named the symphony’s second horn. He went on to hold that position until retiring in 1997…. One of Schweikert’s major interests was … researching the lives of U.S. orchestra members.… He ultimately compiled the complete roster of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for its first 100 years. He put together a similar roster for the New York Philharmonic, his wife said. Schweikert’s research culminated in the publication of a 2012 book he wrote, titled ‘The Horns of Valhalla: Saga of the Reiter Brothers,’ about two horn-playing brothers, Josef and Xavier Reiter, who came to the United States from Europe in the 1880s…. ‘Norm’s encyclopedic research served as the foundation for our database of current and former members of the orchestra,” CSO archivist Frank Villella said.”
Posted January 8, 2019
