Watt also documented his struggles as a student at a nearly all-white major music conservatory, as well as his first job in a major symphony orchestra after the conservatory canceled his scholarship. He faced opposition from within the community-where the instrument was deemed by Watt’s father a “middle instrument suited only for thin-lipped white boys”-and from without. Even the author’s own father, who played trumpet, sought to dissuade the young classical musician in the making. Watt walks readers through the many obstacles of the racial climate in the United States, both on and off stage, and his efforts to learn and eventually master an instrument little considered in the African American community. The Black Horn chronicles the upbringing of a young boy fascinated by the sound of the French horn. Today, few African Americans hold chairs in major American symphony orchestras, and Watt is the first in many years to write about this uniquely exhilarating-and at times painful-experience. The Black Horn: The Story of Classical French Hornist Robert Lee Watt tells the story of the first African American French Hornist hired by a major symphony in the United States. It is a 'must' for all horn players and music lovers. This biography contains a wealth of previously unavailable correspondence, technical material, and photographs. The horn he designed with the Frank Holton Company in 1957 immediately established itself as the top-selling American-made horn, a position it continues to hold forty years later. The Art of Brass Playing (Wind Music, 1962, written in collaboration with the present author) and The Art of Musicianship (Wind Music, 1976) widened his exposure to encompass the entire music profession. His first book, The Art of French Horn Playing (Summy-Birchard Music, 1956) is considered the 'bible' of horn players and is still a best seller in its field. As a horn player, he was the only person ever to be offered the solo horn position in each of the 'big five' American orchestras (Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra). The contributions of Philip Farkas in the fields of symphonic horn playing, pedagogy, and instrument design are of such importance that he will certainly be considered a major figure of the twentieth century.

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