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The topic of Philip Farkas came up recently and I realized that among horn students today his name is not as well known as I would have thought.
To an older generation of players he is an icon, at least in part due to the products he was associated with. As a high school student I purchased my 
first horn, a Holton 177 (Farkas Model), I played on a Holton Farkas mouthpiece into college (I still have the MC and the MDC I used), and in late high school I first read The Art of French Horn Playing by Philip Farkas, a book that at the time greatly influenced my playing. I later, as a Doctoral student, took a few lessons with Farkas and even played at his 50th wedding anniversary reception in a horn quintet. He was certainly an influence on me as a teacher and player.
Farkas (1914-1992) was arguably the leading horn teacher of the twentieth century. If you have never read his publications, some are a little dated (The Art was published over 50 years ago!), but still worth reading.
To learn more about Farkas and his career (Principal Horn in Chicago, Cleveland, and Boston, Professor at Indiana University) and publications check out this link to his biography in the IHS website.
There are many quotes and references to Farkas in Horn Matters. For a bit different look at his career than you will find elsewhere, check out this link:
