Horn player with the SNO. An appreciation
Born: January 28, 1930;
Died: May 25, 2018
I FIRST met Charlie Floyd, who has died aged 88, when joining the horn section of the Scottish National Orchestra in December 1971. Little did I know that I was to spend most of the next 22 years sitting at his side.
I was a very green 20-year old fresh from college whilst Charlie was already a seasoned professional raising many an eyebrow at my early attempts at interpreting the repertoire. "Did you not get that at college?" was a regular question asked by Mr Floyd, but we became the closest of friends and as musicians, veritable soulmates.
Charlie was a pupil at Allan Glen's School, before studying horn and piano at the Athenaeum on Buchanan Street where he completed his studies and returned to Allan Glens as a teacher. He was able to combine his love of music with that of rugby and played for the Allan Glen’s FP teams until well into his 50s.
He met his life-long partner and wife Dorothy when they were teenagers. Typical of Charlie, they married in secret with Dorothy’s sister Linda and her husband Ian their sole witnesses. My wife Marilyn and I were amongst the first to know - our daughter Hayley was already in awe of Charlie and he and Dorothy were and remain honorary uncle and aunt.
To have known Charlie Floyd, the musician, you would have to know him as one of the finest horn players of his generation. As a horn player, he worked with the Carla Rosa opera company before joining the SNO in 1962. Any ex-colleague reading this and especially any horn player will recognise that Charlie was one of the very few 4th horns who always played the taxing solo part in the slow movement of Beethoven’s choral symphony. I never, in all the years I worked with him, ever heard him falter or fluff a note - surely in itself a tribute to a very fine player.
We shared many magical musical moments together under Alexander Gibson and especially with Neeme Järve. To be able to record the Strauss tone poems and songs in their entirety was and remained an inspirational memory for us both. We were musical soulmates in every regard and our respect for each other was immense.
Charlie was the consummate professional and even until his last days, his horn was sitting in its stand in his music room ready for him to play.
I left the orchestra in December 1993 to continue working in the music industry, first at the Musicians’ Union, then as head of music at the Scottish Arts Council and Creative Scotland. I am now the president of the European Music Council and through all these years have retained close contact with Charlie, sadly seeing his health deteriorate over these past few years. I last saw him just a week before he died and know that his only concern was Dorothy’s well-being.
He leaves behind a musical legacy, the like of which, in my view, will never be equalled. His love of jazz and especially big bands was also an inspiration to many. He leaves family, who grieve his loss, but celebrate his memory, not least in the many recordings he leaves behind.
Whether he is remembered as Charles, Charlie or Uncle Chic, his loss is felt by us all. My world and the world of music is a better place because of Charlie Floyd. We have all lost a great and decent man.
IAN SMITH
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