Borsdorf was born in Saxony in 1854. He studied the French horn at the Conservatoire in Dresden and played in a military band. In 1879, he moved to England where he stayed for the rest of his life, becoming the most important horn player in England. The conductor Hans Richter offered him at job in the orchestra at Covent Garden. In 1904, he joined the newly formed London Symphony Orchestra. The four horn players in that orchestra were excellent players and were often called “God’s Own Quartet”.