Dennis Brain
Few instrumentalists of the 20th century did more to establish a solo role for an instrument than Dennis Brain. By age 36, he had helped restore the four Mozart and two Strauss horn concertos to the repertory; inspired Hindemith, Britten, and others to write for his instrument; and generally set the standard for 20th century horn soloists.
Born in 1921, Brain was raised in a London horn-playing family. Both his father, Aubrey Brain, and his uncle played professionally, as did their father, Alfred Brain Sr., himself the son of a horn player. (His other brother, Leonard, was a noted oboist.) In 1936, he began studies with his father at the Royal Academy of Music, and two years later made an acclaimed London debut as a soloist in Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 with the Busch Chamber Players.
Brain soon became a frequent soloist with the Royal Air Force Central Band, with which he filled the position of principal horn during World War II. His growing reputation was cemented during a goodwill tour of America, during which he received an invitation from Leopold Stokowski to join the Philadelphia Orchestra after the war. This was just one of several invitations that Brain received, however, and he eventually took the job of principal horn with the Royal Philharmonic. Later he moved on to become principal horn of the Philharmonia Orchestra.
All the while, Brain was a sought-after horn soloist and chamber musician. During the postwar years, he made a series of now-classic recordings of concertos by Mozart, Strauss, and Hindemith, as well as of various chamber and recital works. Among the additions to the horn literature directly inspired by Brain were works by Britten, Hindemith, Malcom Arnold, and Gordon Jacob. His virtuosic command of the instrument stimulated two of Britten's greatest chamber works, the Serenade for tenor, horn & strings (1943) and the Canticle III (1953).
Brain took up conducting and founded a wind quintet that won him considerable fame. It was following a concert by this quintet at the Edinburgh Festival on September 1, 1957, that Brain was killed in a car accident on his way back to London. Benjamin Britten has written of that fateful night that "it has robbed us of an artist with the unique combination of superb technical command of his instrument, great musicianship, a lively and intelligent interest in music of all sorts, and a fine performing temperament, coupled with a charming personality."
© TiVo
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Mozart: Horn Concertos Nos. 1 - 4 & Quintet, K. 452
Dennis Brain, Philharmonia Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Jan 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Horn Concertos Nos. 1 - 4 & Quintet for Piano and Winds, K. 452
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Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Jan 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Britten: Serenade for tenor, horn & strings; Les Illuminations; Nocturne
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16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Horn Player
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 2 Jun 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Artistry of Dennis Brain
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16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Horn Sonata in F Major, Op. 17
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16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dennis Brain · The Essential Collection (Horn Concertos)
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The Art Of The French Horn
Classical - Released by Everest Records on 31 Mar 1974
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Piano concertos - mozart & beethoven
Dennis Brain, Walter Gieseking, Hans Rosbaud
Classical - Released by OperaPrima-Carillon on 23 Apr 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven & Schumann: Works for Horn
Classical - Released by Archipel on 1 Jan 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Strauss & Mozart: Horn Concertos
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16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Othmar Schoeck: Violin Concerto & Horn Concerto
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Classical - Released by Jecklin on 1 Jan 1997
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Mozart: Divertimentos - Jacob: Sextet - Ibert: Three Pieces
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16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Strauss: Der Bürger als Edelmann, Intermezzo & Horn Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
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Classical - Released by Jube Classic on 4 Feb 2022
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart & Beethoven: Quintets for Piano and Winds
Dennis Brain, Walter Gieseking, Sidney Sutcliffe, Bernard Walton, Cecil James
Chamber Music - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Jan 1956
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Horn Concertos of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven & Schumann
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Berkeley: Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano, Op. 44 - Mozart: Piano Quintet, K. 452
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Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 23 Apr 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart & Beethoven: Works
Walter Gieseking, Dennis Brain, Philharmonia Orchestra, SWR Symphonieorchester, Staatskapelle Berlin, Hans Rosbaud
Classical - Released by Archipel on 1 Jan 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dennis Brain, a Tribute
Classical - Released by Andromeda on 24 May 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Philharmonia 75 Herbert Von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan, Dennis Brain
Classical - Released by Editions Audiovisuel Beulah on 3 Apr 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo