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."
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Mozart: Divertimentos - Jacob: Sextet - Ibert: Three Pieces
Dennis Brain, Dennis Brain Ensemble
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 16 apr. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Strauss: Der Bürger als Edelmann, Intermezzo & Horn Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Wolfgang Sawallisch, Philharmonia Orchestra, Dennis Brain
Klassiek - 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
Kamermuziek - Released by Warner Classics on 1 jan. 1956
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Horn Concertos of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven & Schumann
Klassiek - Released by OperaPrima-Carillon on 23 apr. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Berkeley: Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano, Op. 44 - Mozart: Piano Quintet, K. 452
Manoug Parikian, Dennis Brain, Colin Horsley
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 23 apr. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Very Best of Dennis Brain
Klassiek - Released by Past Classics on 15 mei 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart Divertimento in F Major for Two Horns and Strings K.522
Dennis Brain, Guido Cantelli, Philharmonia Orchestra
Klassiek - Released by In Vinyl We Trust on 28 okt. 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Concertos pour cor (Mono Version)
Dennis Brain, Herbert von Karajan, Philharmonia Orchestra
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1955
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart & Beethoven: Works
Walter Gieseking, Dennis Brain, Philharmonia Orchestra, SWR Symphonieorchester, Staatskapelle Berlin, Hans Rosbaud
Klassiek - Released by Archipel on 1 jan. 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dennis Brain, a Tribute
Klassiek - Released by Andromeda on 24 mei 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Divertimento No. 2 & Concerto for Flute and Harp
Dennis Brain, Rene Le Roy, Lili Laskine, Royal Phiharmonic Orchestra
Klassiek - Released by Past Classics on 1 feb. 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Philharmonia 75 Herbert Von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan, Dennis Brain
Klassiek - Released by Editions Audiovisuel Beulah on 3 apr. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Philharmonia 75 - Dennis Brain
Klassiek - Released by Editions Audiovisuel Beulah on 29 mei 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven Sonata for Horn and Piano Op.17
Klassiek - Released by In Vinyl We Trust on 28 okt. 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Paul Hindemith Horn Concerto
Dennis Brain, Paul Hindemith, Philharmonia Orchestra
Klassiek - Released by In Vinyl We Trust on 28 okt. 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Master of Classic Music, Strauss - Horn Concerto No. 2
Dennis Brain, Wolgang Sawallisch, London Symphony Orchestra
Klassiek - Released by Oscardigital on 18 aug. 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Master of Music, Hindemith - Horn Concerto, Konzertmusik Für Streichorchester Und Blechbläser, Op.50
Dennis Brain, Paul Hindemith, London Symphony Orchestra
Klassiek - Released by Oscardigital on 21 jul. 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart & Beethoven: Quintettes (Mono Version)
Walter Gieseking, Dennis Brain, Cecil James
Klassiek - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1958
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Dennis Brain Plays Two Horn Concertos
Dennis Brain, The Philharmonia Orchestra
Klassiek - Released by Past Classics on 9 dec. 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Benjamin Britten Plays & Conducts
Peter Pears, Colin McPhee, Clifford Curzon, Benjamin Britten, Dennis Brain, Boyd Neel String Orchestra
Vocale muziek (wereldlijk en religieus) - Released by Naxos Classical Archives on 8 jan. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Opera Intermezzi - Kodaly, Z. / Mascagni, P. / Massenet, J. / Mussorgsky, M. / Offenbach, J. / Puccini, G. / Granados, E. / Verdi, G. (Karajan) (1954)
Dennis Brain, Manoug Parikian, Philharmonia Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan
Opera - Released by Naxos Classical Archives on 1 jan. 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo