His grandfather, Alfred Edwin Brain sr. (1860-02-04 - 1925-10-25), was considered one of the top horn soloists of his time. Dennis Brain (born 17 May 1921; died London, 1 September 1957) was a British horn player. He popularised the classical horn repertoire and his brief career coincided with a renaissance of English classical performance and composition; like his contemporary James Galway he made the transition from orchestra to soloist, and his death further boosted his status as a musical legend. Brain debuted in performance on October 6 1938, playing second horn under his father with the Busch Chamber Players at the Queen's Hall. [4] In July 1954, again conducted by Karajan, Brain performed the organ part in a recording of the Easter hymn from Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana. The concerti were originally written for Joseph Leutgeb, a Salzburg natural horn player. A massive new biography of the great British horn virtuoso Dennis Brain was just published this month by UNT press, Dennis Brain: A Life in Music. He was both a prodigy and popularizer, famously performing a concerto on a garden hose in perfect pitch. He was 24 years old at the time. Along with Jack Brymer (clarinet), Gwydion Brooke (bassoon), Richard Walton (trumpet), Terence MacDonagh (oboe), and Gerald Jackson (flute), he was a member of the "Royal Family" of wind instrumentalists of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Showing off his humorous style, Brain performed a Leopold Mozart horn concerto on a rubber hose pipe at a Gerard Hoffnung music festival in 1956, trimming the hose to length with garden shears to achieve the correct tuning. Brain originally played a French instrument, a Raoux piston-valve horn, similar to that used by his father. Another work commissioned to mark this anniversary is Sequence, for two solo horns and horn quartet, by Robin Wedderburn, Peter Gritton and Ben Parry. Giovanni Punto inspired Beethoven to write for horn; Brain inspired Benjamin Britten, Malcolm Arnold and Michael Tippett. He played with Karl Haas's London Baroque Ensemble, both on recordings (notably Dittersdorf's Partita in D, Dvořák's Serenade in D minor for Winds, Op. 2), Paul Hindemith (Concerto for Horn and Orchestra), York Bowen (Concerto for Horn, Strings and Timpani), Peter Racine Fricker (Horn Sonata), Gordon Jacob (Concerto for Horn and String Orchestra),[11] Mátyás Seiber (Notturno for Horn and Strings), Humphrey Searle (Aubade for Horn and Strings), Ernest Tomlinson (Rhapsody and Rondo for Horn and Orchestra, Romance and Rondo for Horn and Orchestra), Lennox Berkeley (Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano) and Elisabeth Lutyens. * The Legacy of Dennis Brain (www.dennisbrain.com) * Discography * Photo, * Petitt, Stephen. Many people thought of him as the greatest horn player ever. [2] Brain filled the position as principal horn in both. Brain collaborated with Karajan to produce recordings of the four Mozart horn concerti, works now considered to be the basis of the solo horn repertory. Dennis Brain was born in London to a family already well known for producing fine horn players. Dennis Brain. At the age of 21, Brain was appointed to the first horn position in the National Symphony Orchestra. Brain often asked prolific composers to write new works for him to perform. Under the direction of Herbert von Karajan, Brain performed the organ in a recording of the Easter hymn from Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana in July, 1954. 2 publicly with the Vienna Philharmonic in 1948. Later, he found that he did not have enough time to fill both positions and resigned from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. 1–4 for EMI. Brain also founded a trio with pianist Wilfrid Parry and violinist Jean Pougnet. Both brothers joined the Royal Air Force Central Band. Later, he found that he did not have enough time to fill both positions and resigned from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. [1] He was scheduled for a recording session of Strauss's Capriccio with the conductor Wolfgang Sawallisch the next morning in London. Dressler, John C. "Dennis Brain – A Bibliography". Connect your Spotify account to your Last.fm account and scrobble everything you listen to, from any Spotify app on any device or platform. 1, October 1991. Francis Poulenc wrote Elegie for Horn and Piano to commemorate Brain's death. Dennis Brain (1921 – 1957) was a very distinguished British horn player and was largely responsible for popularizing the horn as a solo classical instrument with the public. XXI, No. "Dennis Brain – A Life in Music". His grandfather, father and two uncles were all horn players, while Leonard, his … He happened to be in London when Brain was killed, and he wrote the Elegie the next day. The son of Aubrey Brain, for many years principal horn of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and a prominent figure on the London musical scene, the young Dennis began his career playing second to his father. Horn Concerto No. Regarding Dennis’s position of holding the instrument with bell raised to shoulder height, this is briefly mentioned on pages 114 to 115 of the new biography. That ensemble went on a goodwill tour of the United States. When the Royal Air Force Symphony Orchestra was formed, Brain joined it. Has been.... One of his favourite horns (by Alexander of Mainz: a single B-flat horn with an F extension as a tuning slide) was badly damaged in his fatal crash. Early YearsCover art for a biographical book written about BrainEnlargeCover art for a biographical book written about Brain. 4 in E-flat Major K. 495, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "I Found My Horn special: The Art of Dennis Brain | Classical music reviews, news & interviews | The Arts Desk", "Dennis Brain: Fanfare for the horn-player who blew up a storm", Concertonet.com, Instruments of Mass Seduction II: The Horn; 11 May 2004, Review by Malcolm Walker for Naxos Records, William C. Lynch Dennis Brain Collection (ARS.0138), Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dennis_Brain&oldid=987952929, People educated at St Paul's School, London, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from October 2016, All articles needing additional references, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers, Wikipedia articles with PLWABN identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with Trove identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. His Mozart recordings inspired Flanders and Swann's Ill Wind and his classical playing inspired future generations of horn players. Was of Mozart 's horn concerti, via one of Leonard 's children ( Dennis niece! At St Paul ’ s School in Hammersmith where he studied piano and organ under G. D... 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