The Last Performance of Dennis Brain

New Zealand Listener, Volume 37, Issue 946, 27 September 1957, Page 6

The Last Performance of Dennis Brain

\VJ HEN listeners hear the Dennis Brain Wind Ensemble in a programme from all YCs next Sunday, October 6, they will be hearing the last performance of one of the 20th century’s finest instrumentalists. For shortly after this performance, speeding home to London and his family from Edinburgh, Dennis Brain met his

death when the car he was driving left the road. He was only 36 years old, and at the peak of his powers. Dennis Brain was a third generation horn player. His grandfather, Alfred Brain, was a colleague of Borsdorf in the early days of the London Symphony. Alfred’s three sons all took

to their father’s instrument, oneAubrey Brain, father of Dennis-becom-ing one of the finest French horn players of his generation. Aubrey in turn taught his son all he knew, with the result that, to quote The Times obituary, "The son was a better player than the father, on,the father’s own testimony, which is saying a lot."

During his career Dennis Brain played principal horn for both the Royal Philharmonic and Philharmonia Orchestras, and also played with a number of leading chamber combinations, including the Lener, Griller and Busch Quartets. He also on several occasions adventured into "swing," appearing with both Geraldo and Ted Heath’s orchestras. Many works were composed for him; Benjamin Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and String Orchestra, Hindemith’s Horn Concerto, and compositions by (among others) Elizabeth Lutyens and Gordon Jacob. The last work written to display his talents was Malcolm Arnold’s Concerto, performed in July this year at the Cheltenham Festival. "The traditional uncertainties of the instrument never seemed to have occasioned a fluffed note from him and no technical difficulties ever appeared to cause him the slightest apprehension. . .," said The Times. ". . . English music will be poorer by the loss of so brilliant an executant." At the Edinburgh Festival Dennis Brain appeared in two capacities-as the principal horn of the Philharmonia Orchestra, and as the leader of the wind ensemble which bears his name. The basic constitution of this ensemble is a sextet of woodwind, horn and piano, The programme to be heard next Sunday (7.30 p.m., all YCs) includes three Quintets, Beethoven’s without flute and with piano, Fricker’s and Malipiero’s with flute and without piano. The other work in this programme is "Villanelle" for horn and piano, by Dukas. ° Other programmes from the Festival will be heard on Tuesday, October 1, and Saturday, October 5. The ‘Tuesday programme, from all YCs except 4YC, will be the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, conducted by Eduard van Beinum (with the violinist Szymon Goldberg as soloist), playing works by Cornelius, Kox, Mendelssohn and Debussy. On Saturday (7.30, YCs) there will be A Concert for Young People, with the BBC Scottish Orchestra, conductor Ian Whyte, and the soloist Nina Milkina. Also on Sunday, after the recital by the Dennis Brain Wind Ensemble, listeners will hear Musica Scotica, a programme of early Scottish chamber music for voices and instruments.