Homage

“In his warm and serene person all the essential qualities of the great interpretative artist were blended in perfect harmony.” Dennis Brain’s life was cut short in 1957 when he was just 36, but he had already assured his reputation as the greatest horn-player of the 20th century.

He remains an exemplar for his successors today. “Technical problems did not exist for him,” continued the eulogy written by Walter Legge, EMI’s legendary producer and founder of the Philharmonia Orchestra. “Over his instrument’s whole range he had a mastery of intonation, of legato, of staccato, of dynamic range and, above all, of expressiveness.”

This 11CD collection presents all his Warner recordings as concerto soloist and chamber and ensemble player – including music composed with him in mind – and his most notable contributions to symphonic, choral and operatic works. He performs in several CD premieres – music by Handel, Strauss, Richard Arnell and Norman Forber Kay – and a 1953 recording now released for the first time: Vincent d’Indy’s wind septet Chanson et danses.