Ethan Wilkinson

Brass Artist Project- Dennis Brain

Dennis Brain was born in London in 1921. The Brain family was extremely musical.
Dennis took horn lessons from his father, Aubrey Brain. His uncle and grandfather were also
horn players. Brains mother was a singer, doing so well as to sing in Wagners Ring through the
1920s. Dennis studied music at the same school where his father taught horn, the Royal
Academy of Music. His musical skill was clear from his first days at school. Other than horn,
Brain excelled in piano, organ, composition, and conducting.
When the war broke out in 1939, Dennis and his brothers enlisted in the Royal Air
Force. Luckily they were able to join the central band and Uxbridge and soon a large orchestra
was formed. While in the RAF, Dennis formed the Dennis Brain Wind Quartet. He and the group
performed around Europe and had many performances broadcast on the BBC. When Brain
joined the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, solo repertoire had low priority and importance.
Brains amazing playing ability, with almost inhuman articulations, agility, and tone production,
began to bring the solo genre into the spotlight.
The majority of Brains time was spent playing first horn in the Philharmonia Orchestra.
Dennis was the original first horn of this orchestra which formed in 1945. Walter Legge, the
founder of the Philharmonia wanted an orchestra with varied style, hand-picked players of the
highest quality, and multiple conductors. The Philharmonia quickly became one of the top
ensembles of the world. The demand on the players to be on their absolute best was extremely
high. Job security was almost none existent and players never knew if they were going to be
hired or fired. Through the Philharmonia, Dennis Brains fame and reputation as a horn player
continued to grow. Because the orchestra wanted to bring in many different conductors, all

highly regarding in the orchestra community, Brain was able to showcase his talents to a wide
variety of well respected musicians. Brains abilities allowed him many opportunities to solo
with the orchestra and truly flaunt his natural talent.
At a young age, Dennis Brain became the most sought after horn player in England.
Brain was extremely busy with playing so he did not have a great amount of time to teach. Like
many good teachers and his father before him, Dennis taught by demonstration. His unique
playing ability and sound were so advanced and different from other players, that even he had a
hard time describing how he played. Dennis raw natural talent was so great and specific to him
that his techniques are almost impossible to accurately imitate. His articulations are perhaps the
most intriguing thing about his playing. It is almost as if he combines both slur and tongue
articulation to create a style all his own. The fluidity with which he moves from note to note is
unparalleled in the horn world. Brains incredible skill motivated many new works to be
composed for horn by rising stars in the composition realm including Benjamin Britten and Paul
Hindemith. Brain continue to advocate for the horn repertoire by exploring the already existing
but less popular pieces and gave them new life.
For those that knew him, Dennis was an almost magical human being. Everything he did,
musically and otherwise, was done with ease and serenity. His notable affinities included
spaghetti and cars. Dennis could down a plate of spaghetti between a recoding session and it not
inhibit his playing whatsoever. He loved cars so much he could often be found with copies of car
magazines on his music stand. Ironically, Dennis Brain died in a car accident in 1957 at age 36.
His legacy as one of the greatest horn players to ever live and his impact to the horn world will
never be forgotten.

Discography
Solo Horn and Orchestra
Hindemith: Concerto for Horn and Orchestra (1949). Philharmonia Orchestra, cond Hindemith.
KH, London, November 19, 1956.
Mozart Horn Concerto No. 1 Philharmonia Orchestra, cond Karajan. November 12, 1953.
Strauss: Concerto No. 1 in E flat Major for Horn and Orchestra op. 11 BBC Symphony
Orchestra, cond Boult. March 18, 1956
Strauss: Concerto No. 2 in E flat Major for Horn and Orchestra (1942). BBC Welsh Orchestra,
cond Jenkins. February 5, 1951.

References
Dennis Brain (1921-1957). International Horn Society Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2016.
Gamble, Stephen, and William C. Lynch. Dennis Brain: A Life in Music. Denton, TX: U of North
Texas, 2011. Print.