Priceless Music-making

The horn playing
of Dennis Brain -
heard by the late
HOWARD SMITH

'... a sheer delight ...'

The Artistry of Dennis Brain. © 2010 Regis Records

Of all twentieth century instrumental artists, living or dead, Dennis Brain (1921-1957) is one of a small handful whose entire recorded legacy is beyond criticism.

From start to finish this Regis compilation is a sheer delight, imbued as one might expect, with incomparable artistry whether in the sonata, quintet, symphony, partita, comedy item or occasional pieces

Finding 78'05" minutes of such priceless music-making on the budget-price Regis label is akin to 'a gift from the heavens'.

To the present day Brain recordings stand out, so no less an 'authority' (sic) than Wikipedia informs us he was 'largely credited for popularizing the horn as a solo classical instrument with the post-war British public.'

In Beethoven's Horn Sonata in F major (1800) Brain and accompanist Denis Matthews (1919-1988) are in total accord, and this bouyant performance, recorded in 1944 (London) is still leader of the pack...

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