Dennis Brain plays Richard Strauss Horn Concerto No. 2 in E Flat (2/2)

[rlaceybeef]

An Angel recording of the two Strauss Concertos in 1958 when I was in seventh grade in Drummond, Mt..raised on a cattle ranch..changed my life. In 1964..as with another comment here, I received a full college horn scholarship..met my wife at the 1968 MENC convention in Seattle..where she was a violinist. Who woulda thunk? No..I didn't pursue my horn..but raised 7 kids back on the ranch..prominent in the beef processing business here and overseas. This great man..changed my life.

[wyomingmali]

Way back in 1964 I went to the All State orchestra camp at Interlochen Music Camp and for the audition played the first movement of this concerto. It got me first chair out of the 16 horn players there. I would have loved to have been a professional horn player but just didn't have enough talent, esp. after a cut lip and broken tooth playing football later that year from which I never really recovered, embouchure-wise. Dennis Brain was my hero when I was a kid.

[jljnbj]

Listen to recordings by Radek Baborak. Sometimes I think Dennis Brain has come back from the dead...

[marnixava]

@jljnbj Exactly my thoughts when I first heard Baborak playing this piece.

[SAPOGOguy]

the band director at my gigh school said i sound like Dennis Brain!! im in the 8 th grade though.....

[mrpankau]

Yeah, I'm gonna have to go ahead and say that Dennis Brain pretty much kicks everyone else's butts.

[univocalic]

I wish I'd been alive to hear him in the flesh. I think that Alessio Allegrini is the only living player who could do justice to this marvellous concerto in the way that Dennis Brain did.

[satinbarbi]

To me Brain had the perfect tone for horn. The French Horn is a lady and he sure gave her respect. Perfection.

[josefedward]

He usually played at the Hoffnung Music Festival playing Leopold Mozart on a garden hose. There is an actual recording of that too. Sometime from 1958 I think. I wish I could have played half as good as he on a regular instrument - other than a garden hose.

[erstehorniste]

@josefedward couldn't have been 1958 since he died September 1957 :)

[davidgee100]

Two frightfully gifted minds - Brain and Strauss.

[ipmoic]

I think this concerto is the apotheosis of romantic music. The ending from 9:45 on --that luminous horn choir (!)--is a swirl of sound and a glorious goodbye to romanticism from the 82 year old Richard Strauss.

Enormously moving--and what a performance. Many thanks dear Mr. Brain.

[luismota91]

I agree with you. and that horn choir at the end is something special

[NickR278]

What is the picture of him blowing through the long tube?

[cornophile91]

I read in a book that it was a joke he did, if I remember correctly he played one of Mozart's horn concertos(maybe number 3?) on that garden hose.

[wildedavidwilde]

Impeccable, Immaculate, Unmatched before or since, PERFECT!

[TheRiseAndFallOfMan]

He makes it seem so easy

[cascacai]

Il mio idolo intramontabile per sempre

Immortale

godimento artistico

Grazie di essere nato

[bethy986]

WOOOO! I love Dennis Brain!!!!!

[ollie3003]

fantastic *****

[MrCorno]

so...good.............!