Album

As Dennis Brain was the finest horn player in the United Kingdom in the '50s, so the Dennis Brain Wind Ensemble was the finest wind chamber ensemble in the United Kingdom in the '50s. Brain, of course, is well known for his recordings of Strauss and Mozart's Horn Concertos, recordings which remain the deepest, the strongest, and the most soulful ever made. These BBC live recordings of Brain with his ensemble, performing Gordon Jacob's Sextet for wind quintet and piano, plus Brain and two members of the quintet performing Beethoven's Quintet for piano and winds along Brain's brother Leonard on oboe and the redoubtable Benjamin Britten on piano, are wonderful additions to Brain's discography. Both performances are terrific: Jacob's quintet sounds polished yet passionate, while Beethoven's quintet sounds pastoral yet inward. In addition, the disc includes a live performance of Brain romping through Hindemith's Horn Sonata with pianist Noel Mewton-Wood and sailing through Gilbert Vinter's Hunter's Moon with Vilem Tausky conducting the BBC Concert Orchestra. Again, both performances are marvelous: Hindemith's sonata sounds gnarly yet lyrical, while Vinter's Hunter's Moon—with its sentimental melodies, bumptious accompaniment, and its especially corny muted-horn glissandos—sounds as much fun to listen to as it is to perform. BBC's mid-'50s sound is present but not vivid, loud but not clear.

© James Leonard, Rovi

CD 1
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Quintet for Piano, Oboe, Clarinet, Horn and Bassoon in Eb, Op.16 Work Recorded 1955 22:23 Benjamin Britten Piano, Leonard Brain Oboe, Dennis Brain Horn, Cecil James Bassoon, Stephen Waters Clarinet
1	1.Grave. Allegro ma non troppo	9:52			$1.49
2	2.Andante cantabile	6:53			$0.99
3	3.Rondo: Allegro, ma non troppo	5:38			$0.99
Gordon Jacob Composer Sextet for woodwind quintet and piano, Op.3 Work Recorded 1957 20:55 Leonard Brain Oboe, Dennis Brain Horn, Cecil James Bassoon, George Malcolm Bassoon, Gareth Morris Flute, Stephen Waters Clarinet
4	1.Elegiac Prelude	4:04			$0.99
5	2.Scherzo	2:36			$0.99
6	3.Cortege	5:19			$0.99
7	4.Minuet and Trio	4:00			$0.99
8	5.Rondo with Epilogue	4:56			$0.99
Paul Hindemith Composer Sonata for Horn and Piano Work Recorded 1953 16:24 Noel Mewton-Wood Piano, Dennis Brain Horn
9	1.Mäßig bewegt	5:56			$0.99
10	2.Ruhig bewegt	4:10			$0.99
11	3.Lebhaft	6:18			$0.99
Gilbert Vinter Composer Hunter's Moon, for horn and piano Work Recorded 1957 Dennis Brain Horn, Vilem Tausky Conductor, BBC Concert Orchestra Orchestra
12	Hunter's Moon, for horn and piano	5:14			$0.99