[管樂] 著名的英國法國號演奏家 Dennis Brain

說起優異的法國號手，人人都會想到因車禍而英年早逝的法國號奇才丹尼斯•布萊恩（Dennis Brain），他擁有精準而獨特的音色，而且演奏時察覺不出一絲緊張的氣息（法國號手常因為在台上緊張而一時失誤，這也是它的困難處之一），充滿自信與戲劇性，與卡拉揚合作的莫劄特《法國號協奏曲》更被後世奉為圭臬，「這四首曲子彷彿是莫劄特為了布萊恩所寫的」，聽聽他所吹奏的華格納《齊格菲主題》，齊格菲吹奏號角的英姿就好似栩栩如生地呈現在眼前，而且也就是他高超的技巧，能夠在法國號演奏曲目不多的大前提之下，致力讓法國號提升到與樂團相平行的獨奏地位，對後世的貢獻極大。( 網上資料）







Beethoven Horn Sonata Op.17

Dennis Brain (May 17, 1921, in London – September 1, 1957) was a British virtuoso horn player and was largely credited for popularizing the horn as a solo classical instrument with the post-war British public. With the collaboration of Herbert von Karajan and the Philharmonia Orchestra, he produced what many still consider to be the definitive recordings of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's horn concerti.

Dennis Brain was born in London to a family already well-known for producing fine horn players.

His grandfather, Alfred Edwin Brain Sr. (Feb. 4, 1860 – 25 Oct. 1925), was considered one of the top horn soloists of his time.

His uncle, Alfred Edwin Brain Jr. (Oct. 24, 1885 – Mar. 29, 1966), had a successful career playing horn in the United States with the New York Symphony Society and later as a soloist in Hollywood.

His father, Aubrey Brain (July 12, 1893 – Sept. 21, 1955), held the principal horn position in the BBC Symphony Orchestra and was also a teacher. Aubrey Brain produced the first Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart horn concerto recording in 1927.

His mother, Marion Brain, was a composer and wrote cadenzas to the first and third Mozart horn concerti which her husband then performed.

His brother, Leonard Brain, (1915–1975), was an oboist and performed with Dennis in a wind quintet that Dennis formed. Tina Brain, one of Leonard's children (Dennis' niece), also became a professional horn player.

Brain married Yvonne Brain and had two children: Anthony Paul Brain and Sally Brain.

A premature end

On September 1, 1957, Brain was killed driving home to London after performing the Tchaikovsky Pathetique Symphony No. 6 with the Philharmonia under Eugene Ormandy at the Edinburgh Festival.^[3][4] He had driven his Triumph TR2 sports car off the road and into a tree near Barnet. He was scheduled for a recording session of Strauss’ Capriccio scheduled for the next morning in London[5]. Brain was a noted enthusiast of fast cars and was known for keeping Autocar magazine on his stand as he played the Mozart concertos from memory during recording sessions. He was 36 years old at the time of his death. Brain was interred at Hampstead Cemetery in London.

His headstone is engraved with a passage from Hindemith's Declamation section from his horn concerto ^[6]:

My call transforms
The hall to autumn-
       tinted groves
What is into what
Has been....

Legacy

The beauty of Brain's music and the tragedy of his death captured the public imagination like no British horn player before or since. Horn players in general do not have the profile of the great violinists although the principal horn is generally paid second only to the leader of an orchestra, the horn being notoriously difficult to play. Giovanni Punto inspired Beethoven to write for horn, Brain inspired Britten, Arnold and Tippett. He popularised the classical horn repertoire and his brief career coincided with a renaissance of English classical performance and composition; like his contemporary James Galway he made the transition from orchestra to soloist, and his untimely death further boosted his status as a musical legend. Recordings from the 1950s are still available and many still consider the Brain / Karajan recordings of the Mozart horn concerti as definitive.

Brain was both a great horn player and a figure in popular culture, from his recordings of the Mozart concerti to his ridiculous playing of the hosepipe (perfectly in pitch) in one of Gerard Hoffnung's surreal musical extravaganzas. His Mozart recordings inspired Flanders and Swann's Ill Wind and his classical playing inspired a generation and more of horn players.