It's only a matter of time until everyone in the world has a copy of
Dennis Brain's 1954 recordings of
Mozart's Horn Concerto. And why shouldn't they? Witty, sweet, noble, and tender, the works themselves are the peak of the solo horn repertoire and
Brain's performances are the living, breathing incarnation of the works. His tone is warm and strong. His intonation is without crack or blemish. His technique is fluent and effortless. His interpretations are as one with the music -- bucolic, heroic, naïve, urbane, and full of life and love. Accompanied by an obviously awestruck
Herbert von Karajan leading the
Philharmonia of London --
Brain's orchestra mates when he's not playing concertos -- and produced by the masterful and magisterial
Walter Legge,
Brain's performances are so beguiling, so charming, so enchanting that one hearing will be all it takes to convince any listener anywhere in the world that herein lies aural Elysium. The fillup of
Mozart's Quintet for piano and winds played by
Brain and the eponymous Dennis Brain Wind Ensemble in 1953 is easily at the same level, and its inclusion makes an otherwise only 54-minute-long disc a full-length 77 minutes.