Track Listing

1. Horn Concerto No. 1 in D major, K. 412/514 (K. 386b): 1. Allegro
2. Horn Concerto No. 1 in D major, K. 412/514 (K. 386b): 2. Rondo (Allegro)
3. Horn Concerto No. 2 in E flat major, K. 417: 1. Allegro maestoso
4. Horn Concerto No. 2 in E flat major, K. 417: 2. Andante
5. Horn Concerto No. 2 in E flat major, K. 417: 3. Rondo
6. Horn Concerto No. 3 in E flat major, K. 447: 1. Allegro
7. Horn Concerto No. 3 in E flat major, K. 447: 2. Romance (Larghetto)
8. Horn Concerto No. 3 in E flat major, K. 447: 3. Allegro
9. Horn Concerto No. 4 in E flat major, K. 495: 1. Allegro moderato
10. Horn Concerto No. 4 in E flat major, K. 495: 2. Romance (Andante)
11. Horn Concerto No. 4 in E flat major, K. 495: 3. Rondo (Allegro vivace)
12. Quintet for piano, oboe, clarinet, horn & bassoon in E flat major, K. 452: 1. Largo - Allegro moderato
13. Quintet for piano, oboe, clarinet, horn & bassoon in E flat major, K. 452: 2. Larghetto
14. Quintet for piano, oboe, clarinet, horn & bassoon in E flat major, K. 452: 3. Rondo (Allegro)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #50809 in Music
• Released on: 1999-01-12
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Customer Reviews

The ultimate Mozart Horn concerto recording
I, too, wondered through the years what I was missing by clinging so stubbornly to this recording, originally purchased on LP over 30 years ago. The first CD reissue of these performances was horrible, so why not try something up to date? I rue the day I bought an all digital recording on Philips by one of the maximum Horn superstars in the world (since sold in a garage sale at a fraction of its original cost). The musical culprit will have a bag placed over his head to protect the guilty. I got Mozart horn concerti turned into superstar ego vehicles complete with pretentious rubato, ridiculously self indulgent (and interminable) "cadenzas" and an aura of 20th century vulgarity. So its back to Dennis Brain and they got the transfer to digital right this time. You can't go wrong with this recording now sounding warm and inviting again. Accept no substitutes! This is the one you'll come back to.

A Master Performs a Master
I'm not much of a classical music reviewer. I've been exposed to a lot of music, but I tend to stick to favorite performances, so I don't have the depth needed to really be authoritative. Except perhaps for oboe, and that's because I grew up listening to John De Lancie and Marcel Tabuteau - and once you hear really good, you know what's what. This album is a similar case. Dennis Brain wasn't a 'good' French horn player, he was probably the best that there ever was or will be.

I've heard a lot of performance horn players. All you have to do to see what I mean is to wander through this website and pick off performances of the first movement of Horn Concerto No. 2 in E flat and you will discover that Brain never blurbles a note, and every attack in the Allegro Maestoso is pinpoint. He is technically and tonally perfect and couples that with a superb musical sensibility. It was one of the great musical tragedies that he died at the age of 36.

Something to keep in mind is that when Mozart wrote these works for his good friend (and cheesemonger) Joseph Leutgeb, the French horn was a very limited instrument. Many of the notes were reached by stopping the bell to some degree, which affected volume and intonation. Mozart wrote to take advantage of Leutgeb's expertise at this, and Dennis Brain chooses to maintain this effect rather than just play his modern instrument with no thought to the past.

These compositions cover a fair range of time. Number 2(K.417) is really the earliest (1783). And the incomplete No. 1 (K.412) is really the last (1791). The best though, in both my mind and Mozart's is the Quintet in E flat for piano & wind. Mozart was a master in using instrument groupings in novel and powerful fashion and this is no exception.

EMI has remastered this CD over their previous release, which enhances clarity, and makes it easier to hear Dennis Brain's considerable finesse. I own their first release and the difference in clarity makes it worth finding this edition. But even the duller production of the 1997 is enjoyable. It you want a good selection of Dennis Brain's work on one CD this is an excellent buy.

Musical Paradise
The Mozart horn concertos are some of the sunniest and most purely enjoyable works in all of the western classical canon. Unlike many recordings touted as "great" or "original," Dennis Brain's recordings of these wonderful pieces with Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic truly are among the great recordings of the twentieth century. Brain's tone, timbre and stamina are unmatched; Karajan and his cohorts are "in the zone" as well. Despite many attempts, I have never found another version that even comes close. Dennis Brain died tragically in an accident at the age of 36, but we can all be grateful that he was spared long enough to leave this splendid monument to the artistry of Mozart which has given so many generations of music lovers so much pleasure.