Dennis Brain: A Life in Music

Chapter 1: The Early Years (1921–1939)

1 The Early Years (1921–1939) C H A P T E R 1 Dennis Brain was born into a musical family and was expected to become a musician. He studied horn with his father at home and as a student at the Royal Academy of Music. Information on Brain’s childhood and student days is scarce; however, we know that he showed early promise and that by the end of his studies at the Academy, he was performing and recording professionally. Family The Brain family name is synonymous with the horn—his father, Aubrey Brain (1893–1955) uncle Alfred Brain (1885–1966) and grandfather A. E. Brain (1860–1929) were all distinguished horn players. Brain’s mother, Marion Brain (1887–1954), was a contralto (Pls. 1–3) and under her maiden name, Beeley, sang in Wagner’s Ring at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden until the late 1920s. Before World War I, Sir Edward Elgar had written “Hail, Immemorial Ind!” in his opera The Crown of India especially for her. Judging from the few recordings available, she possessed a voice of great warmth and power. She had superb breath control and could sustain a long phrase without taking any unmusical breaths, a characteristic that was later to be one of the key attributes of her son’s horn playing. Brain’s parents met during the Denhof Opera Company’s tour of 1913, and they were married in 1914. Dennis’s brother, Leonard, who became an oboist, was born in 1915. Dennis was born in London on May 17, 1921. At that time, his father was third horn in the London Symphony and Royal Philharmonic Orchestras.1 2 Dennis Brain: A Life in Music One of the earliest photos of Brain, taken about 1924, is a charming picture that could not possibly show what a great musician he would be (Pl. 4). Next to him is Grandpa Basil Beeley, his mother’s father, of whom we know only that his family included engineers who manufactured boilers at Stalybridge, Cheshire. Photographs from the 1920s show Brain on the beach with his family or in the shallows at Viking Bay, Broadstairs, Kent, a favorite holiday destination.2 (Pl. 5) Roy Plomley, interviewing Brain in 1956, asked whether it was expected he would be a musician, to which Brain replied: Yes, it seemed to be accepted in my family that, at a suitable age, I would take up the horn perhaps and become a horn player . . . I started [piano] when I was about seven or eight; my mother was wise enough not to teach me the piano herself but sent me to the local piano teacher who was very good, and when I was about fourteen, my father thought, I suppose, that perhaps it was about time that I did something with the instrument and he tactfully came up to me one day and said, “I’ve found another instrument— would you like to see what you can do on it?” So I did and I’ve been going ever since.3 Although a family anecdote tells of him picking up his father’s horn and blowing a perfect note at the age of three, he didn’t start playing the instrument seriously until (as he said) he was about fourteen. Aubrey believed that the horn should not be played until the permanent teeth had developed. As a treat, he allowed his son to blow his horn every Saturday morning so the boy’s interest in the instrument would be sustained.4 Early Education From the age of seven, Brain received his education at Richmond Hill Preparatory School, where he also played the bugle in the school cadet band.5 Violinist Sir Vivian Dunn, a colleague of Aubrey Brain in the BBC Symphony Orchestra who rode to rehearsals with him, recalled that, in about 1930, Aubrey would take his son to the rehearsals, which took place at a factory underneath old Waterloo Bridge. Dennis would have seen some of the world’s greatest conductors with one of the world’s most outstanding orchestras rehearsing the standard orchestral repertoire as well as many new works receiving first performances. What excellent training this must have been for him, observing his father leading the horn section!6 After Richmond Hill, Brain attended St. Paul’s School, London. He sang treble in the school choir (not as soloist) and took part in school concerts. His piano lessons were continued with the school’s Director of Music...