This weekend was thin on classical music in San Diego. Last weekend we feasted on fresh, local, produce. This weekend had more per-packaged, mass-consumption fare, aka mp3's and YouTube.

Since I was so impressed with the horn playing of Benjamin Jaber at the symphony last week, I thought we'd take a look at a great horn player from the past.

There is a legend that as a child, when Dennis Brain first picked up a horn, he played a perfect scale. Did it happen? Who knows but there is no question that Brain possessed an inherent musical ability.

Dennis Brain was a British horn player. He died of a car crash in 1957 at the age of 36 but had been the principal horn of The Philharmonia for 12 years.

The Philharmonia was a post-war all-star orchestra put together by Walter Legge of EMI Records. Dennis Brain was a headliner for The Philharmonia from it's inception.

Dennis Brain also played the organ. When The Philharmonia recorded the Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana with von Karajan, Brain was the organist.

Brain's recording of the Mozart Horn Concertos, also with von Karajan, has remained a benchmark since it was released in 1954.

Benjamin Britten wrote a Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings. The tenor part was for Peter Pears, the horn part was written for Brain.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziyLQmq59cg