What is Alfred Edwin Brain Sr.?
'''Alfred Edwin Brain''' (born Turnham Green, [[London]], 4 February 1860; died London, 25 October 1929), was an [[England|English]] player of the [[French horn]]. He was the founder of a great school of English horn playing. His grandson [[Dennis Brain]] became perhaps the most famous horn player of all time. He is known as A.E .Brain Sr. (Senior) because one of his sons, who also was a famous horn player, had the same name. A.E. Brain was born in 1860. His father fought in the [[Crimean War]] and was [[invalid]]. Alfred was not well educated. When he was 12 he joined the [[Scots Guards]] and played the horn in the [[band]]. He married in [[1880]] and had seven children. Two of the children became great horn players: [[Alfred Edwin Brain Jr.|Alfred]] and [[Aubrey Brain|Aubrey]]. He played in several orchestras, including the Philharmonic Society, the Queen’s Hall Orchestra and [[Royal Opera House|Covent Garden]]. He played a lot for Henry Wood in [[The Proms]]. In orchestras he nearly always played fourth horn, so his nickname was “George IV”. In [[1904]] he became a founding member of the [[London Symphony Orchestra]]. The four horn players in that orchestra: [[Adolf Borsdorf]], Thomas Busby, Henri Van der Meerschen and A.E. Brain, were often called “God’s Own Quartet” because they blended together so well. He died in [[1929]] after a short retirement. ==References== *Oxford Music Online retrieved 21.11.2010 * Pettitt, Stephen. ''Dennis Brain: A Biography''. London: Robert Hale, 1976. {{ISBN|0-7091-5772-X}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Brain, Alfred Edwin, Sr.}} [[Category:1860 births]] [[Category:1929 deaths]] [[Category:British classical horn players]] [[Category:Musicians from London]]