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This programme pays homage to the horn and two remarkable players of the instrument. Dennis Brain, who died in an horrific car crash at the age of 36, set a new standard for horn playing, defying expectations in his exquisite handling of the instrument, notably in Britten's Serenade, Op 31 for tenor and horn and strings (1943) and Canticle III, written for him. Poulenc's harsh and turbulent Elegie is his own response to the shock of Brain's death. In a continuance of the precedent set by Britten, the Britten-Pears Foundation has commissioned David Knotts to write a new piece for another incredible horn player, Richard Watkins.