Alan CivilOBE (13 June 1929 – 19 March 1989)[1] was a Britishhorn player.
Civil began to play the horn at a young age, and joined the famous Royal Artillery Band and Orchestra at Woolwich, while still in his teens. He studied the instrument under Aubrey Brain, father of Dennis Brain in 1943, and later with Willy von Stemm in Hamburg.[2]
Civil was engaged by Thomas Beecham to play second horn to Dennis Brain in the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and when Brain left for the Philharmonia, Civil took over leadership of the section. In 1955, Civil joined the Philharmonia himself, becoming principal horn player when Brain died in a car crash in 1957.
In the 1960s, Civil became the first non-German to be approached by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra to become a member.[3] Civil stuck with the Philharmonia however, who were reshaping themselves into the New Philharmonia. In 1966 he became principal horn of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, remaining there until his retirement in 1988.
Civil died of liver and kidney failure on 19 March 1989 at King's College Hospital in London. He was 59 years old.
References
^The Horn Call. International Horn Society. 1991. p. 39.
^"Obituaries: Alan Civil". The Musical Times. 130 (1755): 287. May 1989.
^Rees, Jasper (2008). A devil to play : one man's year-long quest to master the orchestra's most difficult instrument. Harper : New York. p. 252. ISBN978-0061626623.