How does a performance remain definitive even after nearly fifty years? Answer: When it's played by Brain. Dennis Brain was arguably the greatest horn player to ever live. He also was the first to ever record the Strauss Horn Concertos (in 1947), and the Hindemith Concerto was dedicated to him, so he was tailor-made for this music. Despite the fact that all these recordings were made in 1956, the Strauss Concertos were taped earlier in the year and are in mono, while both Hindemith works from later that year are in stereo. The three Concertos have been available on CD previously (and still are) as a full-price title, but this remastered version from EMI's Great Recordings of the Century series offers superior sound and more music in the form of Hindemith's Concert Music for Brass and Strings. So I guess perfection can be improved on after all.