13 Facts About Neil Brand

Neil Brand was born on 18 March 1958 and is an English dramatist, composer and author.

Neil Brand has been a silent film accompanist for nearly 40 years, regularly in London at the Barbican and BFI National Film Theatres, throughout the UK and Ireland and at film festivals around the world, including Australia, New Zealand, America, Canada, Israel, Scandinavia, Georgia, Ukraine, throughout Europe.

On television, Neil Brand has appeared in Switch, a BBC drama for the hearing impaired, as Ted, a bullying businessman.

Neil Brand composed the score for Channel Four's three-part documentary series on the Crimean War in 1997.

In September 2013, Neil Brand presented the BBC Four programme Sound of Cinema: The Music that Made the Movies.

Neil Brand was a guest presenter in the BBC Radio 3 programme Sound of Cinema: Live from the BFI presented by Sean Rafferty where he demonstrated on piano some of the intricate motifs from Franz Waxman as well as some of his own music.

In January and February 2015, Neil Brand presented the BBC Four programme Sound of Song in which he looked at the history of popular song and its relationship to technology in the twentieth century.

One critic said: "Neil Brand was an enthusiastic compere throughout, combining formidable knowledge and terrific piano playing on his Steinway".

Neil Brand wrote a new score for the restored 1929 film The Wrecker, released on DVD in November 2009.

Neil Brand followed this up in 2011 with a score for another recently restored film, Anthony Asquith's 1928 drama Underground: the new composition was premiered by the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican Centre in London.

Neil Brand regularly accompanies silent films with the skiffle band The Dodge Brothers.

Neil Brand has written a book, Dramatic Notes, discussing the art of composing narrative music for the cinema, theatre, radio or television, and including interviews with composers and directors.

Neil Brand has an occasional slot on BBC Radio 4's The Film Programme, analysing and deconstructing film music of various genres, illustrating his points with excerpts on the piano.