Andre Previn

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Biography

André George Previn , Order of the British Empire|KBE (born Andreas Ludwig Priwin ; April 6 , 1929) is a German-American pianist, conductor, and composer. He is considered one of the most versatile musicians in the world and is the winner of four Academy Award s for his film work and ten Grammy Award s for his recordings.

Early life

Previn was born in Berlin, Germany|Berlin , Germany, the son of Charlotte (née Epstein) and Jack Previn, who was a lawyer, judge, and music teacher. http://www.filmreference.com/film/30/Andre-Previn.html He is said to be "a distant relative of" the composer Gustav Mahler ..Accessed 15 February 2012. However, In a pre-concert public interview at the Lincoln Center, in May 2012, Previn laughed at the suggestion that he is related to Mahler. The year of his birth is uncertain. Whilst most published reports give 1929, Previn himself has stated that 1930 is his birth year.Previn mentioned in the liner notes of the programme printed for his appearance as guest conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra during the 2006–07 season that his year of birth is 1930, and not 1929 as many sources claim. This situation is a consequence of his the family losing Previn's birth certificate when they left Germany in 1938. His elder brother was director Steve Previn . The Previn family, which was Jewish, emigrated to the United States in 1939 to escape the Nazism|Nazi regime in Germany .
In 1939, his family moved to Los Angeles, where his great-uncle, Charles Previn , was music director of Universal Studios. André grew up in Los Angeles and became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1943. At Previn's 1946 graduation from Beverly Hills High School he played a musical duet with Richard M. Sherman ; Previn played the piano, accompanying Sherman (who played flute). He first came to prominence by arranging and composing Hollywood film scores in 1948. Coincidentally, 21 years later, both composers won Academy Award|Oscars for different films, both winning in musical categories.

Work as a pianist

In the mid-to-late 1950s, and more recently, Previn toured and recorded as a jazz pianist. In the 1950s, mainly recording for Contemporary Records , he worked with Shelly Manne , Leroy Vinnegar , Benny Carter , and others. An album he recorded with Manne and Vinnegar of songs from My Fair Lady was a best-seller (see My Fair Lady (Shelly Manne album) ). As a solo jazz pianist, Previn largely devoted himself to interpreting the works of major songwriters such as Jerome Kern (recorded in 1959), Frederick Loewe , Vernon Duke (recorded in 1958), and Harold Arlen (recorded in 1960). Previn made two albums with Dinah Shore as arranger, conductor, and accompanist in 1960, and another, the unjustly neglected "Duet", with Doris Day in 1961. He made appearances on The Ford Show|The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford as well as The Dinah Shore Chevy Show . He collaborated with Julie Andrews on a collection of Christmas carol s in 1966, focusing on rarely heard carols. This popular album has been reissued many times over the years and is now available on CD. His main influences as a jazz pianist include Art Tatum , Oscar Peterson , and Horace Silver . Previn has also recorded classical piano compositions by Mozart , Gershwin , Francis Poulenc|Poulenc , Shostakovich , and others.

Work as a conductor

In 1967, Previn succeeded John Barbirolli as music director of the Houston Symphony|Houston Symphony Orchestra . In 1968, he began his tenure as principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO).Accessed 15 February 2012., serving in that post until 1979. During his LSO tenure, he and the LSO appeared on the BBC Television programme ''André Previn's Music Night . From 1976 to 1984, he was music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) and, in turn, had another television series with the PSO entitled Previn and the Pittsburgh . He was also principal conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra from 1985 to 1988.

In 1985, he became music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic . Although Previn's tenure with the orchestra was musically satisfactory, other conductors including Kurt Sanderling , Simon Rattle , and Esa-Pekka Salonen , did a better job at selling out concerts. Previn clashed frequently with Ernest Fleischmann (the orchestra's Executive VP and General Manager), most notably when Fleischmann failed to consult him before naming Salonen as Principal Guest Conductor of the orchestra, complete with a tour of Japan. Because of Previn's objections, Salonen's title and Japanese tour were withdrawn; however, shortly thereafter, in April 1989, Previn resigned. Four months later, Salonen was named Music Director Designate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, officially taking the post of Music Director in October 1992.

Compositions

Previn has composed film scores and other musical works, including concertos for piano, violin, cello, and guitar. He has also adapted and conducted the music for several films, some of them stage-to-film adaptations, such as My Fair Lady (film)|My Fair Lady , Kismet (musical)|Kismet , Porgy and Bess (film)|Porgy and Bess , and Paint Your Wagon (film)|Paint Your Wagon . Several were written especially for film, including the Academy Award -winning Gigi (1958 film)|Gigi . Several of the film scores were collaborations with his second wife, Dory Previn .

In later years, he has concentrated on composing classical music. He collaborated with Tom Stoppard on Every Good Boy Deserves Favour , a play with substantial musical content, which was first performed in London in 1977 with Previn conducting the LSO. His first opera, A Streetcar Named Desire (opera)|A Streetcar Named Desire , premiered at the San Francisco Opera in 1998. His second opera, Brief Encounter (opera)|Brief Encounter , based on the 1945 movie of the same name, was premiered at Houston Grand Opera on May 1, 2009. His numerous other classical works include vocal, chamber, and orchestral music.

Opera

A Streetcar Named Desire (opera)|A Streetcar Named Desire (1997, premiered in San Francisco in 1998)

Brief Encounter (opera)|Brief Encounter (2007, premiered in Houston in 2009)

Theater

A Party with Betty Comden & Adolph Green (1958) – a revue with Previn as featured songwriter

Coco (musical)|Coco (1969) – a musical with words by Alan Jay Lerner

The Good Companions (musical)|The Good Companions (1974) – a musical with a book by Ronald Harwood and lyrics by Johnny Mercer

Incidental Music for Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (play)| Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1976) – a play for actors and orchestra with words by Tom Stoppard

Orchestral Music

Cello Concerto 1 (1960)

Guitar Concerto (1971)

Principals for Orchestra (1980)

Piano Concerto (1984)

Diversions for Orchestra (1999)

Violin Concerto 1 “Anne-Sophie” (2001)

Concerto for Violin, Double Bass and Orchestra (2004)

Night Thoughts for Orchestra (2005)

Harp Concerto (2007)

Owls for Orchestra (2008)

Concerto for Violin, Viola and Orchestra (2009)

Cello Concerto 2 (2010)

Violin Concerto 2 (2010)

Triple Concerto for French Horn, Trumpet and Tuba (2012)

Chamber Music

Four Outings for Brass (1974)

Peaches for Flute and Piano (1978)

Triolet for Brass (1985)

Trio 1 for Piano, Oboe and Bassoon (1985)

A Wedding Waltz for 2 Oboes and Piano (1986)

Cello Sonata (1993)

Violin Sonata “Vineyard” (1994)

Bassoon Sonata (1997)

Trio 2 for Piano, Violin and Cello (2008)

Octet for Eleven (2010)

Clarinet Sonata (Prague, 2010)

Clarinet Quintet (2011)

Piano Music

Paraphrase on a Theme of William Walton (1973)

Matthew's Piano Book (10 pieces for students) (1979)

Variations on a Theme by Haydn (1990)

Songs and Song Cycles

You’re Gonna Hear From Me (for ‘Inside Daisy Clover’) (1965)

Gotta Get Off, Gonna Get (Theme from ‘Valley of the Dolls’) (1967)

Five Philip Larkin Songs (1977)

Song Cycle “Honey and Rue” (1992)

Sallie Chisum Remembers Billy the Kid (1994)

Four Toni Morrison Songs (1994)

Three Emily Dickinson Songs (1999)

Sieben Lieder (Seven Songs) (2006)

Film Scores

Original Scores

Three Little Words (film)|Three Little Words (1950) — together with composer Harry Ruby

The Girl Who Had Everything (1953)

Bad Day at Black Rock (1954)

'' It's Always Fair Weather (1955)

The Subterraneans (1960)

Elmer Gantry (film)|Elmer Gantry (1960)

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (film)|Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1961)

'' Long Day's Journey into Night (1962 film)|Long Day's Journey into Night (1962)

Two for the Seesaw (1962)

Dead Ringer (1964 film)|Dead Ringer (1964)

Inside Daisy Clover (1965)

Arrangement of Original Scores by Others

The Secret Garden (1949 film)|The Secret Garden (1949) — arrangement of Bronislau Kaper's music

Gigi (1958 film)|Gigi (1958) — arrangement of Loewe's music

Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967) — arrangement of Elmer Bernstein's music

Arrangement for Film of Stage Musical or Opera

Kiss Me, Kate (film)|Kiss Me, Kate (1953) — after Kiss Me, Kate|Porter's musical

Silk Stockings (film)|Silk Stockings (1957) — after Silk Stockings|Porter's musical

Porgy and Bess (film)|Porgy and Bess (1959) — after Porgy and Bess|Gershwin's opera

Bells Are Ringing (film)|Bells Are Ringing (1960) — after Bells Are Ringing (musical)|Styne's musical

My Fair Lady (film)|My Fair Lady (1964) — after My Fair Lady|Loewe's musical

Paint Your Wagon (film)|Paint Your Wagon (1969) — after Paint Your Wagon (musical)|Loewe's musical

Jesus Christ Superstar (film)|Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) — after Jesus Christ Superstar|Webber's musical

Arrangement for Film of Music by Others

The Music Lovers (1970) — arrangement of Tchaikovsky's music

Rollerball (1975 film)|Rollerball (1975) — arrangement of music by Bach, Shostakovich, and Tchaikovsky

Jazz

My Fair Lady (Shelly Manne album)|My Fair Lady (1956)

Double Play! (1957)

Pal Joey (1957)

Gigi (album)|Gigi (1958)

André Previn Plays Songs by Vernon Duke (1958)

André Previn Plays Songs by Jerome Kern (1959)

King Size! (1959)

West Side Story (1959 album)|West Side Story (1959)

Like Previn! (1960)

André Previn Plays Songs by Harold Arlen (1960)

Duet (Doris Day and André Previn album)|Duet (1962)

Nice Work If You Can Get It (album)|Nice Work if You Can Get It (1983) with Ella Fitzgerald

After Hours (1989)|After Hours (1989)

Uptown (album)|Uptown (1990)

Old Friends (Previn album)|Old Friends (1992)

Kiri Sidetracks: The Jazz Album (1992)

Alone: Ballads for Solo Piano (2007)

Recordings

Previn's many recordings include the three ballets of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( Swan Lake , The Sleeping Beauty (ballet)|The Sleeping Beauty , and The Nutcracker ), and the complete symphonies of Ralph Vaughan Williams , all with the LSO. With the Los Angeles Philharmonic , he made other recordings of music by Sergei Prokofiev (most notably, the Symphonies 1 and 5, the score to Alexander Nevsky , and the Symphony-Concerto for Cello & Orchestra with Heinrich Schiff as soloist), symphonies and other pieces by Antonín Dvorák , and works by contemporary composers including William Kraft , John Harbison , and Harold Shapero . His recordings of works by Rachmaninoff , Gershwin , William Walton , and Shostakovich have been particularly prized.

He has made jazz recordings in two periods of his career: in the 1950s and early 1960s and then again since the 1980s. With bassist David Finck he has recorded a collection of George Gershwin standards ("We Got Rhythm: Gershwin Songbook") and Duke Ellington classics ("We Got It Good & That Ain't Bad: an Ellington Songbook"), both on the Deutsche Grammophon label.

Television

Previn became known to a broad public through his television work. In the United Kingdom he worked on TV with the London Symphony Orchestra . In the United States the TV show "Previn and the Pittsburgh" (1977) featured him in collaboration with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra .

Previn is particularly remembered in Britain for his performance as "Mr. Andrew Preview" (or "Privet") on the Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show in 1971, which involved his conducting a performance of Edvard Grieg 's Piano Concerto (Grieg)|Piano Concerto with Eric Morecambe as the comically inept soloist. At one point during the sketch "Mr Preview" accuses Eric Morecambe of playing all the wrong notes; Eric retorts that he has been playing "all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order". http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=R7GeKLE0x3s Because of other commitments the only time available for Previn to learn his part in the show was during a transatlantic flight but the talent he showed for comedy won high praise from his co-performers. At a concert with the Grieg Concerto in Britain afterwards, Previn had to pause the playing to allow the audience time to stop giggling as they remembered the sketch. Previn himself notes that people in Britain still recall the sketch years later: "Taxi drivers still call me Mr Preview".

Personal life

Previn has been married five times. His first three marriages, to Betty Bennett (with whom he had two children), to Dory Previn|Dory Langan , and then to Mia Farrow , kept him in the public eye. He is the father of Lovely Previn, who was violinist for the Irish band In Tua Nua . Previn and Farrow had three children together, twins Matthew and Sascha, born February 26, 1970, and Fletcher, born March 14, 1974. In 1973 and 1976, respectively, Previn and Farrow adopted Vietnamese infants Lark Song and Summer "Daisy" Song (born October 6, 1974). Lark died on Christmas Day of 2008. He is also the adoptive father of Soon-Yi Previn , who was adopted from Korea at age 8 (born October 8, 1970). After his fourth marriage (to Heather Sneddon in 1982, with whom he had one child) ended in 2002, Previn wed the German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter , and later wrote a violin concerto for her. They divorced in 2006, but remain on amicable terms and have continued to work together in concerts. Previn wrote a memoir of his early years in Hollywood, No Minor Chords , which was published in 1991.

Awards and recognitions

Previn has received a total of thirteen Academy Award nominations, winning in 1958, 1959, 1963 and 1964. He is one of few composers to accomplish the feat of winning back-to-back Oscars, and one of only two to do so on two occasions (the other being Alfred Newman ). In 1970 he was nominated for a Tony Award as part of Coco (musical)|Coco 's nomination for Tony Award for Best Musical#1970s|Best Musical . In 1977 he became an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music . The 1977 television show Previn and the Pittsburgh was nominated for three Emmy awards. Previn was appointed an List of honorary British knights|honorary Order of the British Empire|Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1996. (Not being a citizen of a Commonwealth Realm , he may use only the post-nominal letters KBE and not the title "Sir André".) Previn received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1998 in recognition of his contributions to european classical music|classical music and opera in the United States. In 2005 he was awarded the international Glenn Gould Prize and in 2008 won Gramophone magazine's Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in classical, film, and jazz music. In 2010, the Recording Academy honored Previn with a Lifetime Achievement Grammy .

Academy Awards

;Best Music – Scoring of a Musical Picture

1958 Gigi (1958 film)|Gigi

1959 Porgy and Bess (film)|Porgy & Bess

;Best Score – Adaptation or Treatment

1963 Irma la Douce

1964 My Fair Lady (film)|My Fair Lady

Grammy Awards

; Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with orchestra)|Best Instrumental Soloist

Grammy Awards of 2005|2005 Previn: Violin Concerto (Previn)|Violin Concerto ; Leonard Bernstein|Bernstein : Serenade for Solo Violin, Strings, Harp and Percussion

; Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover Album|Best Classical Crossover Album

Grammy Awards of 2003|2003 Erich Wolfgang Korngold|Korngold : The Sea Hawk (1940 film)|The Sea Hawk , Captain Blood (1935 film)|Captain Blood with the London Symphony Orchestra

; Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance|Best Chamber Music Performance

Grammy Awards of 1999|1999 American Scenes: Aaron Copland|Copland , Previn, Samuel Barber|Barber , George Gershwin|Gershwin

; Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance|Best Choral Performance

Grammy Awards of 1974|1974 William Walton : '' Belshazzar's Feast (Walton)|Belshazzar's Feast with the London Symphony Orchestra|London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus

Grammy Awards of 1977|1977 Sergei Rachmaninoff|Rachmaninoff : The Bells with the London Symphony Orchestra|London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus

; Grammy Award for Best Performance by an Orchestra or Instrumentalist with Orchestra|Best Performance by an Orchestra

Grammy Awards of 1960|1960 Like Young with the David Rose (musician)|David Rose Orchestra

; Grammy Award for Best Sound Track Album or Recording of Original Cast From a Motion Picture or Television|Best Sound Track Album

Grammy Awards of 1959|1959 Gigi (1958 film)|Gigi

Grammy Awards of 1960|1960 Porgy and Bess (1959 film)|Porgy and Bess

; Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group|Best Jazz Performance – Soloist or Small Group

Grammy Awards of 1961|1961 West Side Story (1959 album)|West Side Story

Grammy Awards of 1962|1962 Previn Plays Harold Arlen

Copyright Citations

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1. Sylvia McNair 2. David Meece 3. Art Tatum 4. Alan Jay Lerner 5. J. J. Johnson 6. Boston Symphony Orchestra 7. JJ Johnson 8. Shorty Rogers 9. Los Angeles Master Chorale

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