André Previn
Encyclopedia
André George Previn, KBE
(born Andreas Ludwig Priwin; April 6, 1929) is an American pianist, conductor, and composer. He is considered one of the most versatile musicians in the world, and is the winner of four Academy Awards for his film work and ten Grammy Award
s for his recordings.
. The year of his birth is uncertain. Whilst most published reports give 1929, Previn himself has stated that 1930 is his birth year. This situation is because the family lost 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 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 Oscars for different films, both winning in musical categories.
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
, Frederick Loewe, Vernon Duke
, and Harold Arlen
. 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, 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, Poulenc
, Shostakovich, and others.
as music director of the Houston Symphony Orchestra. In 1968, Previn began his tenure as principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra
(LSO), 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, Previn 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.
adaptations, such as My Fair Lady
, Kismet
, Porgy and Bess, and Paint Your Wagon
. Several were written especially for film, including the Academy Award-winning 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
, premiered at the San Francisco Opera
in 1998. His second 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.
Orchestral Music
Chamber Music
Opera
Theatre
Jazz
(Swan Lake
, 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 Dvořák
, 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.
. In the United States, "Previn and the Pittsburgh" showed 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
with Eric Morecambe
as the comically-inept soloist. (At one point "Mr Preview" accuses Eric Morecambe of playing the wrong notes; Eric retorts that he has been playing "the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order.") Because of other commitments, the only time available for Previn to learn his Morecambe and Wise part was during a transatlantic flight, but the talent he showed for comedy won high praise from his co-performers. At a concert in Britain afterwards, Previn had to stop the playing of the concerto to allow the audience time to stop giggling as they remembered the sketch. Previn himself notes that people still recall the sketch years later in the UK, where "Taxi drivers still call me Mr Preview".
, and then to Mia Farrow
, kept him in the public eye. Previn and Farrow had three biological children, 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.
). In 1970 he was nominated for a Tony Award
as part of Coco
's nomination for 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 honorary 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 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.
Best Score – Adaptation or Treatment
Best Classical Crossover Album
Best Chamber Music Performance
Best Choral Performance
Best Performance by an Orchestra
Best Sound Track Album
Best Jazz Performance – Soloist or Small Group
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born Andreas Ludwig Priwin; April 6, 1929) is an American pianist, conductor, and composer. He is considered one of the most versatile musicians in the world, and is the winner of four Academy Awards for his film work and ten Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s for his recordings.
Early Life
Previn was born in Berlin, Germany , the son of Charlotte (née Epstein) and Jack Previn, who was a lawyer, judge, and music teacher. He is a distant relative of the composer Gustav MahlerGustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
. The year of his birth is uncertain. Whilst most published reports give 1929, Previn himself has stated that 1930 is his birth year. This situation is because the family lost Previn's birth certificate when they left Germany in 1938. His elder brother was director Steve Previn
Steve Previn
Stephen Wolf Previn was a German-born American director of television episodes and feature films and film production executive. Previn began his film career in 1943 as an editor for MGM and later Universal Studios. In 1950, he moved to Europe...
. The Previn family, which was Jewish, emigrated to the United States in 1939 to escape the Nazi regime in Germany
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
.
In 1939, his family moved to Los Angeles, where his great-uncle, Charles Previn
Charles Previn
Charles Previn was an American film composer who was highly active at Universal in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s...
, 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
Beverly Hills High School
Beverly Hills High School is the only major public high school in Beverly Hills, California. Beverly is part of the Beverly Hills Unified School District and located on on the west side of Beverly Hills, at the...
he played a musical duet with Richard M. Sherman
Richard M. Sherman
Richard Morton Sherman is an American songwriter who specializes in musical film with his brother Robert Bernard 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 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 jazzJazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
pianist. In the 1950s, mainly recording for Contemporary Records
Contemporary Records
Contemporary Records was a jazz record label founded by Lester Koenig in 1951 in Los Angeles. Contemporary was known for seminal recordings embodying the West Coast sound, but also released recordings based in New York...
, he worked with Shelly Manne
Shelly Manne
Shelly Manne , born Sheldon Manne in New York City, was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, swing, bebop, avant-garde jazz and fusion, as well as contributing...
, Leroy Vinnegar
Leroy Vinnegar
Leroy Vinnegar was an American jazz bassist.Born in Indianapolis, the self-taught Vinnegar established his reputation in Los Angeles during the 1950s and 1960s. His trademark was the rhythmic "walking" bass line, a steady series of ascending or descending notes, and it brought him the nickname...
, Benny Carter
Benny Carter
Bennett Lester Carter was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. He was a major figure in jazz from the 1930s to the 1990s, and was recognized as such by other jazz musicians who called him King...
, and others. An album he recorded with Manne and Vinnegar of songs from My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe...
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
Jerome Kern
Jerome David Kern was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A...
, Frederick Loewe, Vernon Duke
Vernon Duke
Vernon Duke was a Russian-American composer/songwriter, who also wrote under his original name Vladimir Dukelsky. He is best known for "Taking a Chance on Love" with lyrics by Ted Fetter and John Latouche, "I Can't Get Started" with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, "April in Paris" with lyrics by E. Y...
, and Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
. Previn made two albums with Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore was an American singer, actress, and television personality...
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, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford
The Ford Show
The Ford Show is a half-hour comedy/variety program, starring singer and folk humorist Tennessee Ernie Ford, which aired in color on NBC television on Thursday evenings from October 4, 1956 to June 29, 1961....
as well as The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show is an American variety series hosted by Dinah Shore, and broadcast on NBC from October 1956 to June 1963. The series was sponsored by the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors and its theme song, sung by Shore, was "See the U.S.A...
. He collaborated with Julie Andrews
Julie Andrews
Dame Julia Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is an English film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honors...
on a collection of Christmas carol
Christmas carol
A Christmas carol is a carol whose lyrics are on the theme of Christmas or the winter season in general and which are traditionally sung in the period before Christmas.-History:...
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
Art Tatum
Arthur "Art" Tatum, Jr. was an American jazz pianist and virtuoso who played with phenomenal facility despite being nearly blind.Tatum is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time...
, Oscar Peterson
Oscar Peterson
Oscar Emmanuel Peterson was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. He was called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, "O.P." by his friends. He released over 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, and received other numerous awards and honours over the course of his career...
, and Horace Silver
Horace Silver
Horace Silver , born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva in Norwalk, Connecticut, is an American jazz pianist and composer....
. Previn has also recorded classical piano compositions by Mozart, Gershwin, Poulenc
Francis Poulenc
Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc was a French composer and a member of the French group Les six. He composed solo piano music, chamber music, oratorio, choral music, opera, ballet music, and orchestral music...
, Shostakovich, and others.
Work as a conductor
In 1967, Previn succeeded John BarbirolliJohn Barbirolli
Sir John Barbirolli, CH was an English conductor and cellist. Born in London, of Italian and French parentage, he grew up in a family of professional musicians. His father and grandfather were violinists...
as music director of the Houston Symphony Orchestra. In 1968, Previn began his tenure as principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
(LSO), serving in that post until 1979. During his LSO tenure, he and the LSO appeared on the BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
programme André Previn's Music Night. From 1976 to 1984, Previn was music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The orchestra's home is Heinz Hall, located in Pittsburgh's Cultural District.-History:...
(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
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It tours widely, and is sometimes referred to as "Britain's national orchestra"...
from 1985 to 1988.
In 1985, he became music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic
Los Angeles Philharmonic
The Los Angeles Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from July through September...
. Although Previn's tenure with the orchestra was musically satisfactory, other conductors including Kurt Sanderling
Kurt Sanderling
Kurt Sanderling, CBE was a German conductor.-Biography:Kurt Sanderling was born in Arys, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire to Jewish parents. After early work at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, he left for the Soviet Union in 1936, where he worked with the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra...
, Simon Rattle
Simon Rattle
Sir Simon Denis Rattle, CBE is an English conductor. He rose to international prominence as conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and since 2002 has been principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic ....
, and Esa-Pekka Salonen
Esa-Pekka Salonen
Esa-Pekka Salonen is a Finnish orchestral conductor and composer. He is currently Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London and Conductor Laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.-Early career:...
, did a better job at selling out concerts. Previn clashed frequently with Ernest Fleischmann
Ernest Fleischmann
Ernest Martin Fleischmann was a German-born American impresario who served for 30 years as executive director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which he upgraded to become a top-ranked orchestra...
(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-filmStage-to-film
Stage-to-film is a term used when describing a motion picture that has been adapted from a stage play. There have been stage-to-film adaptations since the beginning of motion pictures...
adaptations, such as My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady (film)
My Fair Lady is a 1964 musical film adaptation of the Lerner and Loewe stage musical, of the same name, based on the 1938 film adaptation of the original stage play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw. The ballroom scene and the ending were taken from the previous film adaptation , rather than from...
, Kismet
Kismet (musical)
Kismet is a musical with lyrics and musical adaptation by Robert Wright and George Forrest, adapted from the music of Alexander Borodin, and a book by Charles Lederer and Luther Davis, based on Kismet, the 1911 play by Edward Knoblock...
, Porgy and Bess, and Paint Your Wagon
Paint Your Wagon (film)
Paint Your Wagon is a 1969 American musical film starring Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood. The movie was adapted by Paddy Chayefsky from the 1951 stage musical by Lerner and Loewe, set in a mining camp in Gold Rush-era California.-Plot:...
. Several were written especially for film, including the Academy Award-winning Gigi
Gigi (1958 film)
Gigi is a 1958 musical film directed by Vincente Minnelli. The screenplay by Alan Jay Lerner is based on the 1944 novella of the same name by Colette...
. Several of the film scores were collaborations with his second wife, Dory Previn
Dory Previn
Dory Previn, née Dorothy Veronica Langan , is an American lyricist, singer-songwriter and poet.During the late 1950s and 1960s she was a lyricist for motion picture songs, and with her first husband André Previn received several Academy Award nominations...
.
In later years, he has concentrated on composing classical music. He collaborated with Tom Stoppard
Tom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, knighted in 1997. He has written prolifically for TV, radio, film and stage, finding prominence with plays such as Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Professional Foul, The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and...
on Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour is a stage play by Tom Stoppard with music by André Previn. It was first performed in 1977. The play criticizes the Soviet practice of treating political dissidence as a form of mental illness. Its title derives from the popular mnemonic used by music students to...
, 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
A Streetcar Named Desire (opera)
A Streetcar Named Desire is an opera composed by André Previn with a libretto by Philip Littell in 1995. It is based on the play by Tennessee Williams and received its premiere at the San Francisco Opera during the 1998-99 season.-Cast:...
, premiered at the San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...
in 1998. His second opera, Brief Encounter
Brief Encounter (opera)
Brief Encounter is an opera in two acts by composer André Previn. The English libretto by John Caird is based on Noël Coward's play Still Life and Coward's screenplay for the 1945 David Lean film Brief Encounter. Commissioned by the Houston Grand Opera, the opera premiered on May 1, 2009 in...
, 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.
List of compositions
Film- RollerballRollerball (1975 film)Rollerball is a 1975 American dystopian fiction film directed by Norman Jewison from a screenplay by William Harrison, who adapted his own short story "Roller Ball Murder", which first appeared in 1973 in Esquire magazine.-The Game:...
(1975) - The Music LoversThe Music LoversThe Music Lovers is a 1970 British biographical film directed by Ken Russell. The screenplay by Melvyn Bragg, based on Beloved Friend, a collection of personal correspondence edited by Catherine Drinker Bowen and Barbara von Meck, focuses on the life and career of 19th century Russian composer...
(1970) - Paint Your WagonPaint Your Wagon (film)Paint Your Wagon is a 1969 American musical film starring Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood. The movie was adapted by Paddy Chayefsky from the 1951 stage musical by Lerner and Loewe, set in a mining camp in Gold Rush-era California.-Plot:...
(1969) - Thoroughly Modern MillieThoroughly Modern MillieThoroughly Modern Millie is a 1967 American musical film directed by George Roy Hill and starring Julie Andrews. The screenplay by Richard Morris focuses on a naive young woman who finds herself in the midst of a series of madcap adventures when she sets her sights on marrying her wealthy boss.The...
(1967) - Inside Daisy CloverInside Daisy CloverInside Daisy Clover is a 1965 American drama film based on the 1963 novel by Gavin Lambert. It stars Natalie Wood, Christopher Plummer, Robert Redford, Roddy McDowall and Ruth Gordon in her Academy Award nominated role.- Plot :...
(1965) - Dead RingerDead Ringer (1964 film)Dead Ringer, also known as Who is Buried in my Grave? is a 1964 thriller film made by Warner Bros. It was directed by Paul Henreid and produced by William H. Wright from a screenplay by Oscar Millard and Albert Beich from the story La Otra by Rian James...
(1964) - My Fair LadyMy Fair Lady (film)My Fair Lady is a 1964 musical film adaptation of the Lerner and Loewe stage musical, of the same name, based on the 1938 film adaptation of the original stage play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw. The ballroom scene and the ending were taken from the previous film adaptation , rather than from...
(1964) - Two for the SeesawTwo for the SeesawTwo for the Seesaw is a 1962 romance-drama film directed by Robert Wise and starring Robert Mitchum and Shirley MacLaine. It was adapted from the Broadway play written by William Gibson.-Plot:...
(1962) - Long Day's Journey into NightLong Day's Journey into Night (1962 film)Long Day's Journey into Night is a 1962 film adaptation of the Eugene O'Neill play. It was directed by Sidney Lumet and produced by Ely Landau with Joseph E. Levine and Jack J. Dreyfus, Jr. as executive producers. The screenplay was by Eugene O'Neill, the music score by André Previn and the...
(1962) - Four Horsemen of the ApocalypseFour Horsemen of the Apocalypse (film)The 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse is a 1962 drama film based on a novel by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez. It was directed by Vincente Minnelli and starred Glenn Ford, Ingrid Thulin, Charles Boyer, Lee J. Cobb, Paul Lukas, Yvette Mimieux, Karlheinz Böhm, and Paul Henreid.Released by MGM, the film lost six...
(1961) - Bells Are RingingBells Are Ringing (film)Bells Are Ringing is a 1960 romantic comedy-musical film directed by Vincente Minnelli. It stars Judy Holliday and Dean Martin.-Synopsis:Based on the successful 1956 Broadway production of the same name by Betty Comden, Adolph Green, and Jule Styne, the film focuses on Ella Peterson, who works in...
(1960) - Elmer GantryElmer Gantry (film)Elmer Gantry is a 1960 drama film about a con man and a female evangelist selling religion to small town America. Adapted by director Richard Brooks, the film is based on the 1927 novel of the same name by Sinclair Lewis and stars Burt Lancaster and Jean Simmons.Lancaster won an Academy Award for...
(1960) - The SubterraneansThe SubterraneansThe Subterraneans is a 1958 novella by Beat Generation author Jack Kerouac. It is a semi-fictional account of his short romance with an African American woman named Alene Lee in San Francisco in 1953. In the novel she is renamed "Mardou Fox," and described as a carefree spirit who frequents the...
(1960) - Porgy & Bess (1959)
- GigiGigi (1958 film)Gigi is a 1958 musical film directed by Vincente Minnelli. The screenplay by Alan Jay Lerner is based on the 1944 novella of the same name by Colette...
(1958) - Silk StockingsSilk Stockings (film)Silk Stockings is a 1957 MGM musical film remake of Ninotchka. It was directed by Rouben Mamoulian and starred Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse...
(1957) - It's Always Fair WeatherIt's Always Fair WeatherFortunately, the original multitrack pre-recordings of the score survive to this day, having enabled Rhino Records to reissue the soundtrack in true stereo . The Original MGM soundtrack was released in 1991 by Sony Music....
(1955) - Bad Day at Black RockBad Day at Black RockBad Day at Black Rock is a 1955 thriller film directed by John Sturges that combines elements of Westerns and film noir. It tells the story of a mysterious stranger who arrives at a tiny isolated town in a desert of the southwest United States in search of a man...
(1954) - The Girl Who Had EverythingThe Girl Who Had EverythingThe Girl Who Had Everything is a 1953 film directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Armande Deutsch for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film features William Powell in his last MGM feature and one of his last film roles before retirement. The screenplay was written by Art Cohn, based upon a play by...
(1953) - Kiss Me Kate (1953)
- Three Little WordsThree Little Words (film)Three Little Words is a 1950 American musical film biography of the Tin Pan Alley songwriting partnership of Kalmar and Ruby and stars Fred Astaire as lyricist Bert Kalmar, Red Skelton as composer Harry Ruby, along with Vera-Ellen and Arlene Dahl as their wives, with Debbie Reynolds in a small but...
(1950) - The Secret GardenThe Secret Garden (1949 film)The Secret Garden is a 1949 US drama film. It is the second screen adaptation of the classic 1909 novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett . The screenplay by Robert Ardrey was directed by Fred M. Wilcox...
(1949)
Orchestral Music
- Concerto for Cello (1960)
- Guitar Concerto (1960)
- Piano Concerto (1985)
- Violin Concerto (2001)
- Double Concerto for Violin and Double Bass (2004)
Chamber Music
- Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello (2008)
- Clarinet Sonata (Prague, 2010)
Opera
- A Streetcar Named DesireA Streetcar Named Desire (opera)A Streetcar Named Desire is an opera composed by André Previn with a libretto by Philip Littell in 1995. It is based on the play by Tennessee Williams and received its premiere at the San Francisco Opera during the 1998-99 season.-Cast:...
(San Francisco, 1997) - Brief EncounterBrief Encounter (opera)Brief Encounter is an opera in two acts by composer André Previn. The English libretto by John Caird is based on Noël Coward's play Still Life and Coward's screenplay for the 1945 David Lean film Brief Encounter. Commissioned by the Houston Grand Opera, the opera premiered on May 1, 2009 in...
(Houston, 2009)
Theatre
- The Good CompanionsThe Good Companions (musical)The Good Companions is a musical with a book by Ronald Harwood, music by André Previn, and lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It is based on the 1929 novel of the same title by J. B...
(1974) – a musical with lyrics by Johnny MercerJohnny MercerJohn Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
– London's West End - CocoCoco (musical)Coco is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by André Previn. It starred Katharine Hepburn in her only stage musical.-Background:...
(1969) – a musical with words by Alan Jay LernerAlan Jay LernerAlan Jay Lerner was an American lyricist and librettist. In collaboration with Frederick Loewe, he created some of the world's most popular and enduring works of musical theatre for both the stage and on film... - A Party with Betty ComdenBetty ComdenBetty Comden was one-half of the musical-comedy duo Comden and Green, who provided lyrics, libretti, and screenplays to some of the most beloved and successful Hollywood musicals and Broadway shows of the mid-20th century...
& Adolph GreenAdolph GreenAdolph Green was an American lyricist and playwright who, with long-time collaborator Betty Comden, penned the screenplays and songs for some of the most beloved movie musicals, particularly as part of Arthur Freed's production unit at MGM, during the genre's heyday...
(1958) – a revueRevueA revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
with Previn as featured songwriter - Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (2009–10) – a play for actors and orchestra by Tom Stoppard and André Previn – National Theatre (UK)
Jazz
- My Fair Lady (1956)
- Double Play!Double Play!Double Play! is a 1957 jazz album featuring pianists Russ Freeman and André Previn. It was recorded and released in 1957 on Contemporary Records, and re-released and remastered in 1993 on Original Jazz Classics....
(1957) - Pal JoeyPal JoeyPal Joey is a 1940 epistolary novel by John O'Hara, which became the basis of the 1940 stage musical comedy and 1957 motion picture of the same name, with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart....
(1957) - GigiGigi (album)Gigi is a 1958 jazz album by André Previn, Shelly Manne and Red Mitchell. The full album name is Modern jazz performances of songs from Gigi.-Track listing:Original music by Frederick Loewe.# "The Parisians" - 4:35...
(1958) - André Previn Plays Songs by Vernon DukeAndré Previn Plays Songs by Vernon DukeAndré Previn Plays Songs by Vernon Duke is a piano solo, jazz album by André Previn. It was meant to be a homage to jazz composer Vernon Duke. It was released in 1958 under Contemporary Records as C 3558. It was Previn's second album dedicated in its entirety to a famous composer...
(1958) - André Previn Plays Songs By Jerome KernAndré Previn Plays Songs By Jerome KernAndré Previn Plays Songs by Jerome Kern is a solo jazz album by André Previn. It was intended as a homage to famous composer Jerome Kern.-Track listing:# "Long Ago " - 5:27# "Sure Thing" - 3:22# "A Fine Romance" - 2:38...
(1959) - King Size! (1959)
- West Side StoryWest Side Story (1959 album)West Side Story is a jazz album by pianist André Previn and his trio. Previn, along with drummer Shelly Manne and bassist Red Mitchell, chose eight compositions from the original score of the musical and re-arranged them in a jazz style.-Track listing:...
(1959) - Like Previn!Like Previn!-Track listing:#"Rosie Red" - 4:38#"If I Should Find You" - 4:23#"Sad Eyes" - 5:35#"Saturday" - 6:26#"Tricycle" - 6:05#"I'm Mina Mood" - 8:25#"No Words for Dory" - 3:29#"Three's Company" - 5:38-Personnel:*André Previn - piano*Frankie Capp - drums...
(1960) - André Previn Plays Songs by Harold ArlenAndré Previn Plays Songs by Harold ArlenAndré Previn Plays Songs by Harold Arlen is a piano solo, jazz album by André Previn. It was meant to be a homage to famous composer Harold Arlen...
(1960) - Duet (1962)
- Nice Work if You Can Get ItNice Work If You Can Get It (album)Nice Work If You Can Get It is a 1983 studio album by Ella Fitzgerald, accompanied by the pianist André Previn, and the double bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen....
(1983) with Ella FitzgeraldElla FitzgeraldElla Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist... - After HoursAfter Hours (1989)-Track listing:# "There Will Never Be Another You" – 6:04# "I Only Have Eyes for You" – 4:50# "What Am I Here for" – 6:10# "Limehouse Blues" – 6:56...
(1989) - UptownUptown (album)-Track listing:# "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" # "A Sleepin' Bee" # "Come Rain or Come Shine" # "Stormy Weather" # "Over The Rainbow" # "Let's Fall in Love" # "Day Dream / Prelude to a Kiss"...
(1990) - Old FriendsOld Friends (Previn album)-Track listing:# "But Not For Me" - 7:40# "Stars Fell on Alabama" - 5:46# "Stompin' at the Savoy" - 6:30# "Medley: Darn That Dream / Here's That Rainy Day / Polka Dots and Moonbeams" - 9:09 # "One O'Clock Jump" - 6:24# "Topsy" - 4:56...
(1992) - Kiri Sidetracks: The Jazz AlbumKiri Sidetracks: The Jazz AlbumKiri Sidetracks: The Jazz Album is a 1992 jazz album by André Previn trio and soprano Kiri Te Kanawa.-Track listing:# "A Sleepin' Bee" - 3:55# "Honeysuckle Rose" - 5:06# "Cute" - 3:02# "It Could Happen to You" - 2:44# "Like Someone in Love" - 4:40...
(1992) - Alone: Ballads for Solo Piano (2007)
Recordings
Previn's many recordings include the three ballets of Pyotr Ilyich TchaikovskyPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
(Swan Lake
Swan Lake
Swan Lake ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger...
, The Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...
), and the complete symphonies of Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
, all with the LSO. With the Los Angeles Philharmonic
Los Angeles Philharmonic
The Los Angeles Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from July through September...
, he made other recordings of music by Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
(most notably, the Symphonies 1 and 5, the score to Alexander Nevsky
Alexander Nevsky
Alexander Nevsky was the Prince of Novgorod and Grand Prince of Vladimir during some of the most trying times in the city's history. Commonly regarded as the key figure of medieval Rus, Alexander was the grandson of Vsevolod the Big Nest and rose to legendary status on account of his military...
, and the Symphony-Concerto for Cello & Orchestra with Heinrich Schiff
Heinrich Schiff
Heinrich Schiff is an Austrian cellist and conductor. He studied cello with Tobias Kühne and André Navarra and made his solo debut in Vienna and London in 1971...
as soloist), symphonies and other pieces by Antonín Dvořák
Antonín Dvorák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
, and works by contemporary composers including William Kraft
William Kraft
William Kraft is a composer, conductor, teacher, and percussionist.-Undergrad and Graduate School Years :...
, John Harbison
John Harbison
John Harris Harbison is an American composer, best known for his operas and large choral works.-Life:...
, and Harold Shapero
Harold Shapero
Harold Samuel Shapero is an American composer.-Early years:Born in Lynn, Massachusetts, Shapero and his family later moved to nearby Newton. He learned to play the piano as a child, and for some years was a pianist in dance orchestras. With a friend, he founded the Hal Kenny Orchestra, a swing-era...
. His recordings of works by Rachmaninoff, Gershwin, William Walton
William Walton
Sir William Turner Walton OM was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera...
, 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
David Finck
David E. Finck is an American jazz bassist. He plays both bass guitar and double bass.Finck was born in Rochester, New York. He studied under Sam Goradetzer and Michael Shahan of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and graduated from Eastman School of Music in 1980...
he has recorded a collection of George Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
standards ("We Got Rhythm: Gershwin Songbook") and Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
classics ("We Got It Good & That Ain't Bad: an Ellington Songbook"), both on the Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
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 OrchestraLondon Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
. In the United States, "Previn and the Pittsburgh" showed him in collaboration with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The orchestra's home is Heinz Hall, located in Pittsburgh's Cultural District.-History:...
. Previn is particularly remembered in Britain for his performance as "Mr. Andrew Preview" (or "Privet") on the Morecambe and Wise
Morecambe and Wise
Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise, usually referred to as Morecambe and Wise, or Eric and Ernie, were a British comic double act, working in variety, radio, film and most successfully in television. Their partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's death in 1984...
Christmas Show in 1971, which involved his conducting a performance of Edvard Grieg
Edvard Grieg
Edvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in...
's Piano Concerto
Piano Concerto (Grieg)
The Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16, composed by Edvard Grieg in 1868, was the only concerto Grieg completed. It is one of his most popular works and among the most popular of all piano concerti.-Structure :The concerto is in three movements:...
with Eric Morecambe
Eric Morecambe
John Eric Bartholomew OBE , known by his stage name Eric Morecambe, was an English comedian who together with Ernie Wise formed the award-winning double act Morecambe and Wise. The partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's death of a heart attack in 1984...
as the comically-inept soloist. (At one point "Mr Preview" accuses Eric Morecambe of playing the wrong notes; Eric retorts that he has been playing "the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order.") Because of other commitments, the only time available for Previn to learn his Morecambe and Wise part was during a transatlantic flight, but the talent he showed for comedy won high praise from his co-performers. At a concert in Britain afterwards, Previn had to stop the playing of the concerto to allow the audience time to stop giggling as they remembered the sketch. Previn himself notes that people still recall the sketch years later in the UK, where "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 LangdonDory Previn
Dory Previn, née Dorothy Veronica Langan , is an American lyricist, singer-songwriter and poet.During the late 1950s and 1960s she was a lyricist for motion picture songs, and with her first husband André Previn received several Academy Award nominations...
, and then to Mia Farrow
Mia Farrow
Mia Farrow is an American actress, singer, humanitarian, and fashion model.Farrow first gained wide acclaim for her role as Allison Mackenzie in the soap opera Peyton Place, and for her subsequent short-lived marriage to Frank Sinatra...
, kept him in the public eye. Previn and Farrow had three biological children, 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
Soon-Yi Previn
Soon-Yi Previn or Soon-Yi Farrow is an American actress and wife of film director Woody Allen.-Early life and adoption:...
, 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
Anne-Sophie Mutter
Anne-Sophie Mutter is a German violinist.- Early life :Mutter was born in Rheinfelden, Germany. She began playing the piano at age five, and shortly afterwards took up the violin, studying with Erna Honigberger, a pupil of Carl Flesch...
, and later wrote a violin concerto
Violin concerto
A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin and instrumental ensemble, customarily orchestra. Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up through the present day...
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 NewmanAlfred Newman
Alfred Newman was an American composer, arranger, and conductor of music for films.In a career which spanned over forty years, Newman composed music for over two hundred films. He was one of the most respected film score composers of his time, and is today regarded as one of the greatest...
). In 1970 he was nominated for a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
as part of Coco
Coco (musical)
Coco is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by André Previn. It starred Katharine Hepburn in her only stage musical.-Background:...
's nomination for Best Musical. In 1977 he became an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
. The 1977 television show Previn and the Pittsburgh was nominated for three Emmy awards. Previn was appointed an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 1996. (Not being a citizen of a Commonwealth Realm
Commonwealth Realm
A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state within the Commonwealth of Nations that has Elizabeth II as its monarch and head of state. The sixteen current realms have a combined land area of 18.8 million km² , and a population of 134 million, of which all, except about two million, live in the six...
, he may use only the post-nominal letters KBE and not the title "Sir André".) Previn received the Kennedy Center Honors
Kennedy Center Honors
The Kennedy Center Honors is an annual honor given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture. The Honors have been presented annually since 1978 in Washington, D.C., during gala weekend-long events which culminate in a performance for—and...
in 1998 in recognition of his contributions to classical music and opera in the United States. In 2005 he was awarded the international Glenn Gould Prize
Glenn Gould Prize
The Glenn Gould Prize is an international award bestowed by the Glenn Gould Foundation in memory of noted Canadian pianist Glenn Gould. It is awarded every third year to a living individual in recognition of his/her contributions to music and communication....
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 GigiGigi (1958 film)Gigi is a 1958 musical film directed by Vincente Minnelli. The screenplay by Alan Jay Lerner is based on the 1944 novella of the same name by Colette...
- 1959 Porgy & Bess
Best Score – Adaptation or Treatment
- 1963 Irma la DouceIrma la DouceIrma la Douce/Irma la Dolce is a 1963 romantic comedy starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine, directed by Billy Wilder.It is based on the 1956 French musical Irma La Douce by Marguerite Monnot and Alexandre Breffort.-Plot:...
- 1964 My Fair LadyMy Fair Lady (film)My Fair Lady is a 1964 musical film adaptation of the Lerner and Loewe stage musical, of the same name, based on the 1938 film adaptation of the original stage play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw. The ballroom scene and the ending were taken from the previous film adaptation , rather than from...
Grammy Awards
Best Instrumental SoloistGrammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with orchestra)
The Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance was awarded from 1959 to 2011. From 1967 to 1971 and in 1987 the award was combined with the award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance and awarded as the Grammy Award for Best Classical Performance - Instrumental Soloist or...
- 2005Grammy Awards of 2005The 47th Grammy Awards were held on February 13, 2005 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. They were hosted by Queen Latifah , and televised in the United States by CBS. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year...
Previn: Violin Concerto; BernsteinLeonard BernsteinLeonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
: Serenade for Solo Violin, Strings, Harp and Percussion
Best Classical Crossover Album
Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover Album
The Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover Album was awarded from 1999 to 2011.The award will be discontinued from 2012 in a major overhaul of Grammy categories. Basically, the Best Classical Crossover Album category will disappear. If a classical crossover release is a non-classical artist...
- 2003Grammy Awards of 2003The 45th Grammy Awards were held on February 23, 2003. Musicians accomplishments from the previous year were recognized. Norah Jones was the night's big winner winning five awards including Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Pop Vocal...
KorngoldErich Wolfgang KorngoldErich Wolfgang Korngold was an Austro-Hungarian film and romantic music composer. While his compositional style was considered well out of vogue at the time he died, his music has more recently undergone a reevaluation and a gradual reawakening of interest...
: The Sea HawkThe Sea Hawk (1940 film)The Sea Hawk is a 1940 American Warner Bros. feature film starring Errol Flynn as an English privateer who defends his nation's interests on the eve of the Spanish Armada. The film was the tenth collaboration between Flynn and director Michael Curtiz. The film's screenplay by Howard Koch and Seton I...
, Captain Blood with the London Symphony OrchestraLondon Symphony OrchestraThe London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
Best Chamber Music Performance
Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance has been awarded since 1959. The award has had several minor name changes:*From 1959 to 1960 the award was known as Best Classical Performance - Chamber Music ...
- 1999Grammy Awards of 1999The 41st Grammy Awards were held on February 24, 1999. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1998. Lauryn Hill was the nights big winner winning a total of 5 awards including Album of the Year and Best New Artist. Madonna won three awards while country musicians the Dixie...
American Scenes: CoplandAaron CoplandAaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...
, Previn, BarberSamuel BarberSamuel Osborne Barber II was an American composer of orchestral, opera, choral, and piano music. His Adagio for Strings is his most popular composition and widely considered a masterpiece of modern classical music...
, GershwinGeorge GershwinGeorge Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
Best Choral Performance
Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance has been awarded since 1961. There have been several minor changes to the name of the award over this time:*In 1961 the award was known as Best Classical Performance - Choral ...
- 1974Grammy Awards of 1974The 16th Grammy Awards were held March 2, 1974, and were broadcast live on American television. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1973.- Award winners :* Record of the Year...
William WaltonWilliam WaltonSir William Turner Walton OM was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera...
: Belshazzar's FeastBelshazzar's Feast (Walton)Belshazzar's Feast is an oratorio by the English composer William Walton. It was first performed at the Leeds Festival on 8 October 1931. The work has remained one of Walton's most celebrated compositions and one of the most popular works in the English choral repertoire...
with the London Symphony Orchestra & ChorusLondon Symphony OrchestraThe London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:... - 1977Grammy Awards of 1977The 19th Grammy Awards were held on February 19, 1977, and were broadcast live on American television . They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1976.-Award winners:*Record of the Year...
RachmaninoffSergei RachmaninoffSergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
: The BellsThe Bells"The Bells" is a heavily onomatopoeic poem by Edgar Allan Poe which was not published until after his death in 1849. It is perhaps best known for the diacopic repetition of the word "bells." The poem has four parts to it; each part becomes darker and darker as the poem progresses from "the jingling...
with the London Symphony Orchestra & ChorusLondon Symphony OrchestraThe London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
Best Performance by an Orchestra
Grammy Award for Best Performance by an Orchestra or Instrumentalist with Orchestra
The Grammy Award for Best Performance by an Orchestra or Instrumentalist with Orchestra - Primarily Not Jazz or for Dancing was awarded from 1959 to 1964...
- 1960Grammy Awards of 1960The second Grammy Awards were held on November 29, 1959. They recognized musical accomplishments by performers for that particular year. Duke Ellington won three awards.-Award winners:*Record of the Year**Bobby Darin for "Mack the Knife"*Album of the Year...
Like Young with the David RoseDavid RoseDavid Rose was a British-born American songwriter, composer, arranger, pianist, and orchestra leader. His most famous compositions were "The Stripper", "Holiday for Strings", and "Calypso Melody"...
Orchestra
Best Sound Track Album
- 1959Grammy Awards of 1959The inaugural Grammy Awards were held on May 4, 1959. They recognized musical accomplishments by performers for the year 1958. Domenico Modugno, Henry Mancini, Ella Fitzgerald and Ross Bagdasarian, Sr...
GigiGigi (1958 film)Gigi is a 1958 musical film directed by Vincente Minnelli. The screenplay by Alan Jay Lerner is based on the 1944 novella of the same name by Colette... - 1960Grammy Awards of 1960The second Grammy Awards were held on November 29, 1959. They recognized musical accomplishments by performers for that particular year. Duke Ellington won three awards.-Award winners:*Record of the Year**Bobby Darin for "Mack the Knife"*Album of the Year...
Porgy and BessPorgy and Bess (1959 film)Porgy and Bess is a 1959 American musical film directed by Otto Preminger. It is based on the 1935 opera of the same name by George Gershwin, DuBose Heyward, and Ira Gershwin, which is in turn based on Heyward's 1925 novel Porgy, and the subsequent 1927 non-musical stage adaptation he co-wrote...
Best Jazz Performance – Soloist or Small Group
Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group
The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album is an award that will start being presented in 2012.The Award was previously called Best Instrumental Jazz Album, Individual or Group from 1959 to 2011. The award will formally be discontinued from 2012 in a major overhaul of Grammy categories...
- 1961Grammy Awards of 1961The third Grammy Awards were held on April 13, 1961. They recognized musical accomplishments by the performers for the year 1960. Bob Newhart and Henry Mancini each won three awards.-Award winners:*Record of the Year...
West Side StoryWest Side Story (1959 album)West Side Story is a jazz album by pianist André Previn and his trio. Previn, along with drummer Shelly Manne and bassist Red Mitchell, chose eight compositions from the original score of the musical and re-arranged them in a jazz style.-Track listing:... - 1962Grammy Awards of 1962The 4th Grammy Awards were held May 29, 1962. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1961.-Award winners:*Record of the Year**Henry Mancini for "Moon River"*Album of the Year...
Previn Plays Harold ArlenHarold ArlenHarold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
External links
- André Previn official website
- Biography from IMG Artists
- André Previn Discography
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, Andre Previn – full access article
- Audio (.ram file) of a 1972 interview for the BBC
- http://www.houstongrandopera.org/briefencounter Brief Encounter at Houston Grand Opera.
Videos
- Rehearsing the Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra in Beethovens' 7th symphony
- Rehearsing the Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra in Glinka's Russlan and Ludmilla overture
- Rehearsing the Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra in Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances
- The Morecambe and Wise Grieg sketch: extracts and interviews