Emeritus André Previn
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For that sketch Morcambe told Revin to do it absolutely straight, which he did and that's what made it so funny. But you see orchestra members laughing!
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Sorry to hear this. Fine pianist, composer, educator and arranger. And he left us some magnificent recordings:
Mahler 4, Vaughan Williams symphonies, Walton 1st, Elgar symphonies, Planets, Carmina Burana, Goldmark's Rustic Wedding, Shostakovich 8th, and above all a superb Rachmaninoff 2nd (EMI). His early RCA recordings were so exciting. I was lucky enough to catch him with the LA Phil several times - quite memorable. Perhaps the only musician out there who could rival Bernstein as an all-round musician. RIP.
Mahler 4, Vaughan Williams symphonies, Walton 1st, Elgar symphonies, Planets, Carmina Burana, Goldmark's Rustic Wedding, Shostakovich 8th, and above all a superb Rachmaninoff 2nd (EMI). His early RCA recordings were so exciting. I was lucky enough to catch him with the LA Phil several times - quite memorable. Perhaps the only musician out there who could rival Bernstein as an all-round musician. RIP.
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Sad news indeed.
Previn the conductor (especially) has long been a favorite of mine. I cherish many of his interpretations, notably the great Walton Symphony, which I have on an original release LP. And his readings of Vaughn Williams's music prove stunning. Another collection gem.
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I was fortunate to add the following to my collection:
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It contains some works I might not have purchased otherwise, but the Previn mark is there in each work. Strong, detailed, emotional interpretations. Yet, seemingly true to what one would expect the composer to have envisioned.
I also enjoy several of his piano and jazz recordings, though not with the passion I carry over to the conducted works. Too, I recall he wrote a Violin Concerto recorded by Anne-Sophie Mutter, a work I have not listened to for some while. Maybe today will find it spinning in my CD deck!
Too, Previn's Concerto For Guitar And Orchestra as performed by the great John Williams has long been a staple on my turntable. That's one I turn to quite often.
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We will miss you, André.
Previn the conductor (especially) has long been a favorite of mine. I cherish many of his interpretations, notably the great Walton Symphony, which I have on an original release LP. And his readings of Vaughn Williams's music prove stunning. Another collection gem.
I was fortunate to add the following to my collection:
It contains some works I might not have purchased otherwise, but the Previn mark is there in each work. Strong, detailed, emotional interpretations. Yet, seemingly true to what one would expect the composer to have envisioned.
I also enjoy several of his piano and jazz recordings, though not with the passion I carry over to the conducted works. Too, I recall he wrote a Violin Concerto recorded by Anne-Sophie Mutter, a work I have not listened to for some while. Maybe today will find it spinning in my CD deck!
Too, Previn's Concerto For Guitar And Orchestra as performed by the great John Williams has long been a staple on my turntable. That's one I turn to quite often.
We will miss you, André.
If you're looking for some music of his to try out, may I suggest his collaboration with the London Symphony Orchestra on Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake? I will second mbhaub's suggestion of The Planets above (assuming with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra).
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RIP
A man of many talents.
A man of many talents.
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It's good to see so much appreciation of Andre Previn. I have always held him in high regard as a pianist and conductor. His relative youth and jazz/classical cross-over seemed to be held against him early in his career by the more conservative elements. But he made music attractive and accessible without ever 'dumbing down' and always doing right by the music. His recordings of RVW's symphonies and of Rachmaninoff's 2nd are definitive and his playing of piano works by Les Six are brilliant.
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Sad news indeed.
The first time that I saw a concert on TV that I can remember it was André Previn. Took me many years to realise that in fact most conductors do not talk to the audience (and the TV) during a concert!
My first Rachmaninov LP was conducted by André Previn. I still love the hauntingly beautiful waltz in his Symphonic Dances more than any other recording.
Also love his André Previn Trio accompanying Doris Day in their "Duet" album. So sweet and so beautiful.
The first time that I saw a concert on TV that I can remember it was André Previn. Took me many years to realise that in fact most conductors do not talk to the audience (and the TV) during a concert!
My first Rachmaninov LP was conducted by André Previn. I still love the hauntingly beautiful waltz in his Symphonic Dances more than any other recording.
Also love his André Previn Trio accompanying Doris Day in their "Duet" album. So sweet and so beautiful.
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He was very good on TV as a presenter, too. In an era when many people seemed starchy and self-conscious in front of a studio audience while talking directly to a camera he instead always came over as relaxed and natural - authoritative and knowledgeable but with sufficient lack of formality. I don't have too many recordings which feature him as player and/or conductor but I've always admired his Gershwin disc and Tchaikovsky ballets box set, both on EMI.
A couple of Previn anecdotes, of which there are many:
1) While awaiting a rehearsal with a new (to him) orchestra, he chatted with the manager while the oboist sounded, and the orchestra tuned up to, a B-flat, to "test" him. Previn, who happened to have perfect pitch (not necessarily a usual thing for a musician) finished his conversation, turned to the orchestra, lifted his baton, and just before brought it down, said "Let's take the whole thing down half a step" -- and won everyone over instantly.
2) Giving a class for young conductors (maybe at Tanglewood?) the final exercise was for each of them to conduct Le Sacre de Printemps. Ahead of time he went to the timpanist and told him in the final Danse Sacrale (whose timpani part is practically incomprehensible) to do "exactly" whatever the student conductor told him to do, smiling conspiratorily. Then the next time Previn conducted it, he had to go back and tell the timpanist "Now play it the way you know it goes."
1) While awaiting a rehearsal with a new (to him) orchestra, he chatted with the manager while the oboist sounded, and the orchestra tuned up to, a B-flat, to "test" him. Previn, who happened to have perfect pitch (not necessarily a usual thing for a musician) finished his conversation, turned to the orchestra, lifted his baton, and just before brought it down, said "Let's take the whole thing down half a step" -- and won everyone over instantly.
2) Giving a class for young conductors (maybe at Tanglewood?) the final exercise was for each of them to conduct Le Sacre de Printemps. Ahead of time he went to the timpanist and told him in the final Danse Sacrale (whose timpani part is practically incomprehensible) to do "exactly" whatever the student conductor told him to do, smiling conspiratorily. Then the next time Previn conducted it, he had to go back and tell the timpanist "Now play it the way you know it goes."
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Don’t miss out on his outstanding performance of the Rachmaninoff 2nd Symphony with the LSO. His journey from being in an amazing jazz artist in Hollywood to conducting one of the greatest symphonies in the world is perhaps the longest journey that any conductor has ever taken to reach the heights that he did in his career. Everything he did he seemed to do wholeheartedly. RIP.
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Yes I would echo those comments about the Rachmaninov
RIP Mr Previn
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