Andre Previn at 90

[Sir Velo]

Hard to believe that that perennially youthful figure who appeared to be a cornerstone of British public life throughout the late 60s and 70s turns 90 this year. To commemorate this, Sony have released a 55 CD box set of his complete recordings from the RCA and CBS discography retailing at the knock down price of £130, Record Review covered this last weekend, though I confess to being somewhat surprised at some of the recordings that were selected: VW5 instead of the Pastoral; no Rachmaninov or any Russian music in fact. I was also slightly disappointed that the expert had no first hand experience of attending a Previn concert, or any particular insight into the musician.

That being said, a fine opportunity to appraise a significant body of work by a major musician of our time.

[LMcD]

Hard to believe that that perennially youthful figure who appeared to be a cornerstone of British public life throughout the late 60s and 70s turns 90 this year. To commemorate this, Sony have released a 55 CD box set of his complete recordings from the RCA and CBS discography retailing at the knock down price of £130, Record Review covered this last weekend, though I confess to being somewhat surprised at some of the recordings that were selected: VW5 instead of the Pastoral; no Rachmaninov or any Russian music in fact. I was also slightly disappointed that the expert had no first hand experience of attending a Previn concert, or any particular insight into the musician.

That being said, a fine opportunity to appraise a significant body of work by a major musician of our time.

Coincidentally, Alyn Shipton has just played his version of 'On The Street Where You Live'.
I saw him (AP, not AS) playing and directing K491 - with his back to the majority of the audience in the RFH - some 40 or so years ago.

[Serial_Apologist]

Coincidentally, Alyn Shipton has just played his version of 'On The Street Where You Live'.
I saw him (AP, not AS) playing and directing K491 - with his back to the majority of the audience in the RFH - some 40 or so years ago.

I just listened to that, not having heard the announcement, and from the clichés was absolutely certain it was Oscar Peterson! Somewhere in the depths of my faulty memory I remember him as being an interesting, original jazz pianist. Perhaps I should stick to his recordings of the Vaughan Williams symphonies!

[pastoralguy]

And not forgetting his incredible Walton 1 where the LSO no doubt demolished the studio afterwards such was the sheer rage Previn unleashed in them!

[rauschwerk]

And not forgetting his incredible Walton 1 where the LSO no doubt demolished the studio afterwards such was the sheer rage Previn unleashed in them!

I was present at the concert - Previn's LSO debut - and the Walton was certainly thrilling! The rest of the programme - Mozart Paris Symphony and K491 (Wilhelm Kempff, no less) - impressed me less but my 21 year old self was not much of a Mozart connoisseur.

This compilation is pretty odd. Who wants Rach 2 with cuts? Trevor Harvey was very angry about it in his Gramophone review all those years ago.

[Petrushka]

What we really want are the complete 'original jackets' EMI recordings! Despite the inevitable duplication I'd buy it, no question, and I hope we get it in this, his 90th birthday year. Ditto Bernard Haitink.

Hard to believe that both are 90!

[cloughie]

I was present at the concert - Previn's LSO debut - and the Walton was certainly thrilling! The rest of the programme - Mozart Paris Symphony and K491 (Wilhelm Kempff, no less) - impressed me less but my 21 year old self was not much of a Mozart connoisseur.

This compilation is pretty odd. Who wants Rach 2 with cuts? Trevor Harvey was very angry about it in his Gramophone review all those years ago.

The compilation does not strike me as odd - it appears to me as being fairly complete as far as his RCA output was concerned, but I may be wrong and if so some knowledgable discophile will tell me. Were it around £80 I would have no hesitation but duplications are rife on my shelves but who knows I may succumb.

[jayne lee wilson]

Gotta lotta pleasure outta this on Qobuz a few weeks back.....

https://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/album/an...445370362#item

[BBMmk2]

Seems incredibly amazing that Sir André Previn is 90!

[bluestateprommer]

Thought about the Previn recordings that I have in my collection, given today. INPO:
1. "Sallie Chisum Meets Billy the Kid" (with Barbara Bonney)
2. "We Got Rhythm" (Gershwin duos with David Finck)
3. Britten: Spring Symphony / Peter Grimes - Four Sea Interludes and Passacaglia
4. Holst: The Perfect Fool - ballet music
5. Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream
6. Poulenc: Concert champetre / Organ Concerto (with Simon Preston)
7. Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky / Rachmaninov: The Bells
8. RVW: Symphonies 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8
9. Walton: Symphony No. 1
10. Walton: Belshazzar's Feast / Scapino / Portsmouth Point / Improvisations on an Impromptu of Benjamin Britten

Maybe this thread can turn into a discussion of favorite Previn recordings, or neglected gems.

[Bryn]

For tomorrow morning:

[richardfinegold]

Sad to say my it was my Parents sniggering about him impregnating Mia Farrow when she was legally married to Frank Sinatra that first brought him to my consciousness. A few years later I entered my teens, became interested in music and acquired the occasional Previn lp as a budget reissue. I didn’t really begin to appreciate him until I was older and became more conversant with the body of his work. A remember there being a minor flap when Previn was selected as one of the Greatest Pianists of the 20th Century in the Phillips series, and Annie Fischer And a few other worthies were excluded.
I have to say that when he married ASM, 30 years (at least) his junior, that I began to recall the Farrow incident. I was jealous—like how does this nerdy guy get all these gorgeous babes?
RIP. A life well lived

[Conchis]

Sad to say my it was my Parents sniggering about him impregnating Mia Farrow when she was legally married to Frank Sinatra that first brought him to my consciousness. A few years later I entered my teens, became interested in music and acquired the occasional Previn lp as a budget reissue. I didn’t really begin to appreciate him until I was older and became more conversant with the body of his work. A remember there being a minor flap when Previn was selected as one of the Greatest Pianists of the 20th Century in the Phillips series, and Annie Fischer And a few other worthies were excluded.
I have to say that when he married ASM, 30 years (at least) his junior, that I began to recall the Farrow incident. I was jealous—like how does this nerdy guy get all these gorgeous babes?
RIP. A life well lived

I’m a big fan of his first wife, the brilliant singer-songwriter Dory.

[Richard Tarleton]

I was jealous—like how does this nerdy guy get all these gorgeous babes?
RIP. A life well lived

Today's lengthy obit in The Times repeats the story of how Ava Gardner made a pass at him when he was 17.

The story of how he infiltrated Hollywood is told in his autobiography No Minor Chords, a collection of racy anecdotes. He recalled how as a naive 17-year-old he was playing the piano at a party, “noodling some pretty Rodgers and Hart, Kern, and Gershwin, when Ava Gardner sat on the bench next to me. She listened to me play, quite attentively, and then asked an incredible question: ‘Would you like to take me home later?’ ” The innocent Previn missed the subtext and declined. Two years later, and more worldly wise, he was at another party playing the piano. Spotting Gardner once more he finished playing, ambled over and asked: “Can I take you home later?” As he recalled: “She gave me a radiant smile of pure sweetness, patted my hand and said: ‘Go f*** yourself, kid.’ ”

The answer to your question, richard, is probably well beyond us mere males, but would probably include words like suave, witty, cultured, sophisticated....he clearly had something very special about him.

[Bryn]

Today's lengthy obit in The Times repeats the story of how Ava Gardner made a pass at him when he was 17.



The answer to your question, richard, is probably well beyond us mere males, but would probably include words like suave, witty, cultured, sophisticated....he clearly had something very special about him.

As Chico Marx related, being a pianist helps a great deal in such matters.