André Previn

André Previn was renowned for his work as a classical conductor, jazz pianist and composer of film scores, as well as his TV appearances. Born in in Berlin, Previn's family encouraged his love of music. He was instructed in piano at the Berlin Hochschule and he often played Beethoven symphonies at home with his lawyer father. His Jewish family emigrated from Nazi Germany in 1939 and lived first in Paris and then in Los Angeles. At the age of 14 Previn started work orchestrating and arranging film music at MGM and composed his first film score when he was just 18 for 'The Sun Comes Up' (1949). He worked on many notable films, winning Academy Awards for 'Gigi' (1958), 'Porgy and Bess' (1959), 'Irma La Douce' (1963) and 'My Fair Lady' (1964) and also writing scores for films such as 'Elmer Gantry' (1960), 'The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse' (1962), 'Valley of the Dolls' (1967) and 'Rollerball' (1975). He also staged musicals in the West End with 'The Good Companions' (1974) and on Broadway with 'Coco', (1970). He made his conducting debut with the St Louis Symphony Orchestra in 1963 and led the London Symphony from 1968 to 1979, releasing many successful live albums of his concerts, often featuring his favourite Russian composers Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov. He also conducted at the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra between 1976 and '84, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra from 1985 to 1992 and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra from 1985 '89. His BBC show 'André Previn's Music Hour' was a worldwide success and he was much loved in the UK for his comedy appearances as 'Andrew Preview' on 'The Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show'. He was also able to maintain a parallel career as a jazz pianist, recording with artists as diverse as Benny Carter, Herb Ellis, Shelly Manne, Ella Fitzgerald, Doris Day, Itzhak Periman and Kiri Te Kanawa. In 1998 he released his opera version of 'A Streetcar Named Desire'. His 80th birthday in 2009 was celebrated with four concerts at Carnegie Hall and he continued to compose up until his death at the age of 89 and was widely-acclaimed for bridging the gap between classical and popular music.

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