Who was André Previn? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Also Known As: André George Previn, Andreas Ludwig Priwin

Died At Age: 89

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Anne-Sophie Mutter, Betty Bennett, Dory Previn, Heather Mary Hales, Mia Farrow

father: Jack Previn

mother: Charlotte Epstein

siblings: Leonore Previn, Steve Previn, Steve Previn and Leonore Previn

children: Alicia Previn, Claudia Previn, Daisy Previn, Fletcher Previn, Lark Previn, Li-An Mary, Lukas Alexander, Matthew Previn, Sascha Previn, Soon-Yi Previn

Born Country: Germany

Pianists Composers

Died on: February 28, 2019

place of death: Manhattan, New York, United States

Ancestry: Polish German, Polish American, German American

Notable Alumni: Conservatoire De Paris Alumni

City: Berlin, Germany

More Facts

education: Conservatoire De Paris Alumni

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Childhood & Early Life

Andre Previn was born on April 6, 1929 in Berlin, Germany to Charlotte and Jack Previn, an attorney and music teacher. He had two siblings: brother Steve Previn, a well-known television director, and Leonore Previn.

At the age of six, he began attending Berlin Conservatory of Music. In 1938, he, along with his family, left Nazi Germany and fled to Paris, France where he studied at the Paris Conservatory of Music.

The family soon relocated to Los Angeles. He eventually became a naturalized citizen of USA in 1943. There, he studied at Beverly Hills High School and graduated from there in 1946.

To make ends meet, Previn gave music lessons at home. He also studied piano, composition and theory from the best instructors available, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Joseph Achron.

In 1951 and 1952, while performing his military service at the Presidio of San Francisco, he took private conducting lessons from popular French conductor Pierre Monteux.

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Career

Andre Previn first came to prominence in 1948 when he began arranging and composing Hollywood movie scores. During the 1950s, he made dozens of jazz recordings, both as a leader and a sideman.

He released numerous albums of jazz interpretations of tracks from Broadway musicals as well as a number of solo piano recordings focussing on songbooks of famous composers including ‘Pal Joey’ (1957), ‘Gigi’ (1958), ‘King Size’ (1959), and ‘West Side Story’ (1959), ‘André Previn Plays Songs by Vernon Duke (1958),’ and ‘André Previn Plays Songs by Jerome Kern’ (1959).

His career flourished during the late 1950s and early 1960s through musical hits that Previn adapted from the theatrical stage for movies, and original scores he conducted and composed for other musicals and dramas.

During the early 1960s, he continued releasing his jazz albums, such as ‘Like Previn’ (1960), ‘André Previn Plays Songs by Harold Arlen’ (1960), and ‘Irma la Douce’ (1963).

His life changed considerably when he was appointed the music director of the Houston Symphony Orchestra. In 1968, the German-American musician began his tenure as the principal conductor of London Symphony Orchestra (LSO). During his LSO tenure, he would often appear on television programs to talk about music.

His performance as "Mr. Andrew Preview" in the 1971 ‘Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show,’ which involved him conducting Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto as the comically inept soloist earned him much recognition in Britain.

In the 1970s, Previn also toured throughout USA and Europe with LSO and became famous for his interpretations of Russian and British symphonic works.

From 1976 to 1984, he served as the music director for Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) and later joined Royal Philharmonic Orchestra where he served until 1991.

In 1985, he began serving at the Los Angeles Philharmonic as a music director. Although his tenure with the orchestra was satisfactory from a professional view, other conductors including Simon Rattle, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Kurt Sanderling did a better job at selling out concerts.

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Previn also continued with his jazz recordings and released many albums over the years, including ‘After Hours’, ‘Uptown’, ‘Old Friends’, ‘Kiri Sidetracks: The Jazz Album’, ‘What Headphones’, ‘André Previn and Friends Play Show Boat’, ‘Jazz at the Musikverein’ and ‘Live at the Jazz Standard’.

His compositions in the 1980s and 1990s included ‘Triolet for Brass,’ ‘Sonata for Cello and Piano,’ ‘Trio for Piano, Oboe and Bassoon,’ and ‘Sonata for Bassoon and Piano.’

He composed ‘Ten by Yeats,’ a setting of WB Yeats' poetry for piano and soprano that premiered in 2017. A year later, he collaborated with Anne-Sophie Mütter (his fifth wife) for ‘The Fifth Season,’ the world premiere of his violin sonata.

In 2019, Previn teamed up with Tom Stoppard on a monodrama. His highly anticipated concert, 'Concerto for Orchestra,' will premiere during the 2020/21 season in celebration of Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra's 100th Anniversary.

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Major Works

As a composer, Andre Previn has composed numerous jazz pieces and contemporary classical music works alongside several film scores. Among the most notable films he composed music for are the musical ‘It's Always Fair Weather’ (1955) and ‘Paint Your Wagon’ (1969).

Family & Personal Life

Andre Previn has been married five times till date. His first marriage was to singer Betty Bennett. The couple had two daughters, Claudia and Alicia, before separating in 1957.

In 1959, Previn married singer-songwriter Dory Langan. The two collaborated on numerous movie scores during their marriage. Previn eventually divorced Langan in the year 1969 while she was hospitalized for a mental breakdown.

His third marriage was to Mia Farrow in 1970. Before their divorce in 1979, the couple had three biological kids—twins Sascha and Matthew born in 1970, and Fletcher who was born in 1974. They later adopted Vietnamese infants Lark and Summer Song, followed by a Korean child named Soon-Yi Previn.

In 1982, Previn went on to marry Heather Sneddon, with whom he had his longest marriage. With Sneddon, he had two kids, Li-An Mary, adopted, and Lukas Alexander, who was born in 1983. This marriage ended in 2002.

His fifth marriage was to violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter in 2002. They divorced in 2006, but continued to work together in concerts.

Previn is the father-in-law of American director Woody Allen who is married to his daughter, Soon-Yi Previn. Woody Allen was also once in a relationship with Previn's third wife, Mia Farrow.

1965	Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment	My Fair Lady (1964)
1964	Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment	Irma la Douce (1963)
1960	Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture	Porgy and Bess (1959)
1959	Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture	Gigi (1958)

2010	Lifetime Achievement Award	Winner
2005	Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with Orchestra)	Winner
2003	Best Classical Crossover Album	Winner
1999	Best Chamber Music Performance	Winner
1987	Best Classical Vocal Soloist Performance	Winner
1977	Best Choral Performance (other than opera)	Winner
1974	Best Choral Performance, Classical (Other Than Opera)	Winner
1973	Best Album Notes, Classical	Winner
1962	Best Jazz Performance- Soloist or Small Group (Instrumental)	Winner
1961	Best Jazz Performance Solo or Small Group	Winner
1960	Best Performance by an Orchestra	Winner
1959	Best Soundtrack Album, Dramatic Picture Score or Original Cast	Gigi (1958)
1959	Best Soundtrack Album, Original Cast - Motion Picture or Television	Porgy and Bess (1959)
1959	Best Performance by an Orchestra	Winner
1959	Best Soundtrack Album, Dramatic Picture Score or Original Cast	Winner

André Previn Biography