Word: previn
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1960-1969
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...social life is focused on a small group of friends-Edwards, Mike Nichols, Carol Burnett, Composer-Conductor Andre Previn and his wife Dory. At Christmastime, she invites them all in, and "to everyone's annoyance and chagrin, I make mulled wine, all icky and sticky. I'm the only one who likes it." When she can manage to avoid the endless squads of fans, she sneaks off to concerts (preferences: Mahler, Rachmaninoff), but no longer goes to the movies. Instead, for privacy's sake, she runs films in her home-"on the smooth wall of the playroom...
...probably doesn't know the meaning of the word. Son of a Berlin piano teacher who immigrated to the U.S. when Andre was nine, he has made a success of all the many keys he touched. Previn studied classical music under Italian Composer-Conductor Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, did considerable moonlighting in Hollywood, "cheating every minute." With a friend, Composer Lukas Foss, he recorded all the four-hand piano music of Mozart. He wrote a symphony and a quantity of piano works and chamber music. He did the arrangements for several bestselling jazz albums. And he fared well as guest...
...idol and guide has been Leonard Bernstein, who showed that the composers and conductors of popular music could emulate the classical artists-and vice versa-without getting laughs. Says Previn: "Bernstein has made it possible not to specialize in one area of music. You no longer have to do just Broadway shows, or movies, or conduct-you can do any or all of them...
Pride & Prejudice. Despite his virtuosity, Previn's reputation in serious music circles was tarnished by his Hollywood glitter. "Wherever I went to conduct," he complains, "it was always 'Hollywood's Andre Previn came here last week and . . .' To have written a Broadway score is O.K., even admirable; having played a lot of jazz is O.K., but less admirable. But somehow, having worked in Hollywood is like being a well-known whore...
...Previn won purity when he was invited to conduct the Houston Symphony four years ago. The city, with plenty of fierce pride in its fine orchestra and practically no prejudice against Hollywood, gave him high critical acclaim, has invited him back to conduct every year since then. Now he is the only guest conductor scheduled to lead the Houston Symphony, and nobody will be the least bit surprised if he eventually replaces 66-year-old Conductor Sir John Barbirolli. Previn does not expect that any of this will turn his head, which might be on a swivel by now. Conducting...