It’s been impressive and heartwarming to observe the outpouring of affection for André Previn the past couple of days. Previn, of course, died on Thursday at the age of 89.
A fabulous and frequently stunning musician, he was not only a top conductor, but also a fine pianist – fluent in both the classical and jazz worlds – a talented composer, totally without pretense, a crackerjack writer of film scores and musical arrangements, an author, an entertaining raconteur, and a sly wit. He was a true Renaissance man, like Leonard Bernstein, though he tended to play his cards a little closer to the vest. His love life could be a little over the top – he was married five times – and who knows, if he had come up in the age of Twitter, maybe he would have taken more of a beating.
Previn never achieved the level of public adulation that Lenny did, which is why the tsunami of love from all quarters kind of comes as a surprise to me. A pleasant surprise, granted. Criticisms of some of his musical performances were akin to damning with faint praise. On the other hand, when he was on, he was really on. The man could conduct the tar out of Rachmaninoff, Vaughan Williams, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, and William Walton, and he could surprise in his easy mastery of composers such as Richard Strauss.
I was lucky enough to see him conduct live twice. In 1995, he led a luminous performance of Vaughan Williams’ Symphony No. 5, with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, which he recorded with the ensemble shortly thereafter. As is generally the case – Curtis is one of the top conservatories in the world – the students played like gods.
Later, I saw him lead the Philadelphia Orchestra, in 2009. On the program was Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24 and Strauss’ “Symphonia Domestica.” It was a shock to realize at that point that Previn was 80, and it was with concern that I watched as he stepped with evident care onto the stage, as if he were living the famous Danny Kaye routine. It was painful to see, and one of those instances where you wonder if the conductor is even going to make it to the podium.
The Mozart may not have been transcendent, but it was still a joy to hear him play (he conducted from the keyboard), even if some of the facility was diminished; but the Strauss, which he conducted from a chair, was as assured as it had been when he made his knock-out recordings of the complete tone poems with the Vienna Philharmonic.
I was also fortunate enough to interact with him twice. The first time was wholly by chance. It was in the early ‘90s, a day like any other day, and I walked out of my apartment building in Philadelphia to encounter André Previn passing on the street. Startled, I said the first thing that popped into my head – which was, I am embarrassed to report, “Maestro! Good to see you!” To which he replied with a wry smile, “Good to see you, too.”
It was on 18th Street, below Spruce. He was heading south into a residential neighborhood, where he must have been staying, because at the time there was nothing else in that direction. Of course, I lived a block and half from the Curtis Institute.
The second time was an actual conversation, in which we got to talk music. It was in the late ‘90s or early 2000s, and Previn was engaged in recording a couple of Korngold albums. I know it was after he did the symphony, but it may have been before he recorded the film scores, both for Deutsche Grammophon. He remarked that he would love to record the complete “Die tote Stadt” with Renée Fleming, but it was a matter of getting their schedules to mesh. Can you imagine? Unfortunately, it never came to pass. I also asked him why he didn’t include the overture in his otherwise fine recording of Korngold’s “Much Ado About Nothing.” His answer, again with that smile: “I didn’t know there was an overture!”
Because of the timing of his death, it’s been hard to engineer a proper tribute, but I will be working Previn’s recordings into my air shifts over the coming week. So you’ll have a good chance of encountering his artistry if you tune in on Monday from 4 to 7 p.m., Tuesday from 1 to 4 p.m., and Wednesday from 4 to 6 p.m. In fact, I am planning to make the playlist on Tuesday all-Previn, encompassing his talents as conductor, pianist, and composer.
On Friday at 6 p.m., “Picture Perfect” will focus on his work in the film industry. He was involved with 50 movies, and on top of everything else won four Oscars.
Then next Sunday night, February 10, on “The Lost Chord,” I’ll present an hour of his original concert music, at 10 p.m.
All times are EST, and all shows can be heard on WWFM – The Classical Network and at wwfm.org.
Finally, Patrick Jonathan reminded me of this classic Morecambe and Wise sketch with “Mr. Preview” conducting the Grieg Piano Concerto. As an American, it is my only exposure to Morecambe and Wise, but it has the reputation of being the ne plus ultra of the team’s career.
