The Film Music of André Previn

Disques CinéMusique presents a survey of André Previn (1929-2019) career as a brilliant Hollywood film music composer of the sixties. Previn was involved in creating the music for over 50 films and won four Academy Awards for his work, in addition to contributing to many TV series. The program of our digital album consists in 23 selections from 17 original soundtracks.

Disques CinéMusique presents an overview of André Previn (1929-2019) career as a brilliant Hollywood film music composer of the sixties. Previn was involved in creating the music for over 50 films and won four Academy Awards for his work, in addition to contributing to many TV series. The program of our digital album consists in 23 selections from 17 original soundtracks.

André Previn's career began in 1946, when he was still in high school, as a composer, conductor, and arranger at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios, after their music department noticed his work for a local radio program and wished to hire him. Previn recalled that MGM were 'looking for somebody who was talented, fast and cheap and, because I was a kid, I was all three. So they hired me to do piecework and I evidently did it very well.'

Previn was a full-time employee at MGM when he was called for military service in 1950. While stationed with the Sixth Army Band at the Presidio of San Francisco, Previn took private conducting lessons from Pierre Monteux, then conductor of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, which he valued highly, for two years from 1951. In 1953,

Previn returned to Hollywood and focused his attention on film scores and jazz. Previn stayed at MGM for 16 years, but despite the secure job and good pay, had grown increasingly confined and desired to pursue classical music. He resigned from MGM at 32, wanting 'to gamble with whatever talent I might have had.'

His break with the film world in the 1960s was not as straightforward as he claimed in later life. He won a 1964 Oscar for Best Scoring of Music - Adaptation or Treatment - for My Fair Lady. He was also responsible for adapting Tchaikovsky’s works for Ken Russell’s Music Lovers in 1971. His film work continued until Rollerball (1975).

This album is available as downloading and streaming on most online music stores.

- Adapted from Wikipedia

- Disques CinéMusique -

The Film Music of André Previn soundtrack page

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