MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Great Pianists of the 20th Century - Andre Previn

 
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Great Pianists of the 20th Century - Andre Previn cover
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GERSHWIN / MOZART / POULENC / SHOSTAKOVICH
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Great Pianists of the 20th Century - Andre Previn
Andre Previn (piano) with David Finck (double bass) / Vienna Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Pittsburg Symphony

[ Philips / Sony / Deutsche Grammophon / 2 CD ]

Release Date: Thursday 1 June 2000

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"It's remarkable how many pop and especially jazz musicians had classical training, but far rarer for a credible classical musician to have emerged from the ranks of pop. Andre Previn. True, Linda Ronstadt tried opera, Elvis Costello worked with the Brodsky Quartet, Keith Jarrett plays Bach and Paul McCartney dabbled in classical composition (albeit of the light-weight crossover variety), but Previn's musical journey was nearly unique. He gained fame and great success as a jazz pianist and movie arranger (he was nominated for 13 Academy Awards and won four in a streak of seven years for adapting the scores to My Fair Lady, Gigi, Porgy and Bess and Irma La Douce) before emerging as a serious pianist and conductor. Half of this collection is given to Gershwin, who, like Previn, straddled both pop and serious worlds. Previn both plays and conducts the Concerto in F and Rhapsody in Blue, but the orchestral portions are surprisingly stiff, his solos more suited to the lyrical sections. Piano and bass arrangements of seven Gershwin songs provide a more natural fit, as Previn's gently innovative improvisations recall the cool, laid-back style of his early career and invite the interpretive improvisatory freedom we would tend to associate with a jazz background. Typical is his free treatment of "I Got Rhythm," in which the melody is so fragmented that the distinctive motifs of both verse and chorus are barely discernable. The other CD displays Previn's versatility. The Mozart Piano Concerto # 17, which he also conducts, proves he can settle into a serious groove. The Shostakovich Concerto for Piano, Trumpet and Strings displays a far more galvanic style when paired with a dynamic conductor like Leonard Bernstein. Finally, there's a half-hour of Poulenc, including the Trois pièces and the Suite française - light-weight but pleasant, and enlivened by Previn's attentive moderation." ClassicalNotes.net

GREAT PIANISTS OF THE 20TH CENTURY is a celebration of great artistry; it is also the result of extensive and careful research on the part of all who have participated in its creation. We trust that it will bring joy as well as enlightenment to generations of music lovers to come in the new millennium.

NOTE: Outer cover may have a little wear

Tracks:

Disc: 1
MOZART: Piano Concerto # 17:
POULENC:: Three Pieces
POULENC: Melancolie
POULENC: Suite Francaise d'apres Claude Gervaise
SHOSTAKOVICH: Concerto for Piano, Trumpet and Strings

Disc: 2
GERSHWIN: Concerto in F
GERSHWIN: Rhapsody in Blue
GERSHWIN: Piano and bass arrangements of seven Gershwin songs