Oscar-winning film composer and symphony orchestra conductor André Previn died Thursday at his home in Manhattan, his manager confirmed. He was 89.
Oscar-winning film composer and symphony orchestra conductor Andre Previn died Thursday at his home in Manhattan, his manager confirmed to the New York Times. He was 89.
The former enfant terrible of motion picture scoring and accomplished jazz pianist was honored with four Academy Awards. He won the first two, for best music — scoring of a musical picture, for “Gigi” and “Porgy & Bess” in 1958 and 1959, respectively, while still in his 20s; he then won two for best score — adaptation or treatment in 1963 and 1964 for “Irma la Douce” and “My Fair Lady,” respectively.
He later abandoned films to conduct such esteemed orchestras as the London Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Previn’s jazz influence was pianist Art Tatum and, from the age of 12, he developed a proficiency in jazz piano, which led to his first film assignment at age 16, while still a senior at Beverly Hills High School (where he teamed musically with songwriter and fellow student Richard M. Sherman): Previn transcribed an improvised jazz number for concert pianist Jose Iturbi to play in the film “Holiday in Mexico.” Over the next few years, Previn worked at MGM — where his great-uncle, Charles Previn, who’d been music director at Universal, did a brief stint — playing rehearsal piano and other odd jobs, including synchronizing film soundtracks.
In 1949 he was given his first original score assignment, “The Sun Comes Up,” a Lassie picture, about which he recalled, “I thought it was easy, but I have since put myself through the wringer of watching it on a television rerun, and it’s the most inept score you ever heard.”
It was, however, good enough to win him a contract as a composer-conductor at MGM, a career that was interrupted by the draft in 1950. During his military stint he wrote arrangements for the Sixth Army band and played in San Francisco jazz spots. Resuming his career in 1952, he adapted such stage musicals as “Kiss Me Kate,” “Kismet,” “Silk Stockings” and “Bells Are Ringing” for the bigscreen. His work on “Gigi,” originally written for the screen in 1958, and “Porgy and Bess” the following year, brought him scoring Oscars. In the ’60s he also scored back-to-back Oscars for scoring of 1963’s “Irma la Douce” and for his conducting work on 1964’s “My Fair Lady.
