Andre Previn: Great Pianists Of The 20th Century (Music Of Mozart, Poulenc, Shostakovich, Gershwin)

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
It's difficult to locate fully André Previn the concert pianist, but this collection, which gathers Mozart and Gershwin convincingly, might just give a full-on portrait. There are loads of documents of his jazz-pianist days--mainly in the 1950s on the West Coast scene--and, with the premiere of his operatic adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire, increased attention on Previn as a composer. But the selections collected on these two CDs (both over 75 minutes long) show a versatility that only a full discography could otherwise woodenly demonstrate.

Previn's Mozart is muted, his piano applying shade at the edges, whereas his Poulenc solos are forcibly naked and colorfully chromatic, showing off his virtuoso chops to great, even flowering, effect. Like everything here, his Shostakovich (recorded in 1962 with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic, one year after the Poulenc solos) shows flaring brilliance and control of both the brittlest and most strenuous runs. But it's the overall package, with the Gershwin songs (from 1997) and Rhapsody in Blue (recorded in 1984) that will excite most Previn fans. The song performances rival the improvisations of Bill Evans and still present the works as hybrid jazz-concert works. For a wide-angle shot of one of the century's great polymaths, this is excellent. --Andrew Bartlett

Tracks:

Piano Concerto No. 17 In G, KV 453: 1. Allegro
Piano Concerto No. 17 In G, KV 453: 2. Andante
Piano Concerto No. 17 In G, KV 453: 3. Allegretto
Trois pieces: 1. Pastorale
Trois pieces: 2. Toccata
Trois pieces: 3. Hymne
Melancolie
Suite francaise d'apres Claude Gervaise: 1. Bransle de Bourgogne
Suite francaise d'apres Claude Gervaise: 2. Pavane
Suite francaise d'apres Claude Gervaise: 3. Petite marche militaire
Suite francaise d'apres Claude Gervaise: 4. Complainte
Suite francaise d'apres Claude Gervaise: 5. Bransle de Champagne
Suite francaise d'apres Claude Gervaise: 6. Sicilienne
Suite francaise d'apres Claude Gervaise: 7. Carillon
Presto In B Flat
Concerto In C Minor For Piano, Trumpet And Strings, Op. 35 (Piano Concerto No. 1): 1. Allegro moderato - Allegro vivace
Concerto In C Minor For Piano, Trumpet And Strings, Op. 35 (Piano Concerto No. 1): 2. Lento
Concerto In C Minor For Piano, Trumpet And Strings, Op. 35 (Piano Concerto No. 1): 3. Moderato
Concerto In C Minor For Piano, Trumpet And Strings, Op. 35 (Piano Concerto No. 1): 4. Allegro con brio

Tracks:

Piano Concerto In F: 1. Allegro
Piano Concerto In F: 2. Adagio - Andante
Piano Concerto In F: 3. Allegro agitato
The Man I Love
Embraceable You
I Got Rhythm
Someone To Watch Over Me
Boy! What Love Has Done To Me! - I've Got A Crush On You
S' Wonderful
Rhapsody In Blue: Molto moderato - Moderato assai - Meno mosso e poco scherzando - Andantino moderato con espressione

Amazon.com

It's difficult to locate fully André Previn the concert pianist, but this collection, which gathers Mozart and Gershwin convincingly, might just give a full-on portrait. There are loads of documents of his jazz-pianist days--mainly in the 1950s on the West Coast scene--and, with the premiere of his operatic adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire, increased attention on Previn as a composer. But the selections collected on these two CDs (both over 75 minutes long) show a versatility that only a full discography could otherwise woodenly demonstrate.

Previn's Mozart is muted, his piano applying shade at the edges, whereas his Poulenc solos are forcibly naked and colorfully chromatic, showing off his virtuoso chops to great, even flowering, effect. Like everything here, his Shostakovich (recorded in 1962 with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic, one year after the Poulenc solos) shows flaring brilliance and control of both the brittlest and most strenuous runs. But it's the overall package, with the Gershwin songs (from 1997) and Rhapsody in Blue (recorded in 1984) that will excite most Previn fans. The song performances rival the improvisations of Bill Evans and still present the works as hybrid jazz-concert works. For a wide-angle shot of one of the century's great polymaths, this is excellent. --Andrew Bartlett

Customer Reviews:

Previn as pianist rather than conductor.......2001-03-24

I got this cd on the recommendation of a "real" pianist because of the Poulenc Trois Pieces. They are really stunning. And the Concerto in F, that mysterious-sounding work by Gershwin never sounded better to me. The jazz Gershwin (Embraceable You, etc) are Previn's and not Gershwin's own arrangements.

Previn shines in 20th Century music. I wish there were more on this cd set. The entire Great Pianists Series is pretty wonderful; I have the Andre Watts and it is also terrific.

Music Review:

Music Review

music review

Music Review

The Reputation

Mellow Mozart [Enhanced]

Georg Friedrich Händel: Nine German Arias/Two Italian Cantatas

Celebration

I Don't Know What You Want: Part 2 (Includes David Morales Remix & Maddkatt Courtship Remix) [CD-single]

Merlyn

Kimi Ga Suki [CD-single] [Import]

Just Supposin' [Original recording remastered] [Import]

Nothin' But Right

John Tavener: Thunder Entered Her

Jazz From Paris/Dizzy and Strings [Original recording remastered] [Import]