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AndrΓ© Previn

Sue Lawley's castaway is composer and conductor AndrΓ© Previn.

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the composer and conductor AndrΓ© Previn. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about how he and his family fled from Nazi Germany and ended up in California. His skill as a jazz musician led to a job at MGM and four Oscars for the film scores he wrote there. However, in the mid-1960s he turned his back on Hollywood and became principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra. He'll be discussing this dramatic transition, his famous appearance on the Morecambe and Wise Show and the perils of his now-abandoned celebrity status.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Symphony No 40 In G Minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Book: The collected works by Anton Chekhov
Luxury: Piano

Available now

40 minutes

Last on

Fri 23 Aug 1996 09:05

Music Played

  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    Violin Concerto in D major

    Soloist: Anne-Sophie Mutter Orchestra: Berlin Philharmonic Conductor: Herbert von Karajan

    • Great Violin Concertos.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.
  • Ralph Vaughan Williams

    Symphony No. 5 in D major

    Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Andre Previn

    • Vaughan Williams' Symphony No 5.
    • RCA Classics.
  • Claude Debussy

    Prélude à l'après midi d'un faune

    Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Pierre Monteux

    • Pierre Monteux Conducts The L.S.O.
    • Decca.
  • Johannes Brahms

    Symphony No. 4 in E minor

    Conductor: Herbert von Karajan Orchestra: Berlin Philharmonic

    • Symphonies Numbers 3 And 4.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.
  • Richard Strauss

    Don Quixote

    Orchestra: Vienna Philharmonia Orchestra Conductor: Andre Previn

    • Don Quixote.
    • Telarc.
  • Castaway's Favourite

    • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

      Symphony No. 40 in G minor

      Orchestra: The Columbia Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Bruno Walter

      • Mozart Symphonies Nos 35-41.
      • Sony Classical.
  • Benjamin Britten

    Peter Grimes

    Conductor Benjamin Britten Orchestra: The Orchestra Of The Royal Opera House (Covent Garden)

    • Peter Grimes.
    • Decca.
  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    String Quartet No.14 in C sharp minor, Op. 131

    Ensemble: The Alban Berg Quartet

    • Beethoven String Quartet.
    • EMI.
  • Book Choice

    • The collected works - Anton Chekhov

  • Luxury Choice

    • Piano

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Sue Lawley
Interviewed Guest AndrΓ© Previn

Broadcasts

  • Sun 18 Aug 1996 12:15
  • Fri 23 Aug 1996 09:05

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