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

"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