Wide-ranging genius
André Previn brought talent, accessibility to the PSO
To some observers, André Previn was a surprising and unconventional choice to be music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra when he was selected in 1976. He proved the doubters wrong and went on to lift the profile of the orchestra, and the city, to new heights. Mr. Previn died last week at the age of 89.
The reason for skepticism at the time was that Mr. Previn had become known for his work on film scores and as a jazz pianist. He had won four Academy Awards for movie music and had made recordings with some of the top jazz artists of the day. Audiences wondered how such a musician could be a serious classical conductor in the mold of William Steinberg, who had just ended his tenure of 23 years here.
Mr. Previn’s arrival in Pittsburgh brought star power and attention to the symphony. His collaboration with WQED and PBS produced a television program called “Previn and the Pittsburgh” for viewers throughout the country. Like Leonard Bernstein, Mr. Previn made classical music more accessible to all Americans. Even his casual concert attire lessened the formality of the audience’s experience.
His ability, like Bernstein’s, to connect with an audience is what most concertgoers will remember of André Previn. As one writer put it, while some conductors look bored, “Previn always seems to be enjoying himself.” Throughout his life, he continued his multiple roles of performer, composer and conductor.
In centuries past, humanity didn’t try to confine a genius to one field of endeavor or one genre of art. Only in modern times have we felt that narrow specialization is a goal to be pursued. We may need to put that belief aside in order to appreciate the outstanding and wide-ranging talent of André Previn.