# Composer Andre Previn dead at 89 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 1, 2019, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/composer-andre-previn-dead-at-89/830377 "2019-03-01T14:41:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/composer-andre-previn-dead-at-89/830377/1 "2019-03-01T14:41:22Z")
[Wikipedia page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_Previn) Previn had quite a life, both professionally and personally. ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/composer-andre-previn-dead-at-89/830377/2 "2019-03-01T14:56:48Z")
Composer _and_ conductor ;). His recording of the complete **Prokofiev** _piano concertos_ with **Vladimir Ashkenazy** and the **London Symphony Orchestra** is among my favourites. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/composer-andre-previn-dead-at-89/830377/3 "2019-03-01T16:30:15Z")
> [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](#): > > Composer _and_ conductor ;). And performer of both classical and jazz piano. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/composer-andre-previn-dead-at-89/830377/4 "2019-03-01T17:43:15Z")
One of my psych professors helped treat his second wife, Dory, after her breakdown over Previn’s affair with Mia Farrow. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/composer-andre-previn-dead-at-89/830377/5 "2019-03-01T17:48:01Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > One of my psych professors helped treat his second wife, Dory, after her breakdown over Previn’s affair with Mia Farrow. Wasn’t your psych professor violating some kind of ethics code by telling you that?:eek: Previn’s mastery of both classical and jazz piano made for an outstanding interpretation of _Rhapsody in Blue_, which I think I still have somewhere in my collection of vinyl. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/composer-andre-previn-dead-at-89/830377/6 "2019-03-01T18:13:24Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Wasn’t your psych professor violating some kind of ethics code by telling you that?:eek: It’s possible that the info came from Dory Previn herself. She was open about her psychological/psychiatric problems and the treatment she received. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/composer-andre-previn-dead-at-89/830377/7 "2019-03-01T20:46:20Z")
Someone I follow on Twitter retweeted this: My fav #Previn anecdote: transatlantic flight, turbulence - on comes piped light music, evidently to distract/soothe worried passengers. Previn beckons stewardess: “I refuse to die to Lawrence Welk’s Polka Band. Either put on the Brahms Requiem or turn the \*\*\*\*ing thing off” ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/composer-andre-previn-dead-at-89/830377/8 "2019-03-01T21:43:31Z")
FWIW: he was also an _unexpectedly accomplished_ comic actor. As noted in his wiki entry (see OP), in this country (and I hope he enjoyed this) he was best known for his appearance on a Morcambe and Wise Xmas Show. Here’s a snippet of the famous sketch, provided by the BBC. Also to enjoy: the reactions of the orchestra throughout. > **[Previn in famous Morecambe and Wise sketch](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/entertainment-arts-47409017)** > > Conductor and composer André Previn was invited to perform Grieg’s Piano Concerto with the comedy duo. You _may_ be able to find the full sketch with a little searching. j ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/composer-andre-previn-dead-at-89/830377/9 "2019-03-01T22:35:16Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > It’s possible that the info came from Dory Previn herself. She was open about her psychological/psychiatric problems and the treatment she received. Yeah, he had her permission to discuss her problems as a teaching tool. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2019, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/composer-andre-previn-dead-at-89/830377/10 "2019-03-02T00:26:35Z")
I have so many of his wonderful recordings. Thanks so much, André! ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2019, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/composer-andre-previn-dead-at-89/830377/11 "2019-03-02T18:18:09Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > Someone I follow on Twitter retweeted this: > > My fav #Previn anecdote: transatlantic flight, turbulence - on comes piped light music, evidently to distract/soothe worried passengers. Previn beckons stewardess: “I refuse to die to Lawrence Welk’s Polka Band. Either put on the Brahms Requiem or turn the \*\*\*\*ing thing off” Brahms wrote a requiem? You mean _A German Requiem?_ It’s customary to include the adjective. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2019, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/composer-andre-previn-dead-at-89/830377/12 "2019-03-02T23:53:47Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Brahms wrote a requiem? > > You mean _A German Requiem?_ It’s customary to include the adjective. It’s 3rd, possibly 4th hand. Previn may have said “Brahms’s A German Requiem, to Words of the Holy Scriptures, Op. 45” and the extra info fell off on the way here. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2019, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/composer-andre-previn-dead-at-89/830377/13 "2019-03-03T01:47:04Z")
Most composers wrote the requiem mass based on the Latin text…Mozart, Berlioz, Verdi,etc. For Johnny Brahms to write one in his vernacular is worthy of note.