Review: André Previn--The (Nearly) Complete Warner Recordings

This 96-CD set contains all of André Previn's recordings for EMI/HMV and Teldec, EXCEPT for his late recording featuring the Vaughan Williams Fifth Symphony with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra--it should have been included. Still, 96 CDs is nothing to sneeze at, and Previn's achievement here really is very impressive, especially considering his general avoidance of the standard German symphonic repertoire. This is a very long video--I consider every disc individually, except for No. 49 (Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream music, a splendid version) because it got stuck behind disc No. 50. But don't worry, it's in there, along with a fiesta of other highly recommendable performances. You may want to watch this video in bits. I sure wouldn't blame you.

[nickskybart]

Thanks for this focus on André Previn's body of work. I've long been a fan of his, especially his amazing versatility. Looking forward to your take on his orchestral recordings (because I haven't watched it yet)!

[GastonBulbous]

I splurged for this and really recommend people who are eyeballing it to make the purchase. These recordings reflect what I used to call the “FM radio” era of classical music in the 1970s: the last full flower of that buttery-smooth, highly-detailed analogue sound. And Previn’s conducting, far from conservative, is meticulous and sensitive, with the best inner sense of rhythm of just about anyone. I have rarely found myself tapping my toes or “air conducting” as much as I have listening to Previn. Even his unnoticed Beethoven 7, a bit slow at first blush, is a marvel for both clarity and detail, while fully living up to the work’s “apotheosis of the dance” reputation. Just one example of a kind of discreet magnificence found throughout this large box set that never feels like a long slog. Pure enjoyment.

[wilsonshields]

Dave thanks again for a splendidly entertaining and informative review

[ftumschk]

Excellent review! I was struck by how many of these recordings I already have, and how very good they are. With so few out-and-out duds in nearly a hundred CDs, that's pretty impressive by any standards.

[HassoBenSoba]

Thanks for a wonderful, entertaining and informative marathon. To quote you (David H) this box chronicles "A Distinguished Legacy"...and any conductor who has left us TEN (or thereabouts) recordings that we can all agree qualify as "reference" recordings has made a damn' impressive showing within our profession (and that's WITHOUT including his great RCA/LSO recordings from the late '60's! - Walton 1st, Vaughan Williams 5th, Shostakovich 5th, etc).

YES!-- Previn's 1975 LSO Prokofiev 5th is THE ONE TO OWN; the recording that finally (after 25 years) revealed the work's depth and power to a non-believer (me).

YES! -- Previn's 1978 LSO Turangalila is THE ONE TO OWN; every detail is there, every note of the Ondes Martenot and the cymbal/tam-tam assortment...all in perfect balance and brilliant, sumptuous sound! Equally important is Previn's shaping and delineation of this sprawling score.

I can't believe I've never heard Previn's Rach "Bells"; I'm sort of stuck on the mid '60's Kondrashin recording you mention..a true classic. Must hear Previn. But the Cover of the "Belshazzar's Feast" that Dave flashed didn't look QUITE like the LP cover that I have, . could EMI have censored the original?? or was the cover I'm referring to for the U.S. release only, not the original British?

ALSO--- FOR ALL PREVIN FANS---find a copy of his autobiography "NO MINOR CHORDS"...in which he recalls his Hollywood career in loving, sometimes startling detail; much cynicism but GREAT WIT and charm. A very enjoyable, breezy read. LR

[dirkh.]

I enjoy your video's very much. I enjoy your music recordings knowledge very much. But mostly I enjoy your humor.

[foreverkarajanfan]

Andre Previn's recording of Richard Strauss's Don Juan on EMI is stunning, exciting and dramatic! His Shostakovich 5th (with the Chicago SO) and 8th on EMI, Holst The Planets, Debussy orchestral pieces, Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet, Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique are the best recordings I have ever encountered! Indeed, he was a truly outstanding conductor in all the music he had conducted. As a composer, like Bernstein, he had that great innate sense of structure and musicality with a perfection in form and content. I have enjoyed immensely this wonderful box set!

[pauldavidartistclub]

Thank you very much for the coverage of what appears to be a really marvelous set. I will start tracking down the discs which most appeal to me. Please don’t fret over the length of you videos…they can’t be long enough for me!

[murrayaronson]

Andre Previn was a regular customer at the Beverly Hills bookstore where I walked.
Mr. Previn was friendly, approachable, and down to earth.
I saw Previn first in the 60s with the American Symphony Orchestra La Valse was of the works and then I remember with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the late 80s at the Hollywood Bowl with my bro
Rachmaninoff Symphony No 2.
I also saw with the LA Phil Britten’s Our Hunting Fathers with Elisabeth Söderström.

[patrickhows]

Thank you for another enjoyable video. By chance the box was reviewed on the UK's Radio 3 yesterday, two interesting facts came out which show how the Classical Music world has changed over the last 50 years. Firstly someone worked that while Previn was in London he was on average making a recording every two weeks! totally unimaginable today. Secondly his TV programme on music on occasion got twenty million viewers, at that time the UK population was @55 million.

[pauloqueiroz]

Thank you Dave for the review! Just got my box and am enjoying it after your views on it.

[dtrinla]

I lived in Los Angeles and always liked Previn, and your review matches my experience. ThanKs

[fred]

Hello Mr Hurwitz.
Thank you very much for making this talk about the recordings of Mr Previn.
This is what you are a master of.
The talk wasn't a second to long as far as I am concerned. Please do more of this big boxes reviews. Why not Kubelik's on Dg?
Or Solti's Chicago on Decca?
Best wishes Fred from Sweden.

[duvidl]

Thank you for your perseverance, David. (Whew!) I agree that his EMI Gershwin is a bit blah, but, before his conducting days, he made a terrific recording of the Concerto in F, for Columbia with another Andre - Kostelanetz and the NY Phil. But what an incredibly versatile musician was Andre Previn.

[johnanderton]

I've always hated the "first-rate conductor of second-rate music" take on Previn. Early on I came to really value his recordings especially of Holst, Britten (his Grimes Passacaglia is cataclysmic) and Shostakovich. In the first movement of Shost. 6 he is unmatched in sustained intensity and playing--better than Berglund in my view. Perhaps the overrated high-profile recordings like "The Planets" fed this dismissive view. I've never heard his Shostakovich Fourth but will check it out since you singled it out for praise. Thanks for giving his legacy the time it deserves. I just enjoyed for the first time last night his Mahler 4.

[andreaagnes]

Hi I just discovered your videos, very informative and lots of fun, thanks!
This Previn box is really good... actually I think I like his "Planets", agreed the first movement (Mars) - probably not his cup of tea - but the other ones I find very subtle and tasteful.
Again thank you and keep up the good work.
Best wishes for a merry Christmas and a happy new year with lots of music.
Andrea - Italy

[AlexMadorsky]

I’m a huge Previn fan generally, and I hope to pick this up eventually. A lot of wonderful music here. Rest those lungs and vocal cords for the Ormandy box Dave!

[pierrerobitaille]

Thank you for a balanced and insightful survey of this impressive box. Do not worry about the second digital recording of the Nutcracker with the RPO that you may have missed, as usual, as you have often told us, it was not a necessary or better sounding venture. Britten did conduct a recording of his Spring Symphony, around 1960 for Decca, with Jennifer Vyvyan, Norma Procter, Peter Pears and the RCGO orchestra and chorus. It was produced by the legendary John Culshaw, in Kingsway Hall and still sounds great. Previn is still a very good alternative and Janer Baker is indeed wonderful. Take good care of your voice.

[markzacek]

I appreciate the brief shoutout to the Fruhbeck de Burgos Carmina Burana. It conjures an atmosphere unlike any other, IMHO. And Lucia Popp is exceptionally lovely, of course.

[Wolfcrag]

I always thought of Previn as a highly consistent, top-level conductor, an impression this box confirms. One can also sense the overall smart choices of repertoire he made throughout his career.