Andre Previn was born in Berlin, Germany, on April 6, 1929; Previn was the youngest child of a wealthy family. His father, Jacob, was a respected attorney, as well as an accomplished amateur pianist. Music was an important part of family life, and young André, wanting to participate, asked for lessons.
After testing revealed that Andre had perfect pitch, he was enrolled in the Berlin Conservatory of Music at the age of six. Later, Previn studied at the Paris Conservatory of Music until the family moved to the United States.
Life in Los Angeles, California, was different from life in Berlin and Paris in almost every way possible—from the climate and architecture to the language spoken and career opportunities available.
Upon arrival to the United States, none of the family spoke English, including Previn’s father, which made practicing law impossible. To make ends meet, he gave music lessons at home—yet nothing stood in the way of young Previn’s musical education. He studied piano, theory, and composition from the best instructors available, Joseph Achron and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco.
Previn became an American citizen at the age of fourteen, about the same time he became obsessed by the most American of all musical forms—jazz. Previn began splitting time between his classical studies and jazz, and word of his talent spread. As a teenager Previn practiced piano up to six hours a day.
Eager to help his family financially, he quickly followed up when he heard that the movie studio Metro-Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) needed someone to compose a jazz arrangement. This led to writing more arrangements, at first sporadically and then more regularly, several times a week after school. Seduced by Hollywood’s glamour, he signed a contract with MGM when he turned eighteen. He also made his first recording on the Sunset label while still in his teens.
Here is an extract from a Previn recording of music by Mozart:
