Gershwin: A Foggy Day (In London Town)

Even among the wide-ranging and singularly American talents of the past sixty years, André Previn stands out for his career as a celebrated film composer, incomparable jazz pianist and respected conductor and concert music composer. On the occasion of his 80th birthday, Sony Masterworks celebrates a lifetime of achievement with the release of André Previn: An 80th Birthday Celebration.

A showcase of the composer and performer at his most varied and inspired, the pieces in this collection belong to a variety of genres and highlight his musical personality- lightly playful, keenly smart and elegantly precise.

The release features Previn playing piano in jazz band renditions of Ray Henderson’s “Bye Bye Blackbird,” Gershwin’s “A Foggy Day,” and Weill’s “Mack the Knife” and “Bilbao Song.” Previn’s film compositions are represented by the theme from The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and The Subterraneans. He conducts Vaughan Williams’s The Wasps: Overture and his own Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra, in a recording with guitarist John Williams, available for the first time on CD. Also included is “Vocalise,” with soprano Sylvia McNair and cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

The Glenn Gould Foundation awarded its Glenn Gould Prize 2005 to André Previn: "This award exemplifies the musical excellence of a rare few, and Maestro Previn’s remarkable body of work and wide range of talents certainly make him a member of this exclusive club," said Foundation President Merle Kriss. Past laureates include Pierre Boulez (2002); Yo-Yo Ma (1999); Toru Takemitsu (1996); Oscar Peterson C.C. (1993); Lord Yehudi Menuhin (1990); and R. Murray Schafer (1987). Previn was also given the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2008 Gramophone Awards.

Broadway musicals and jazz belong to the cultural heritage of America. But people thought differently in George Gershwin's day - the 1920s and 30s. Broadway shows were immensely popular, but were rarely considered as art. Jazz was a subculture secretly appreciated by many white Americans, but in the same way as they liked to see wild animals at the circus - at a safe distance. It had yet to be realised that amusement music was a unique and characteristic part of American culture. “American music is not jazz, and jazz is not music”, wrote the influential music critic Paul Rosenfeld in 1929. Precisely what, then, was American music? George Gershwin (1898-1937) was one of the first to show the world. (from: liner notes)

After recordings of English Renaissance and German romantic music, and twentieth- century works from France, The Gents venture across the ocean to the new world, with a CD that takes them to Broadway. Jetse Bremer has specially arranged the last compositions by George Gershwin for this combination of soloist, choir and instruments and the flexibility and homogeneous sound of The Gents matches these songs so well. For the singers of The Gents and soprano Johannette Zomer, with their classical background, this repertoire is a special challenge, raising the question where classical stops or changes into something else....

The Dickinsons, who flourished from the late 1960s to the early 1990s, performed works by Copland, Carter and Thomson for the composers themselves and their performances, which are captured on this disc, including the Cage cycle, were first recordings, as is Copland's late piano piece Night Thoughts. As such, it is an important and historic release for those interested in American music.

‘Thank you so much for sending me your excellent recording. I have listened to the performances with the greatest pleasure. Your playing is absolutely topflight, and your sister’s command of the Gershwin style, let alone all the others, is superb.’ William Schuman