Various: Andre Previn: 80Th Birthday (Sony BMG Audio CD)

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.