Quotes by Andre Previn

About Andre Previn:

André George Previn is a German-American pianist, conductor, and composer. He is considered one of the most versatile musicians in the world and is the winner of four Academy Awards for his film work and ten Grammy Awards for his recordings (and one more for his Lifetime Achievement).
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

I've had the healthy and sobering experience of constantly working with music that is invariably better than any performance of it can be.

Andre Previn

I stuck around in Hollywood for too long. I was there a long time, and when I left, I was smart enough to realise that what I was leaving was not just the movie business. I wanted to get rid of the whole atmosphere.

Andre Previn

I have a great many shortcomings, but writing for something on time has never bothered me.

Andre Previn

John Williams is, without question, talented. He writes very good scores and very good melodies and all that.

Andre Previn

I'm on very good terms with all my former wives.

Andre Previn

When I composed, I heard my music played by the orchestra within days of completion of the score. No master at a conservatory, no matter how revered, can teach as much by verbal criticism as can a cold and analytical hearing of one's own music being ...

Andre Previn

When you're working with music that is invariably better than you are, it's difficult to become swell-headed.

Andre Previn

Elliott Carter does not write the kind of music that the kids go off to school whistling.

Andre Previn

I finally wasn't interested in writing music that played while actors talked.

Andre Previn

A Beethoven symphony should be rehearsed like chamber music, only for a lot more people.

Andre Previn

I found that jazz musicians, possibly more than their classical counterparts, wear long-standing friendships easily and gracefully.

Andre Previn

At MGM, you knew you were going to be working next year; you knew you were going to get paid. But I was too ambitious musically to settle for it. And I wanted to gamble with whatever talent I might have had.

Andre Previn

I run around so much that I finally reasoned that composing is the one musical endeavour which you can do anywhere, anytime.

Andre Previn

I don't write things that are wildly abstractly atonal.

Andre Previn

I admire Elliott Carter endlessly. But I have no ambitions to emulate him.

Andre Previn

People who don't do jazz think it's black magic. But really, it's just a matter of getting used to it. It's fun to gamble. The trick is not to fall back on the things you've done before.

Andre Previn

I don't even have a cell phone. I don't know how they work.

Andre Previn

Author Bio

  • NameAndre Previn
  • DescriptionGerman-American pianist, conductor and composer
  • AliasesAndreas Ludwig Priwin
  • BornApril 6, 1929
  • CountryGermany; United States Of America
  • ProfessionConductor; Pianist; Composer; Songwriter; Jazz Musician
  • AwardsKnight Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire; Academy Award For Best Original Score; Grand Cross Of The Order Of Merit Of The Federal Republic Of Germany With Star; Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award; Glenn Gould Prize