Previn, Sir André [key], 1929–2019, American conductor, composer, and pianist, b. Germany as Andreas Ludwig Priwin. His family fled Nazi Germany in 1938, and he became an American citizen in 1943. A classical music recording artist from 1946, he also made a number of highly successful jazz piano albums in the 1950s, and later (1990s) resumed recording jazz. From 1958 to 2004 he won 10 Grammys in classical and nonclassical categories; he was awarded a lifetime achievement Grammy in 2010. He composed or arranged dozens of film scores (which he wrote about in Minor Chords: My Early Days in Hollywood, 1991) winning four Academy Awards, and also wrote songs, musicals, two operas, concertos, orchestral works, and chamber music. Previn conducted the Houston Symphony (1967–69), the London Symphony (1968–79), and the Royal Philharmonic (1982–92), and served as musical director of the Pittsburgh Symphony (1976–1984) and the Los Angeles Philharmonic (1986–89), where he remained as conductor until 1992. Conductor laureate (from 1993) and conductor emeritus (from 2016) of the London Symphony Orchestra, he continued to compose and perform into the 21st cent. Previn was knighted in 1996 and two years later was awarded a presidential medal.
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