Previn and the Pittsburgh

 

Previn and the Pittsburgh was a TV show featuring André Previn as music director of the PSO. Produced by Pittsburgh's PBS station, WQED-TV, its 27 episodes were broadcast from 1977 to 1979. Below is an episode guide, with summaries (but not titles) taken from TVGuide.com.

 

Brahms and Prokofiev Symphonies

Symphonies by Brahms and Prokofiev are performed by conductor André Previn and the Pittsburgh Symphony. Brahms' Second Symphony has a pastoral mood and sunny melodies reflecting the summer (1887) in which it was composed. Prokofiev's 1917 "Classical Symphony" evokes works composed a century earlier and inspired a neoclassical revival.

 

Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast

Sir William Walton's dramatic oratorio "Belshazzar's Feast," which tells the Biblical story of the fall of Babylon, is performed by Andre Previn and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra with bass-baritone John Shirley-Quirk and the Penn State University Choir. In an interview, Walton discusses the 1931 work.

 

Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3

Pianist Horacio Gutierrez joins Andre Previn and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra for Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3. Also: a discussion of Rachmaninoff's artistry by Previn and Gutierrez.

 

Mozart as a Keyboard Prodigy

Mozart's keyboard works are surveyed by host and Pittsburgh Symphony conductor Andre Previn, who plays Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, and excerpts from several duets (featuring Patricia Prattis Jennings). Also: a look at Mozart's career as a touring child prodigy.

 

Oscar Peterson

Jazz pianist Oscar Peterson joins host Andre Previn to talk about Art Tatum and his style and influence. The two improvise on "Sweet Lorraine" and Peterson does "Body and Soul," "Love Is a Simple Thing" and excerpts from "Canadian Suite."

 

Impressionism

The Impressionist period in music is evoked by host Andre Previn and the Pittsburgh Symphony as they perform Debussy's "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun" and "Nocturnes"; Ravel's "Daphnis and Chloe"; Ibert's "Ports of Call"; and Chabrier's "Espana." Also: a discussion of Impressionist painters with guest Thomas Hoving.

 

Dame Janet Baker Sings Previn

English mezzo-soprano Dame Janet Baker performs songs written for her by Andre Previn, who accompanies her at the piano. The songs are based on the work of poet Philip Larkin and include "Morning Has Spread Again," "Home Is So Sad" and "The Trees."

 

Rehearsal of Haydn Symphony No. 87

Andre Previn lets cameras in on a rehearsal of the Pittsburgh Symphony. The orchestra goes through the third movement of Haydn's Symphony No. 87 in A Major and the last movement of Ravel's "Rhapsodie Espagnole."

 

Stephen Sondheim

In a conversation taped in London, composer Stephen Sondheim talks about his musicals, influences on his work and how his style has developed. Members of the London cast of "Side by Side by Sondheim" perform a selection of his songs, including "Send In the Clowns" and "Barcelona."

 

Yedhudi Menuhin and Chamber Music

Yehudi Menuhin concert of chamber music that also features cellist Ann Martindale Williams and Andre Previn on piano. They perform Beethoven's Trio in C Minor.

 

Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky

Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 in B Flat Minor and Stravinsky's "The Firebird" are performed by the Pittsburgh Symphony, with conductor Andre Previn and soloist Horacio Gutierrez. "The Firebird" was Stravinsky's first ballet score and won him worldwide acclaim.

 

Tom Stoppard

Andre Previn and Tom Stoppard collaborated on "Every Good Boy Deserves Favour," a play for actors and symphony orchestra set in a Soviet psychiatric hospital. The plot concerns an incarcerated dissident and his insane cellmate who insists he's conducting an orchestra. Following the performance, Previn and Stoppard discuss the work.

 

Stern, Zuckerman, Rosen Play Mozart

Isaac Stern (viola), Pinchas Zuckerman (violin), Nathaniel Rosen (cello) and host Andre Previn (piano) perform selections of Mozart chamber music including the D Minor Duo for Violin and Viola, and the G Minor Quartet.

 

Film Music 1

A program of film music, highlighted by the "Star Wars" theme, conducted by its composer John Williams. Andre Previn conducts the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in excerpts from Aaron Copland's suite from "The Red Pony" (1949); Sergei Prokofiev's suite from "Lieutenant Kije" (1934); Sir William Walton's music for "Henry V" (1944); Jerry Goldsmith's score for "The Blue Max" (1966).

 

Concertos by Mozart and Walton

Mozart's Concerto for Two Pianos in E Flat and Sir William Walton's Concerto for Violin and Orchestra are performed in this Pittsburgh Symphony concert. Soloists: conductor Andre Previn, and Patricia Prattis.

 

Strauss’s Alpine Symphony

Richard Strauss's "Alpine Symphony" is performed by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Andre Previn. The 1915 work celebrates the Bavarian Alps.

 

Britten

A tribute to British composer Benjamin Britten features tenor Robert Tear and French-horn player Barry Tuckwell performing with Andre Previn and the Pittsburgh Symphony. They present Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, and the ballet suite "Prince of the Pagodas."

 

Brahms’s A German Requiem

Andre Previn conducts the Pittsburgh Symphony and the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh in Brahms' "A German Requiem." Soloists: soprano Barbara Hendricks and baritone Ryan Edwards. Previn discusses the work.

 

Yo-Yo Ma and England

Edward Elgar's Concerto in E Minor is performed by cellist Yo-Yo Ma and the Pittsburgh Symphony in a musical salute to England. Also: the finale of Walton's Second Symphony.

 

Orff’s Carmina Burana

"Carmina Burana," Carl Orff's 1937 choral work, is presented by Andre Previn and the Pittsburgh Symphony and the Penn State Choir. Soloists are Sheila Armstrong, Enrico di Giuseppe and Hakan Hagegard. The work uses 13th-century lyrics and a variety of percussion instruments.

 

Isaac Stern and Chamber Music

Violinist Isaac Stern joins Andre Previn to discuss and perform chamber music. The two are joined by Pittsburgh Symphony cellist Michael Grebanier in excerpts from two Beethoven pieces, the Sonata for Violin and Piano in C Minor and "Archduke Trio." Also: Franck's Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Major.

 

Itzhak Perlman

Violinist Itzhak Perlman joins host-conductor Andre Previn and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra for jazz and classical pieces. Perlman also discusses his technique.

 

Strauss’s Don Quixote with Nathaniel Rosen

Cellist Nathaniel Rosen is the featured soloist as Andre Previn conducts the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in Richard Strauss's 1897 tone poem "Don Quixote." Also: Rosen and Previn play the second movement from Prokofiev's Sonata No. 2 for Cello and Piano.

 

Comden and Green

Musical-comedy writers Betty Comden and Adolph Green reflect on and sing selections from their stage and movie hits. Included: "New York, New York" from "On the Town"; tunes from "Bells Are Ringing," "Peter Pan," "Wonderful Town," "It's Always Fair Weather" and "Do Re Mi." André Previn is the host.

 

Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Fitzgerald joins Andre Previn and the Pittsburgh Orchestra in a 1979 concert. Ella talks about her early career and working with Basie and Ellington, but mostly she sings. The songs include "Lady Be Good," "I Won't Dance," "Hard-Hearted Hannah" and "They Can't Take That Away from Me." Ella is backed by Paul Smith (piano), Jimmie Smith (percussion) and Keter Betts (bass).

 

Sibelius by Perlman

Itzhak Perlman joins Andre Previn and the Pittsburgh Symphony for Sibelius's Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D Minor. Previn (on piano) and Perlman also play Previn's "Two Little Serenades."

 

Film Music 2

Film scores are discussed and performed by Pittsburgh Symphony conductor Andre Previn and composers Miklos Rozsa and John Williams. Music included from "Ben Hur" (1959), "Superman" (1978), "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1977) and "Psycho" (1960).