Conductor, composer and pianist, André Previn continues to redefine the possibilities in his extraordinary career. Mr. Previn is already one of the most distinguished musicians of our time. With the 1998 premiere of his first opera A Streetcar Named Desire in San Francisco and its subsequent PBS telecast and Deutsche Grammophon recording, Mr. Previn (who also conducted the performances and the recording) added new luster to his unique position in the world of music. In recent years, his diverse achievements have won him a succession of honors from Germany's Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit and a Kennedy Center Honor for Lifetime Achievement to a Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Recording and the Grand Prix du Disque for his Streetcar recording. Musical America also named him Musician of the Year. In the 2002-03 season, Mr. Previn began a 4-year term as Music Director of the Oslo Philharmonic.

Mr. Previn's Violin Concerto, written on commission from the Boston Symphony Orchestra for Anne-Sophie Mutter was first performed with the composer conducting in March 2002. Ms. Mutter and Mr. Previn have toured the concerto extensively since its premiere, and a recording of the work was released in 2003 on Deutsche Grammophon.

In the 2004-05 season Mr. Previn composes new works for Anthony Dean Griffey and for the Sacramento Philharmonic in honor of the artist Wayne Thiebaud.

The Emerson String Quartet and Barbara Bonney premiered Mr. Previn's String Quartet (with soprano) at Carnegie Hall in May 2003. During the 1999-2000 season, Mr. Previn had new works premiered and recorded by the Vienna Philharmonic (Diversions) and Renée Fleming (The Giraffes Go To Hamburg and Three Songs of Emily Dickinson). Other recent compositions include a violin work for Anne-Sophie Mutter (Tango, Song, and Dance) and a bassoon sonata. Previous compositions have included a piano concerto for Vladimir Ashkenazy, a violin sonata for Young Uck Kim, a cello sonata for Yo-Yo Ma, songs for mezzo-soprano Janet Baker, sopranos Sylvia McNair and Barbara Bonney, and a music drama — Every Good Boy Deserves Favour — for the London Symphony Orchestra in collaboration with playwright Tom Stoppard.

As guest conductor of the world's major orchestras both in concert and on recordings, André Previn annually appears with the Vienna Philharmonic, both in Vienna and at the Salzburg Festival, as well as the Boston Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras, to name a few. In the past 25 years, Mr. Previn has held the chief artistic posts with such esteemed orchestras as the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra (1985-89); Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (1976-84); Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (Music Director: 1985-88; Principal Conductor: 1988-91); London Symphony Orchestra (Music Director: 1969-79; Conductor Laureate: since 1993); and Houston Symphony Orchestra (1967-70), and has toured with all of them worldwide.
A Streetcar Named Desire, which Mr. Previn set to a libretto by Philip Littell based on Tennessee Williams' play, had its premiere at the San Francisco Opera on September 19, 1998, with soprano Renée Fleming in the role of Blanche du Bois. The opera has since been performed in New Orleans, LA; Strasbourg, France; Austin, TX; St. Gallen, Switzerland; Giessen, Germany; Turin, Italy; Tokyo, Japan; and London, England.

André Previn's discography spans more than 50 years of recordings for all of the major labels. Recent Deutsche Grammophon releases include world premiere recordings of his Violin Concerto and five other Previn compositions, including Diversions, commissioned by the Mozarteum/Salzburg for the Vienna Philharmonic, and The Giraffes Go To Hamburg, written for soprano Renée Fleming. Also among his recent releases for the Decca label is "Live at the Jazz Standard" with bassist David Finck, featuring a variety of jazz standards and new works by Mr. Previn. As a pianist, Mr. Previn enjoys recording and performing song recitals, chamber music and jazz. He recently performed recitals with Renée Fleming at Lincoln Center and Barbara Bonney at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and gave several chamber music concerts with members of the London Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Previn performs and teaches annually at the Curtis Institute of Music and also at the Tanglewood Music Center, where he works with student orchestras, conductors and composers, and enjoys coaching chamber music.

In 1991, Doubleday released Mr. Previn's memoir No Minor Chords — My Early Days in Hollywood, chronicling his years as composer, arranger and orchestrator at the MGM studios.

In 1996, Mr. Previn was awarded a Knighthood (KBE) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
His concert music is published by G. Schirmer, Inc. and Chester Music Ltd.

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