André Previn, the classical maestro who knew the value of pop culture | Petroc Trelawny
His charismatic TV appearances won the conductor huge fame and introduced millions to Mozart and Grieg
In 1977, André Previn was so famous that he had his own chatshow on BBC1. In one episode, wearing an expensive-looking brown suede safari jacket with big collar, and clutching his oversize glasses in his hands, he introduces the studio audience to Jonathan Miller. They discuss Miller’s new production of The Merchant of Venice, the director going on to predict the “slow disintegration” of English theatre.
It’s a real spirit-of-the-age moment. There is no apology for the elevated tone of their conversation; the format is simple – two cultural polymaths ruminating on the
