Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles or designatory letters, are letters placed after the name of a person to indicate that the individual holds a position, educational degree, accreditation, office, or honour. An individual may use several different sets of post-nominal letters. The order in which these are listed after a name is based on the order of precedence and category of the order. Post-nominal letters are one of the main types of name suffix.

Examples of post-nominal letters:

• A Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire is authorised to use the post-nominal KBE.
• A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts is authorised to use the post-nominal FRSA.
• A Fellow of the American Institute of Architects is authorised to use the post-nominal FAIA.
• An elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh is authorised to use the post-nominal FRSE.
• A Doctor of Philosophy is authorised to use the post-nominal PhD (or, in some cases, DPhil).
• A Franciscan friar (the Order of Friars Minor) uses the post-nominal OFM and a Jesuit (Society of Jesus) uses SJ; a Dominican uses OP (from Order of Preachers); most other Catholic religious institutes have specific post-nominal letters.
• A professional municipal manager or administrator who has been designated as a "Credentialed Manager" by the International City/County Management Association is authorised to use the post-nominal ICMA-CM.
• A Member of the British Association of Social Workers uses the post-nominal MBASW.
• Graduates from British universities may add post-nominal letters, usually in parentheses, after those indicating their degree to show which university granted the degree. For example, a graduate of the Open University can use (Open), Queen's University (SQ), Durham University (Dunelm), University of Exeter (Exon), University of Aberdeen (Aberd), Cranfield University (Cran), University of London (Lond), University of Cambridge (Cantab), and University of Oxford (Oxon). For example, John Smith BA (Cantab) or Peter Pan BSc (Open). In the United States, one may indicate one's major field in parentheses (e.g., PhD (Astrophysics)), but this is rarely seen except on resumes or applications for employment.

Usage[link]

The order in which post-nominal letters are listed after a person's name is dictated by standard practice which may vary by region. In the United Kingdom, the Lord Chancellor's Department recommends the following ordering:^[1]

1. Bt/Bart or Esq
2. Decorations and honours (in descending order of precedence)
3. Appointments (for example, QC for Queen's Counsel, MP for member of parliament)
4. University degrees (in ascending order starting from undergraduate)
5. Religious institutes (for example, SSF) and medical qualifications
6. Fellowship or membership of learned societies, academies or professional institutions (for example, RA, FRCP, FRSA)
7. Membership of the Armed Forces (for example, RAF, RN, RMP)

In the United States, standard protocol is:

1. Religious institutes
2. Theological degrees
3. Academic degrees
4. Honorary degrees, honors, decorations
5. Professional licenses, certifications and affiliations
6. Retired uniformed service (active duty service brackets the name - e.g., Firefighter John Doe, CFD - and active duty armed services do not display postnominals other than branch of service)^[2]

According to both the University of Oxford^[3] and the Chicago Manual of Style^[4], university degrees should be listed in ascending order: bachelor's degrees first, followed by master's degrees, then doctorates. In the U.K., higher awards supersede lower-ranking degrees from the same faculty (for example, John Smith, MA rather than John Smith, BA MA). However, when the awarding institutions are listed and the degrees are from different universities, lower degrees may be included (e.g. John Smith, BA (Wales), MA (Lond)). In the U.S., common practice is to name only the highest degree in a particular discipline (e.g., if one had earned their BS, MS, and PhD in Biology - even from different schools - as well as an MBA in Management, then the preferred listing would be Jane Doe, MBA, PhD).

See also[link]

• List of post-nominal letters
• Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom
• Pre-nominal letters
• Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council
• Religious institute

References[link]

1. ^ "Honours and Decorations". Ministry of Justice. 2008-12-04. http://www.justice.gov.uk/guidance/foa-hons-and-decs.htm. Retrieved 2008-12-06. 
2. ^ "Forms of Address\url=http://www.formsofaddress.info/post_nominals.html". 
3. ^ "Oxford University Calendar: Notes on style". University of Oxford Gazette. 2011-03-17. http://www.ox.ac.uk/media/global/wwwoxacuk/localsites/gazette/documents/universitycalendar/style--current_for_2011.pdf. Retrieved 2011-09-30. 
4. ^ University of Chicago Press Staff (2010). The Chicago Manual of Style (16th Edition). University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-10420-6. 

External links[link]

• Letters afer the Name, Debrett's
• UK Honours (Cabinet Office Ceremonial Secretariat)

Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury, actress
Born	Angela Brigid Lansbury (1925-10-16) 16 October 1925 (age 86) Poplar, London, England
Nationality	English
Occupation	Actress, Singer, Television Producer, Writer
Years active	1943-present
Known for	Murder She Wrote, Mame, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Beauty and the Beast
Spouse	Richard Cromwell (1945–46; divorced) Peter Shaw (1949–2003; his death); 2 children

Angela Brigid Lansbury, CBE (born 16 October 1925) is an English-born US-naturalized actress and singer in theatre, television, and motion pictures. Her career has spanned eight decades and earned an unsurpassed number of performance Tony Awards (tied with Julie Harris), with five wins. Her first film appearance was in the film Gaslight (1944) as a conniving maid, for which she received an Academy Award nomination. Among her other films are The Manchurian Candidate (1962), Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), Beauty and the Beast (1991), and Anastasia (1997).

She expanded her repertoire to Broadway musicals and television in the 1950s and was particularly successful in Broadway productions of Gypsy, Mame and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Lansbury is perhaps best known to modern audiences for her twelve-year run starring as writer and sleuth Jessica Fletcher on the American television series Murder, She Wrote (1984–1996). Her recent roles include Lady Adelaide Stitch in the film Nanny McPhee (2005), Leona Mullen in the 2007 Broadway play Deuce, Madame Arcati in the 2009 Broadway revival of the play Blithe Spirit and Madame Armfeldt in the 2010 Broadway revival of the musical A Little Night Music.

Lansbury has won five Tony Awards, six Golden Globes, and has been nominated for numerous other industry awards, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress on three occasions, and nineteen Emmy Awards.

Early life[link]

Lansbury was born in Poplar, London, to Northern Irish-born actress Moyna MacGill and timber merchant and politician Edgar Lansbury, a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain and former mayor of the London Borough of Poplar.^[1] Her paternal grandfather was the Labour Party leader George Lansbury.^[2] She is the elder sister of twins Edgar Lansbury and Bruce Lansbury, both producers,^[2] and a cousin of the late English animator and puppeteer Oliver Postgate. Another cousin was the academic and novelist Coral Lansbury, whose son is former Australian federal Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull.^[3]

Her earliest theatrical influences were the teenaged actress Deanna Durbin, screen star Irene Dunne and Lansbury's mother, who encouraged her daughter's ambition by taking her to plays at the Old Vic.^{[citation needed]} She attended South Hampstead High School for Girls, the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art from 1939–40, and the Feagin School of Dramatic Art in New York from 1940-42.^[4] Following her father's death from stomach cancer in 1934,^[2] her mother became involved with a Scotsman named Leckie Forbes, and the two merged their families under one roof in Hampstead. A former colonel with the British Army in India, Forbes proved to be a jealous and suspicious tyrant who ruled the household with an iron fist.^{[citation needed]}

Just prior to the London Blitz, Lansbury's mother took her children to New York City. They arrived in NY on August 25, 1940. When her mother settled in Hollywood following a tour of a Noël Coward play, Lansbury (and later her brothers) joined her there.^[5] Lansbury worked at the Bullocks Wilshire department store in Los Angeles.^[6] At one of the parties that her mother hosted for British émigré performers in their Laurel Canyon home, Lansbury met the casting director for the upcoming film Gaslight (1944), and he offered her the part of Nancy Oliver, Ingrid Bergman's conniving maid. This was the 18-year-old Lansbury's first film role.^[6] She was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar^[6] and the following year gained another nomination for her performance as the doomed Sibyl Vane in the film The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945).^[6]

Career[link]

Theatre[link]

Angela Lansbury in Deuce, New York City, 2007

On Broadway, Lansbury first appeared in the plays Hotel Paradiso (1957) and A Taste of Honey (1960). Her first musical was the short-lived Anyone Can Whistle (1964) by Stephen Sondheim.^[7]

In 1966, she played the title role in the musical Mame, Jerry Herman's musical adaptation of the novel Auntie Mame. Mame opened at the Winter Garden Theatre in May 1966, with Stanley Kauffmann writing in the New York Times, "Miss Lansbury is a singing-dancing actress, not a singer or dancer who also acts...In this marathon role she has wit, poise, warmth, and a very taking coolth."^[8] Lansbury received her first Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical.^[9][10]

Lansbury won her second Tony Award for her performance in Dear World (1969).^[11] In 1971, Lansbury was cast in the title role in the musical Prettybelle. After a difficult rehearsal period, the show opened to brutal reviews in tryouts in Boston, where it closed within a week.^[12][13] In 1982, a recording of the show was released by Varèse Sarabande.^[14]

In 1973, the first revival of Gypsy opened in London's West End, with Lansbury starring as Rose.^[15] In September 1974, the same production opened at Broadway's Winter Garden Theatre.^[15] Lansbury received her third Tony for her performance in Gypsy.^[11] In December 1975, she portrayed Gertrude in the Royal National Theatre, London, production of Hamlet, directed by Peter Hall.^[16]

During the summer of 1976, she repeated the title role in Mame at The Muny, St. Louis, Missouri. She was a three-week replacement for the role of Anna in the Broadway revival of The King and I in April 1978.^[17][18]

Lansbury starred as Mrs. Lovett in the original 1979 production of Stephen Sondheim's musical thriller Sweeney Todd. The New York Times reviewer noted that "Her songs ... are awesomely difficult and she does them awesomely well. Her voice is a visible voice; you can follow it amid any confusion".^[19] She later played the role in the first U.S. tour, from 1980 to 1981,^[20] which was taped for television while playing in Los Angeles and broadcast on September 12, 1982.^[21] She won another Tony Award for Actress in a Musical for this role.^[22][23]

Signing autographs for fans after performing in Blithe Spirit, 2009.

She had been cast in the lead role in the 2001 Kander and Ebb musical The Visit, but she withdrew from the show before it opened because of her husband's declining health.^[24] Lansbury returned to Broadway after an absence of twenty-three years in Deuce, a play by Terrence McNally. The play opened at the Music Box Theatre in May 2007 in a limited run of eighteen weeks.^[25] Lansbury received a nomination for Best Leading Actress in a Play for her role.^[11]

She played the role of Madame Arcati in the 2009 Broadway revival of Blithe Spirit, at the Shubert Theatre in March 2009. The New York Times praised her performance,^[26] for which she won several awards, including the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play (her fifth Tony, tying her with Julie Harris, although all of Harris's wins were as Best Actress).^[27]

Lansbury starred as Madame Armfeldt in the first Broadway revival of A Little Night Music, which opened in December 2009 at the Walter Kerr Theatre.^[28] She left the show on June 20, 2010. For this role, she received a 2010 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, but lost to Katie Finneran.^[11]

Film and television[link]

Lansbury in a scene from MGM's Till the Clouds Roll By (1946), one of her earliest film appearances.

Lansbury has enjoyed a long and varied career, sometimes in roles older than her actual age. ^[6] She appeared in films such as Gaslight (1944), National Velvet (1944), The Harvey Girls (1946), Samson and Delilah (1949), Blue Hawaii (1961, co-starring Elvis Presley) and Disney's Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971). She had a prominent supporting role in the 1962 film The Manchurian Candidate in which she portrayed the malicious Mrs. Iselin. She received acclaim for her performance, several industry awards and an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress.^[29][30] Lansbury also starred in several dramas before and during her years of Broadway success, including The World of Henry Orient (1964) and Something for Everyone (1970).^[29]

Lansbury received her much coverage in the media because of her popularity from, and association with, Mame on Broadway in the 1960s. She used her fame to benefit humanitarian causes. For example, when appearing as a guest on the Sunday night CBS-TV show What's My Line?, she made a plea for viewers to contribute to the 1966 Muscular Dystrophy Association fund-raising drive, chaired by Jerry Lewis.^[31]

Lansbury in the trailer for The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)

After many years performing mostly on the stage, Lansbury returned to film in Death on the Nile (1978) and then portrayed Miss Marple in The Mirror Crack'd (1980). She began doing character voice work in the years that followed in animated films such as The Last Unicorn (1982) and Anastasia (1997), and as the singing teapot Mrs. Potts in the 1991 Disney hit, Beauty and the Beast, in which she performed the title song.^[29] She reprised this role in Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas (1997) and in the video game Kingdom Hearts II (2006). Lansbury made her first theatrical film appearance since The Company of Wolves (1984) as Aunt Adelaide in Nanny McPhee in 2005.

Lansbury starred opposite Laurence Olivier in a BBC adaptation of the Broadway play, A Talent for Murder (1983), which she described as "a rushed job" in which she participated solely to work with Olivier.^[32] Afterwards, Lansbury continued to work in the mystery genre and achieved fame as mystery novelist Jessica Fletcher on the U.S. television series Murder, She Wrote (1984–96).^[29] It became one of the longest-running detective drama series in television history.^[33] She assumed ownership of the series and acted as executive producer for the last four seasons. Her brother Bruce became the supervising producer, her son Anthony and step-son David were executive producers, and her husband assisted in running the production company, Corymore Productions.^[33]

On July 5, 1986, she co-hosted (with Kirk Douglas) the New York Philharmonic's tribute to the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty, which was televised live on ABC Television.^[34]

Although she was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, she has never won; nor did she win any of the eighteen Emmy Awards for which she was nominated over a thirty-three-year period. She holds the record for the most Primetime Emmy losses by a performer,^[35] Reflecting on this in 2007, she stated that she was at first "terribly disappointed, but subsequently very glad that [she] did not win", because she believes that she would have otherwise had a less successful career.^[36] However, she has received Golden Globe^[37] and People's Choice awards for her television and film work.^[38]

Lansbury co-starred in Mr. Popper's Penguins, opposite Jim Carrey, released in June 2011.^[39] She is also scheduled to appear in another film, Adaline.^[40]

Writing[link]

She has written books including co-authoring, with Mimi Avins, Angela Lansbury's Positive Moves – My Personal Plan for Fitness and Well-Being (1990).^[41]

Personal life[link]

Lansbury with her children in 1957.

In 1945, Lansbury married American actor Richard Cromwell when he was 35 and she was 19. Cromwell was bisexual,^[42] and the marriage dissolved after a year, but the two reportedly remained friends. In 1949, Lansbury married British-born actor and businessman Peter Shaw. She had two children, Anthony Peter Shaw (born January 7, 1952) and Deidre Angela Shaw (born April 26, 1953). Shaw was instrumental in guiding and managing Lansbury's career. They were married for 54 years until his death in January 2003.^[43]

Lansbury became a naturalized US citizen in 1951.^[44]

She is the mother of two, stepmother of one and a grandmother. A fire destroyed the family's Malibu home in September 1970, prompting a move to a rural area of County Cork in Ireland.^[6] Her daughter and son-in-law, a chef, are restaurateurs in West Los Angeles.^[45] Her son Anthony Shaw, after a brief fling with acting, became producer/director of Murder, She Wrote and currently is a television executive and director.

Lansbury's half-sister Isolde was married to Peter Ustinov for some years, but they divorced in 1946.^[6] Lansbury and Ustinov appeared together once in Death on the Nile (1978). She is related by marriage to actress Ally Sheedy, ex-wife of her nephew David Lansbury.^[46] Both her brothers, twins Bruce and Edgar, are successful theatre producers: Edgar was instrumental in bringing Godspell to Broadway, and Bruce Lansbury was a television producer for such shows as The Wild Wild West and Mission: Impossible and Murder, She Wrote.

Lansbury was a long-time resident of Brentwood, a neighbourhood of Los Angeles, California, where she supported various philanthropies. She had knee-replacement surgery on July 14, 2005. She had two hip replacement surgeries.^[47] In 2006, she moved to New York City, purchasing a condominium at a reported cost of $2 million. The following year, she returned to Broadway in Deuce, opposite Marian Seldes.^[45] Lansbury's papers are housed at the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University.^[48]

Credits[link]

Filmography[link]

Theatre[link]

Bibliography[link]

Lansbury, Angela; Avins, Mimi (1990). Angela Lansbury's Positive Moves – My Personal Plan for Fitness and Well-Being. Delacorte Press (New York City). ISBN 978-0-385-30223-4.

Honors and awards[link]

Tony Awards[link]

Lansbury has won five Tony Awards, tying Julie Harris for the most any performer has received (although Harris has won six Tony Awards, one is a Special Tony Award):^[55]

• 1966 – Best Actress in a Musical for Mame
• 1969 – Best Actress in a Musical for Dear World
• 1975 – Best Actress in a Musical for Gypsy
• 1979 – Best Actress in a Musical for Sweeney Todd
• 2009 – Best Featured Actress in a Play for Blithe Spirit

In addition, she was nominated in 2007 for her leading role in the play Deuce for the Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play^[56] and in 2010 for her featured role in the revival of the musical A Little Night Music for the Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical.^[57][58]

Awards and recognition[link]

• Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year (1968)
• George and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement, UCLA Spring Sing, 1988 ^[59]
• In 1994, Queen Elizabeth appointed her a Commander of the Order of the British Empire "for services to the dramatic arts."^[60]
• In 1995, she was given the Disney Legend award.^[61]
• In 1996, she was awarded the Women in Film Lucy Award in recognition of her excellence and innovation in her creative works that have enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television.^[62]
• Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award (1996)
• Television Critics Association Awards — Career Achievement Award (1996)
• In 1997, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts.^[63]
• She has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for film (North side of the 6600 block of Hollywood Boulevard) and one for television (West side of the 1500 block of Vine Street).^[64]
• She received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2000.^[65]
• The New Dramatists Lifetime Achievement Award (2000)^[66]
• The Acting Company's First Lifetime Achievement Award (2002).^[67]
• BAFTA Awards – Britannia Award for Lifetime Achievement (2003)
• The Actor's Fund of America Lifetime Achievement (2004)^[68]
• The Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa degree from the University of Miami (2008). She was also the guest speaker at the commencement ceremony.^[69]
• Drama League Awards – The Unique Contribution to the Theatre Award (2009)
• Drama League Honors (2010)^[70]
• Signature Theatre Sondheim Award (2010)^[71]
• Honorary Chairman of the American Theatre Wing (2010)^[72]
• Inductee, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	Film portal
	Musical Theatre portal
	Theatre portal
	Television portal

• List of American film actresses
• List of American television actresses
• List of British actors and actresses
• List of people from Los Angeles
• List of people from New York City
• List of people from Tower Hamlets

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Edelman, Rob; Kupferberg, Audrey E. (1996). Angela Lansbury, A life on stage and screen. Secaucus, NJ: Carol Publishing Corporation. ISBN [[Special:BookSources/1-55972-327-5|1-55972-327-5]]. 
• Gottfried, Martin (1999). Balancing Act: The Authorized Biography of Angela Lansbury. New York: Little, Brown & Company. ISBN 0-316-32225-3. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Angela Lansbury

• Angela Lansbury at the Internet Broadway Database
• Angela Lansbury at the Internet Movie Database
• Angela Lansbury at the TCM Movie Database
• Angela Lansbury Archive of American Television Interview recorded 15 September 1998
• Angela Lansbury on American Theatre Wing's Downstage Center
• Angela Lansbury Collection at Boston University
• 2009 Michael Portantiere interview with Angela Lansbury by The Sondheim Review
• Literature on Angela Lansbury^{[dead link]}
• Angela Lansbury on TCM's Private Screenings with Robert Osborne

André George Previn, KBE (born Andreas Ludwig Priwin; April 6, 1929^[1]) 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.

Early life[link]

Previn was born in Berlin, Germany, the son of Charlotte (née Epstein) and Jack Previn, who was a lawyer, judge, and music teacher.^[2] He is said to be "a distant relative of" the composer Gustav Mahler.^[3] However, In a pre-concert public interview at the Lincoln Center, in May 2012, Previn laughed at the suggestion that he is related to Mahler. The year of his birth is uncertain. Whilst most published reports give 1929,^[1] Previn himself has stated that 1930 is his birth year.^[4] This situation is a consequence of his the family losing Previn's birth certificate when they left Germany in 1938.^{[citation needed]} His elder brother was director Steve Previn.^{[citation needed]} The Previn family, which was Jewish,^{[citation needed]} emigrated to the United States in 1939 to escape the Nazi regime in Germany.^{[citation needed]}

In 1939, his family moved to Los Angeles, where his great-uncle, Charles Previn, was music director of Universal Studios. André grew up in Los Angeles and became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1943. At Previn's 1946 graduation from Beverly Hills High School he played a musical duet with Richard M. Sherman; Previn played the piano, accompanying Sherman (who played flute). He first came to prominence by arranging and composing Hollywood film scores in 1948. Coincidentally, 21 years later, both composers won Oscars for different films, both winning in musical categories.

Work as a pianist[link]

In the mid-to-late 1950s, and more recently, Previn toured and recorded as a jazz pianist. In the 1950s, mainly recording for Contemporary Records, he worked with Shelly Manne, Leroy Vinnegar, Benny Carter, and others. An album he recorded with Manne and Vinnegar of songs from My Fair Lady was a best-seller (see My Fair Lady (Shelly Manne album)). As a solo jazz pianist, Previn largely devoted himself to interpreting the works of major songwriters such as Jerome Kern (recorded in 1959), Frederick Loewe, Vernon Duke (recorded in 1958), and Harold Arlen (recorded in 1960). Previn made two albums with Dinah Shore as arranger, conductor, and accompanist in 1960, and another, the unjustly neglected "Duet", with Doris Day in 1961. He made appearances on The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford as well as The Dinah Shore Chevy Show. He collaborated with Julie Andrews on a collection of Christmas carols in 1966, focusing on rarely heard carols. This popular album has been reissued many times over the years and is now available on CD. His main influences as a jazz pianist include Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, and Horace Silver. Previn has also recorded classical piano compositions by Mozart, Gershwin, Poulenc, Shostakovich, and others.

Work as a conductor[link]

In 1967, Previn succeeded John Barbirolli as music director of the Houston Symphony Orchestra. In 1968, he began his tenure as principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO)^[5], serving in that post until 1979. During his LSO tenure, he and the LSO appeared on the BBC Television programme André Previn's Music Night. From 1976 to 1984, he was music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) and, in turn, had another television series with the PSO entitled Previn and the Pittsburgh. He was also principal conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra from 1985 to 1988.

In 1985, he became music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Although Previn's tenure with the orchestra was musically satisfactory, other conductors including Kurt Sanderling, Simon Rattle, and Esa-Pekka Salonen, did a better job at selling out concerts. Previn clashed frequently with Ernest Fleischmann (the orchestra's Executive VP and General Manager), most notably when Fleischmann failed to consult him before naming Salonen as Principal Guest Conductor of the orchestra, complete with a tour of Japan. Because of Previn's objections, Salonen's title and Japanese tour were withdrawn; however, shortly thereafter, in April 1989, Previn resigned. Four months later, Salonen was named Music Director Designate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, officially taking the post of Music Director in October 1992.^[6]

Compositions[link]

Previn has composed film scores and other musical works, including concertos for piano, violin, cello, and guitar. He has also adapted and conducted the music for several films, some of them stage-to-film adaptations, such as My Fair Lady, Kismet, Porgy and Bess, and Paint Your Wagon. Several were written especially for film, including the Academy Award-winning Gigi. Several of the film scores were collaborations with his second wife, Dory Previn.

In later years, he has concentrated on composing classical music. He collaborated with Tom Stoppard on Every Good Boy Deserves Favour,^[7] a play with substantial musical content, which was first performed in London in 1977 with Previn conducting the LSO. His first opera, A Streetcar Named Desire, premiered at the San Francisco Opera in 1998. His second opera, Brief Encounter, based on the 1945 movie of the same name, was premiered at Houston Grand Opera on May 1, 2009. His numerous other classical works include vocal, chamber, and orchestral music.

Opera[link]

• A Streetcar Named Desire (1997, premiered in San Francisco in 1998)
• Brief Encounter (2007, premiered in Houston in 2009)

Theater[link]

• A Party with Betty Comden & Adolph Green (1958) – a revue with Previn as featured songwriter
• Coco (1969) – a musical with words by Alan Jay Lerner
• The Good Companions (1974) – a musical with a book by Ronald Harwood and lyrics by Johnny Mercer
• Incidental Music for Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1976) – a play for actors and orchestra with words by Tom Stoppard

Orchestral Music[link]

• Cello Concerto 1 (1960)
• Guitar Concerto (1971)
• Principals for Orchestra (1980)
• Piano Concerto (1984)
• Diversions for Orchestra (1999)
• Violin Concerto 1 “Anne-Sophie” (2001)
• Concerto for Violin, Double Bass and Orchestra (2004)
• Night Thoughts for Orchestra (2005)
• Harp Concerto (2007)
• Owls for Orchestra (2008)
• Concerto for Violin, Viola and Orchestra (2009)
• Cello Concerto 2 (2010)
• Violin Concerto 2 (2010)
• Triple Concerto for French Horn, Trumpet and Tuba (2012)

Chamber Music[link]

• Four Outings for Brass (1974)
• Peaches for Flute and Piano (1978)
• Triolet for Brass (1985)
• Trio 1 for Piano, Oboe and Bassoon (1985)
• A Wedding Waltz for 2 Oboes and Piano (1986)
• Cello Sonata (1993)
• Violin Sonata “Vineyard” (1994)
• Bassoon Sonata (1997)
• Trio 2 for Piano, Violin and Cello (2008)
• Octet for Eleven (2010)
• Clarinet Sonata (Prague, 2010)
• Clarinet Quintet (2011)

Piano Music[link]

• Paraphrase on a Theme of William Walton (1973)
• Matthew's Piano Book (10 pieces for students) (1979)
• Variations on a Theme by Haydn (1990)

Songs and Song Cycles[link]

• You’re Gonna Hear From Me (for ‘Inside Daisy Clover’) (1965)
• Gotta Get Off, Gonna Get (Theme from ‘Valley of the Dolls’) (1967)
• Five Philip Larkin Songs (1977)
• Song Cycle “Honey and Rue” (1992)
• Sallie Chisum Remembers Billy the Kid (1994)
• Four Toni Morrison Songs (1994)
• Three Emily Dickinson Songs (1999)
• Sieben Lieder (Seven Songs) (2006)

Film Scores[link]

Original Scores[link]

• Three Little Words (1950) — together with composer Harry Ruby
• The Girl Who Had Everything (1953)
• Bad Day at Black Rock (1954)
• It's Always Fair Weather (1955)
• The Subterraneans (1960)
• Elmer Gantry (1960)
• Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1961)
• Long Day's Journey into Night (1962)
• Two for the Seesaw (1962)
• Dead Ringer (1964)
• Inside Daisy Clover (1965)

Arrangement of Original Scores by Others[link]

• The Secret Garden (1949) — arrangement of Bronislau Kaper's music
• Gigi (1958) — arrangement of Loewe's music
• Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967) — arrangement of Elmer Bernstein's music

Arrangement for Film of Stage Musical or Opera[link]

• Kiss Me, Kate (1953) — after Porter's musical
• Silk Stockings (1957) — after Porter's musical
• Porgy and Bess (1959) — after Gershwin's opera
• Bells Are Ringing (1960) — after Styne's musical
• My Fair Lady (1964) — after Loewe's musical
• Paint Your Wagon (1969) — after Loewe's musical
• Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) — after Webber's musical

Arrangement for Film of Music by Others[link]

• The Music Lovers (1970) — arrangement of Tchaikovsky's music
• Rollerball (1975) — arrangement of music by Bach, Shostakovich, and Tchaikovsky

Jazz[link]

• My Fair Lady (1956)
• Double Play! (1957)
• Pal Joey (1957)
• Gigi (1958)
• André Previn Plays Songs by Vernon Duke (1958)
• André Previn Plays Songs by Jerome Kern (1959)
• King Size! (1959)
• West Side Story (1959)
• Like Previn! (1960)
• André Previn Plays Songs by Harold Arlen (1960)
• Duet (1962)
• Nice Work if You Can Get It (1983) with Ella Fitzgerald
• After Hours (1989)
• Uptown (1990)
• Old Friends (1992)
• Kiri Sidetracks: The Jazz Album (1992)
• Alone: Ballads for Solo Piano (2007)

Recordings[link]

Previn's many recordings include the three ballets of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker), and the complete symphonies of Ralph Vaughan Williams, all with the LSO. With the Los Angeles Philharmonic, he made other recordings of music by Sergei Prokofiev (most notably, the Symphonies 1 and 5, the score to Alexander Nevsky, and the Symphony-Concerto for Cello & Orchestra with Heinrich Schiff as soloist), symphonies and other pieces by Antonín Dvořák, and works by contemporary composers including William Kraft, John Harbison, and Harold Shapero. His recordings of works by Rachmaninoff, Gershwin, William Walton, and Shostakovich have been particularly prized.

He has made jazz recordings in two periods of his career: in the 1950s and early 1960s and then again since the 1980s. With bassist David Finck he has recorded a collection of George Gershwin standards ("We Got Rhythm: Gershwin Songbook") and Duke Ellington classics ("We Got It Good & That Ain't Bad: an Ellington Songbook"), both on the Deutsche Grammophon label.

Television[link]

Previn became known to a broad public through his television work. In the United Kingdom he worked on TV with the London Symphony Orchestra. In the United States the TV show "Previn and the Pittsburgh" (1977) featured him in collaboration with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

Previn is particularly remembered in Britain for his performance as "Mr. Andrew Preview" (or "Privet") on the Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show in 1971, which involved his conducting a performance of Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto with Eric Morecambe as the comically inept soloist. At one point during the sketch "Mr Preview" accuses Eric Morecambe of playing all the wrong notes; Eric retorts that he has been playing "all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order".^[8] Because of other commitments the only time available for Previn to learn his part in the show was during a transatlantic flight but the talent he showed for comedy won high praise from his co-performers. At a concert with the Grieg Concerto in Britain afterwards, Previn had to pause the playing to allow the audience time to stop giggling as they remembered the sketch. Previn himself notes that people in Britain still recall the sketch years later: "Taxi drivers still call me Mr Preview".^[1]

Personal life[link]

Previn has been married five times. His first three marriages, to Betty Bennett (with whom he had two children), to Dory Langan, and then to Mia Farrow, kept him in the public eye. He is the father of Lovely Previn, who was violinist for the Irish band In Tua Nua. Previn and Farrow had three children together, twins Matthew and Sascha, born February 26, 1970, and Fletcher, born March 14, 1974. In 1973 and 1976, respectively, Previn and Farrow adopted Vietnamese infants Lark Song and Summer "Daisy" Song (born October 6, 1974). Lark died on Christmas Day of 2008.^[9] He is also the adoptive father of Soon-Yi Previn, who was adopted from Korea at age 8 (born October 8, 1970). After his fourth marriage (to Heather Sneddon in 1982, with whom he had one child) ended in 2002, Previn wed the German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, and later wrote a violin concerto for her. They divorced in 2006, but remain on amicable terms and have continued to work together in concerts.^[10][11] Previn wrote a memoir of his early years in Hollywood, No Minor Chords, which was published in 1991.

Awards and recognitions[link]

Previn has received a total of thirteen Academy Award nominations, winning in 1958, 1959, 1963 and 1964. He is one of few composers to accomplish the feat of winning back-to-back Oscars, and one of only two to do so on two occasions (the other being Alfred Newman). In 1970 he was nominated for a Tony Award as part of Coco's nomination for Best Musical. In 1977 he became an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music.^[12] The 1977 television show Previn and the Pittsburgh was nominated for three Emmy awards. Previn was appointed an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1996.^[13] (Not being a citizen of a Commonwealth Realm, he may use only the post-nominal letters KBE and not the title "Sir André".) Previn received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1998 in recognition of his contributions to classical music and opera in the United States. In 2005 he was awarded the international Glenn Gould Prize and in 2008 won Gramophone magazine's Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in classical, film, and jazz music.^[14] In 2010, the Recording Academy honored Previn with a Lifetime Achievement Grammy.

Academy Awards[link]

Best Music – Scoring of a Musical Picture

• 1958 Gigi
• 1959 Porgy & Bess

Best Score – Adaptation or Treatment

• 1963 Irma la Douce
• 1964 My Fair Lady

Grammy Awards[link]

Best Instrumental Soloist

• 2005 Previn: Violin Concerto; Bernstein: Serenade for Solo Violin, Strings, Harp and Percussion

Best Classical Crossover Album

• 2003 Korngold: The Sea Hawk, Captain Blood with the London Symphony Orchestra

Best Chamber Music Performance

• 1999 American Scenes: Copland, Previn, Barber, Gershwin

Best Choral Performance

• 1974 William Walton: Belshazzar's Feast with the London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus
• 1977 Rachmaninoff: The Bells with the London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus

Best Performance by an Orchestra

• 1960 Like Young with the David Rose Orchestra

Best Sound Track Album

• 1959 Gigi
• 1960 Porgy and Bess

Best Jazz Performance – Soloist or Small Group

• 1961 West Side Story
• 1962 Previn Plays Harold Arlen

References[link]

External links[link]

Biography portal

Videos[link]