Michael Feinstein and Music Luminary André Previn Rediscover Previn Works

Related: Michael Feinstein , André Previn

Michael-Feinstein-and-Music-Luminary-Andr-Previn-Rediscover-Previn-Works-20010101

The supremely talented singer and pianist Michael Feinstein collaborates with legendary composer-conductor-pianist André Previn for an album celebrating Previn's repertoire from his lesser-known catalog of pop songs, including many that were written for film. The album, titled Change of Heart: The Songs of André Previn, is set for release by Telarc International on April 16, 2013.

André Previn, whose career spans seven decades, is a music icon, establishing a stellar presence in classical, jazz, opera, film scoring and musical theater. His life's work is brimming with achievement highlighted by four Oscars and 11 GRAMMY Awards (including a Lifetime Achievement citation in 2010). With such a diverse imprint on the world of music, it is no wonder his list of collaborations are comprised of artists like Shelly Manne, Red Mitchell, J.J. Johnson, Joe Pass, Ray Brown, Ella Fitzgerald, Doris Day, Sylvia McNair, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pederson, Mundell Lowe and, most frequently in recent years, bassist David Finck. Michael Feinstein is now part of this incomparable list.

Feinstein's own vast catalog of recordings features several albums on which he is accompanied by legendary songwriters, performing their own tunes, including Jule Styne, Burton Lane, Hugh Martin and Jay Livingston. However, this recording has its own unique flair with Feintstein's vocals, Previn on piano, and Finck on bass. This is, to the best of Previn and Feinstein's knowledge, the first time Previn has partnered with a male vocalist.

The project began last April when Feinstein telephoned Previn to wish him a happy birthday. "When I called," says Feinstein, "I said I would like to do an album of his songs. There was silence. Finally he said, 'Is there enough?' He was quite serious, because he didn't take into account the voluminous amount of work he had done through the years. I think he came to dismiss his own songs, presuming that because they weren't necessarily hits, they weren't worthwhile or worth revisiting." Says Previn of that initial conversation, "I proposed to Michael that there wouldn't be more than a dozen people who would be interested, but he argued with me, and he is very persuasive, so I said okay."

Page 2 >>