1929年出生于柏林,在柏林高等音乐学校与巴黎音乐院学习钢琴,1939年逃出纳粹德国前往美国,1943年成为美国公民。普列文在美国洛杉矶跟随卡斯泰尔诺沃-泰代斯科学习作曲,最早是弹奏爵土钢琴并为米高梅电影公司编曲。二次大战结束后,普列文跟着法国指挥蒙都学习指挥,1962年受聘于圣路易交响乐团 ,1967年到70年接仟巴毕罗里的位置成为休士顿交响乐团首席指挥,目前则是该乐团荣誉指挥。除了独奏家、指挥家(如:维也纳乐、纽约爱乐与波士顿交响),普列文也演奏室内乐,艾克斯、穆洛娃与马友友……都是经常合作的对象。除此之外,普列文更是个作曲家,他的作包括管弦乐曲、室内乐与电影音乐。由于音乐上的成就,英国女王伊莉莎白二世授予普列文爵士。
普列文是出生于德国柏林的犹太人,在柏林高德音乐学校与巴黎音乐院学习钢琴,1939年逃出纳粹德国前往美国投靠堂兄查理斯普列文。当时查理斯在好莱坞环球电影担任音乐总监。家人决定在洛杉矶定居后,普列文在当地跟随鲁比诺维契学习钢琴、托赫与阿赫隆学习音乐理论,接着又向卡斯泰尔诺-沃泰代斯科学习作曲。在这段期间里,普列文对爵士乐的印象一直停留在 饭店乐团中戴着滑稽帽子的人,但是没有多久,他就迷上了这样的音乐。1943年成为美国公民后,普列文经常在广播或是电影配乐中弹奏爵士钢琴,十六岁已经能够写出相当不错的爵士乐曲。普列文最早的录音约在1945到46年间完成,合作的伙伴都是后来经常合作演奏爵士乐的搭档。这时候,普列文不论演奏或作曲技巧都已经相当成熟,他的演出也得到前辈音乐家的好评。普列文在1950年代都一直在米高梅电影公司任职,他在那儿的第一件差事就是在电影《灵犬莱西》中「写一些歌曲并制造吠声」。徵召入伍后,普列文所属部队驻扎在旧金山,演奏爵士钢琴之馀,普列文开始对严肃音乐产生兴趣,1951年跟着当时在旧金山交响乐团工作的蒙都学习指挥,开始了作曲家、钢琴家与指挥家三重身份。
1953年回到好莱坞后,普列文以自由身份在各处担任指挥或是演奏钢琴,1954年为金凯利的电影编写长约四十分钟的音乐,五八、五九、六三、六四年以电影《金粉世家》、《乞丐与荡妇》、《爱玛姑娘》、《窈窕淑女》得到奥斯卡奖。爵士乐在五、六零年代的加州相当盛行,并且形成相当特别的「西岸爵士」。「西岸爵士」和所谓的「酷派爵士」有一点关係。「酷派爵士」在四零年代与bebop结合后,成为一种更高阶的创作形式以及演奏方法。普列文相当热衷演奏、创作这些音乐,他在这段期间留下不少唱片。不过,这些唱片多半只有标示乐团的名称,并没有特别强调普列文。但是某些个人习惯与特色中,仍然可以分辨出演奏者是普列文。
除了爵士唱片,有些录音,如1956年的《窈窕淑女》也是以别人的名字出版。《窈窕淑女》的热卖造成一股风潮,根据百老汇音乐剧演奏的爵士黑胶唱片也在这个时候出现。普列文在爵士领域最大的成就是在三重奏以及根据着旋律所做的钢琴即兴演奏。这时候,普列文也和着名爵士伸缩号演奏家-杰?杰?强生为哥伦比亚唱片公司录制怀尔的作品。对于一般人来说,电影配乐与录音的工作已经够忙了,但是普列文却同时投入为爵士乐辩护请命的工作,特别是针对好莱坞那些对爵士乐有偏见的人,虽然普列文日后在指挥交响曲及演奏严肃音乐方面也佔有重要的地位。普列文从1962年开始指挥圣路易交响乐团;经过多场客席指挥的邀约后,他在1967到69年接任巴毕罗里的位置成为休士顿交响乐团常任指挥。普列文早在1965年就和伦敦交响乐团合作灌录多张唱片,他在1968年到79年出任该团首席指挥,现在则是伦敦交响乐团的桂冠指挥。
One of the most versatile musicians on the planet, Andre Previn has amassed considerable credentials as a jazz pianist, despite carving out separate lives first as a Hollywood arranger and composer, and then a world-class classical conductor, pianist and composer. Always fluid, melodic and swinging, with elements of Bud Powell, Oscar Peterson and Horace Silver mixed with a faultless technique, Previn hasnt changed much over the decades but can always be counted upon for polished, reliable performances at the drop of a hat.
He started piano lessons in his native Berlin before the Nazi threat forced his family to move to Paris in 1938 and the U.S. the following year. Settling in Los Angeles, the wunderkind Previn began working as a jazz pianist, an arranger for MGM, and a recording artist for Sunset Records while still in high school — and by his 18th year, his first recordings for RCA Victor had racked up substantial sales. Originally swing-oriented, Previn discovered bop in 1950 just before his induction into the Army. Upon returning to Los Angeles, Previn went into overdrive, gigging as a jazz pianist, scoring films and playing chamber music. Forming a smooth boppish trio with Shelly Manne and Leroy Vinnegar, Previn scored a huge crossover hit with an album of jazz interpretations of My Fair Lady, which in turn led to a series of like-minded albums of Broadway scores and kicked off an industry trend.
By 1962, Previn started to make the transition away from Hollywood toward becoming a full-time classical conductor, dropping his jazz activities entirely. He stayed away from jazz for 27 years, with the exceptions of a handful of sessions with Ella Fitzgerald and classical violinist/dabbler Itzhak Perlman. Indeed, in 1984, he was quoted as saying that jazz was an expendable art form for him. But in March 1989, shortly before resigning from the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a dispute with management, Previn returned to jazz with a trio album for Telarc with Ray Brown and Joe Pass, showing that he had not lost an iota of his abilities. Since then, he has returned frequently to the studio as a jazz pianist for Telarc, Angel, Deutsche Grammophon and DRG when not freelancing as a conductor or composing classical scores.