Claudia Previn Explained

Claudia Previn
Birth Date:24 June 1954
Genre:Jazz, classic
Occupation:Musician, singer, actress, editor, graphic artist
Instrument:Guitar
Years Active:1964–present
Spouse:Jeffrey Stasny

Claudia Page Previn Stasny (née Previn; June 24, 1954) is an American singer, musician, actress, editor and graphic artist.[1]

She is the eldest daughter of American jazz and big band singer Betty Bennett Lowe and German-American pianist, composer and conductor André Previn KBE, conductor of the Houston, Pittsburgh, and London Symphony Orchestras and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.[2]

Upon Previn's birth, her father wrote Lullaby On The Name of Claudia, Opus 170, No. 9a, published in 1954 by Casa Ricordi and dedicated "to Claudia."[3] The song Claudia was released again in 2021 in the Oldies Selection: Best of André Previn.[4]

Previn is the stepdaughter of the late master jazz guitarist Mundell Lowe.[5]

Early life and education

Previn grew up in Hollywood and attended Highland Hall Waldorf School and played guitar well by age 10.[6] the

She studied under her father as well. About musically instructing her at classical guitar and her younger sister on the violin, André Previn told the Los Angeles Times, "When I help them it's from an abstract view which I like better than if I picked up the instruments and played." She and her sister joined their father on stage at the 44th Hollywood Bowl so he could show them where to put the basket of sheet music he would be using to conduct that evening.[7]

The childhoods of Previn and her sister Alicia, of splitting time between their divorced mother and father and their respective homes in London, New York and Hollywood, are included in the 2016 book Star Babies: The Shocking Lives of Hollywood's Children by Raymond Strait.[8] In July 2024, Previn spoke at the Julian Branch Library about her parents and growing up in Hollywood, what she called "my soap opera life."[9]

Career

Previn's editing advice is included in The Chicago Manual of Styles "Shop Talk."[10] [11]

She performed in fall 2023 in a “Night on the Town” Broadcast Live 1940s-style Radio Show at Julian Town Hall theater[12] Previn is a member of the Julian Theater Company.[13]

Previn graduated from the University of Southern California in 1977 with dual majors in German Language and Literature and Art History.

Previn sang, in costume, two songs, "The Star Spangled Banner" and "God Save the Queen," at the House of England in 2014 to open an event in San Diego's Balboa Park.[14]

In 1995, she performed in Colorado in the Longmont Theatre Company's Much Ado About Chocolate in a quartet featuring Tony White, Terry Strassmann and Susan Nace.[15]

Bibliography

Cover and book design

Book editing

Personal life

Previn is married to Jeffrey Stasny, a jazz and blues drummer, [17] and sings professionally with him. She lives in Julian, California.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Betty Bennett: the chick singer carries on. Bruce. Crowther. December 10, 2019.
  2. Web site: Column: A fond farewell to jazz and big band singer Betty Bennett Lowe. April 14, 2020. San Diego Union-Tribune.
  3. Web site: Lullaby on the name of Claudia.
  4. Web site: Oldies Selection: Best of André Previn. February 8, 2021. open.spotify.com.
  5. Web site: Mundell Lowe dies at 95; guitar great played with Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Everly Brothers and others. George. Varga. December 3, 2017. Los Angeles Times.
  6. Web site: Andre Previn's Ex-Wife An Understanding Gal, pg. 3 . September 17, 1969. Republican Herald.
  7. Web site: The Los Angeles Times 20 Jun 1965, page 57. Newspapers.com.
  8. Book: Star Babies. January 1, 1979. St. Martin's Press. Google Books.
  9. Web site: My Soap Opera Life: Stories From a Showbiz Upbringing. June 23, 2024. Julian Journal.
  10. Web site: 3* Rookie Editing Goofs You Can Stop Making Right Now. Carol. Saller. January 31, 2017.
  11. Web site: The Chicago Manual of Style Online: Search Results. www.chicagomanualofstyle.org.
  12. .Web site: Amazon.com: 9/22/23 performance of "Night on the Town" at Julian Town Hall : Audible Books & Originals. www.amazon.com.
  13. Web site: Julian Theater Company to Present ‘The Sound of Music'. www.julianjournal.com. Cathy. Scott. June 21, 2024. Julian Journal.
  14. Web site: English knights, cute Corgis, Harry Potter and more!. Richard. Schulte. April 15, 2019. coolsandiegosights.com.
  15. Book: Jukebox a blast from the past. Journal-Advertiser. Davis. Joyce. February 7, 1995.
  16. Book: The Motel 6 Chronicles. December 2, 2011. Coastwise Communications. 978-1-886178-05-2 . Google Books.
  17. Web site: Mesa Blue | San Diego Reader. Mesa. Blue. www.sandiegoreader.com.