Leonard Bernstein aside, André Previn, who passed away in February at the age of 89, was perhaps the most complete and accomplished American musician of his generation.

Composer, virtuoso pianist, jazz man and accompanist, over seven decades he worked with everyone from Dame Janet Baker to Ella Fitzgerald leaving his mark on most musical fields of endeavour. But perhaps it is as a conductor that he should be best remembered. From the early-1960s to the mid-1990s, Previn held a series of prestigious posts, chief of which would have to be his 11 years as principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra. Over 35 years, he cut a wide-ranging series of discs for RCA and Columbia, all of which are now owned by Sony who collected them together in a 55-disc box set, originally intended as a 90th-birthday tribute, now a fitting memorial. And what a collection!