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9/17/2015 George Antheil Long Biography Music Sales Classical
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George AntheilBorn: 1900Died: 1959Nationality: AmericanPublisher: G. SchirmerPhoto © G. Schirmer Archives
The work of George Antheil, the selfproclaimed "bad boy of music," is marked bysustained rhythmic vitality, harmonic pungency, and melodic vigor. Born on 8 July 1900 inTrenton, New Jersey, Antheil studied with Constantin von Sternberg, Ernest Bloch, andwith Clark Smith at the Philadelphia Conservatory. In 1922, he traveled to Europe topursue a career as a concert pianist, performing in recital many of his own works such asMechanisms, Airplane Sonata, and Sonata Sauvage. The riots that often ensuedcontributed to the composer's growing notoriety. In Berlin, he met Stravinsky who becamean important influence on his compositional style.
The Parisian artistic community, including Joyce, Pound, Yeats, Satie, Picasso, andothers, championed Antheil as musical spokesman for their modernist ideas. His crowningachievement during this period would be the spectacular Ballet mécanique, a milestonein the literature for percussion ensemble. The piece literally shattered conventions and, ina production complete with airplane propellers, created an uproar at its 1927 Americanpremiere in Carnegie Hall.
Later, Antheil would adopt neoromantic and neoclassic elements such as in theSymphonie en fa and Piano Concerto. In 1936, he settled in Hollywood and beganwriting film scores. The last 20 years of his life would be a fertile period, producing foursymphonies as well as several operas including the farcical Volpone. A remarkableachievement in satire and caricature, Volpone is set to a musical score that combines a heterogeneous harmonic languagewith thematic versatility, rhythmic energy, mosaic construction, and colorfully programmatic timbres — all hallmarks of themature Antheil style.
Composed in Berlin in the 1920s, Antheil's Piano Concerto No. 1 had its world premiere in March 2001, and its Berlinpremiere in February 2002. Pianist Michael Rische was the soloist in both performances, first with the BBC Symphony, thenwith the Berlin Philharmonic. Also new to the Schirmer Rental Library are the new edition of Ballet mécanique with MIDIsoftware for performance with player pianos and the arrangment of A Jazz Symphony for piano and 11 instruments by MiltonPhibbs, premiered by 20th Century Unlimited.— April 2002
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