The independent record label CPO continues its in-depth study into the work of George Antheil (1990-1959), the “bad boy” of American avant-garde music. Antheil defied musical conservatism and worked with Ernest Bloch in New York before coming to Paris where he was one of Nadia Boulanger’s first American students. It was here that he became friends with James Joyce and the constructivist painter, Fernand Léger. He was also close to Ezra Pound, a notorious anti-Semite and supporter of Hitler and Mussolini who spent twelve years in a psychiatric hospital in the United States before returning to Europe and keeping a low profile.
It was in Paris that Antheil also composed the Ballet mécanique which was intended to impress the bourgeoisie but only sealed his “bad” reputation. He later turned to opera in a mixture of jazz and American politics and then moved to Hollywood in 1936, where he made a name for himself by inventing an automatic guidance system for torpedoes.
His musical style became softer overtime to the point of becoming decidedly neo-classical, as this album devoted to Serenades 1 & 2 demonstrates. Whilst the first Serenade is destined exclusively for strings, the second one is destined for chamber orchestra and is characterised by its motoric and lyrical composition. After briefly digressing to the short piece Golden Bird with its subtle hints of Asia, the suite Dreams (1930), originally intended as a ballet, then takes us back to the turbulence of his youth with music-hall influences and a mix of the most fashionable dances of the time (waltz, polka and cancan). These works are a veritable pleasure to listen to and reflect the different musical trends of the early 20th century. © François Hudry/Qobuz