George Antheil - Ballet Mécanique (version 1953); etc. (Daniel Spalding)

Information

Composer: George Antheil

• Ballet Mécanique (revised 1953)
• Serenade for String Orchestra, No. 1
• Symphony for Five Instruments (second version)
• Concert for Chamber Orchestra

Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra

Daniel Spalding, conductor

Date: 2001

Label: Naxos

https://www.naxos.com/CatalogueDetail/?id=8.559060

-----------------------------------------------------------

Review

A strong‚ vividly played and recorded survey of Antheil’s idiosyncratic but striking music

George Antheil’s belated representation on CD continues to grow. Although Ballet mécanique is the inevitable selling point here‚ the 1953 revision eschews many of the sonic and rhythmic excesses that give the work its infamy and‚ to be honest‚ its musical appeal. Spalding secures a zestful performance from the Philadelphia Virtuosi‚ less frenetic than the Ensemble Modern‚ with the interlocking ostinatos of pianos and percussion readily invoking Les noces in sound if not substance. Do seek out‚ if you can‚ Maurice Peress’ reconstruction of the 1926 original (MusicMasters‚ 4/94 – nla)‚ for a visceral impact like no other. The other works give a good overview of Antheil’s changing idiom over the greater part of his career. From 1948‚ the First Serenade might seem a continuation of his inter­war neo­classicism‚ yet the chromatic unease which permeates the brusque outer movements‚ and the plaintive solos and chill sul ponticelli of the Andante intimate deeper emotions. The Symphony of 1923 offers a statement of stylistic intent to rival Stravinsky’s Octet‚ though the astringent polytonal writing is more akin to Milhaud’s Chamber Symphonies. Nine years on‚ and the Concert finds the eclipsed composer pursuing understated yet intriguing directions. The succession of mini­ensembles‚ linked by a varied ritornello for the whole group‚ may have its basis in Stravinsky’s Symphonies of Wind Instruments‚ but Antheil’s piece is formally open­ended and emotionally anything but cathartic. Characterful and well­prepared performances‚ cleanly recorded‚ and informative notes from Joshua Cheek. Probably the best disc yet in Naxos’s American Classics series and‚ together with CPO’s emerging symphony cycle‚ confirmation that the self­styled ‘bad boy’ Antheil’s musical legacy is richer and more varied than has been suspected.

-- Gramophone

More reviews:

https://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2001/Oct01/Antheil.htm

https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/5xmq/

http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/n/nxs59060a.php

http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/n/nxs59060b.php

http://www.allmusic.com/album/antheil-ballet-m%C3%A9canique-mw0001546699

https://www.amazon.com/Antheil-Ballet-Mecanique-George/dp/B00005NCYE

-----------------------------------------------------------

George Antheil (July 8, 1900 – February 12, 1959) was an American avant-garde composer, pianist, author and inventor whose modernist musical compositions explored the modern sounds – musical, industrial, mechanical – of the early 20th century. Spending much of the 1920s in Europe, Antheil returned to the US in the 1930s, and thereafter spent much of his time composing music for films and, eventually, television. A man of diverse interests and talents, Antheil was constantly reinventing himself. He also wrote magazine articles, an autobiography, a mystery novel, newspaper and music columns.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Antheil

***

Daniel Spalding (born in Kansas, USA) is a American conductor. For over twenty-two years, Spalding has garnered international acclaim as Music Director of the Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra. His founding and twenty year leadership of the Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra has won him international acclaim through extensive tours in twenty-nine American States, Europe, South America, Bermuda and Mexico as well as a series of award-winning and critically praised recordings. Spalding is currently Music Director of the newly-formed New Jersey Capital Philharmonic in Trenton (since 2013).

https://www.pvco.org/daniel-spalding/

-----------------------------------------------------------

FLAC, tracks

Links in comment

Enjoy!