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Dreams (1934-1935)
Guy Livingston:
"In 1934-35, Antheil was working for Ben Hecht and Charlie MacArthur as music director of their film studio in Astoria, Queens, which provided him with valuable new experience in orchestration. And he was composing a dance score for Martha Graham (Dance in Four Parts) based on his piano collection, La Femme 100 Têtes.
"Antheil recalled later that since '[choreographer George] Balanchine was looking for an American ballet sufficiently Parisian! I regret to say that he found exactly the combination of Americanness [sic] and Parisianness he wished in me. He had attended the premiere of [Antheil's opera] Helen Retires, liked it (he was probably the only one), and on the strength of that commissioned me to write him a ballet. I did. It was called Dreams and had a décor by Derain, explained by Balanchine in gorgeous Balanchinesque choreography.'
"While they did share a recent Parisian history, Balanchine had already met Antheil in New York, through an introduction by the Russian dancer Lisa Parnova ... What Antheil doesn't mention is that Dreams had a prior existence, in Paris. It was called Les Songes, and Darius Milhaud wrote the music in 1933. The plot was based on a surrealist poem by the painter André Derain. And Balanchine choreographed the production for his company Les Ballets 1933.
"The following year in New York, Balanchine acquired Derain's sets and costumes, discarded Milhaud's version of the ballet, and asked Antheil to write a new score ... The premiere was on March 5, 1935, in New York City, with the American Ballet and the American Ballet Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sandor Harmati. Derain's plot centers around the dreams and nightmares of a ballerina. In a posed period photo, eight beautiful dancers -- in tight-fitting polka-dotted bodices and flounced long skirts -- reach upward, holding stylized masks above their heads. They wear ecstatically joyful expressions.
"For this recording, Daniel Spalding used the same orchestral parts and comments, 'The score is in Antheil's own hand -- complete with lots of hard-to-read cuts. All the cuts were observed (some of them were pretty long) except one.' [...]
"Antheil plays sarcastically with contradictions: waltz versus march; folk song versus orchestral romanticism ... The score alternates between the inspiring and the insipid: after a banal Introduction, the Andante offers a novel waltz in 2/4 time. The Polka moves with Antheil's trademark enthusiasm, rhythmic drive, and percussive sense. Rat is a tone poem, a musical painting. To prepare for Acrobat, the pianist places a piece of paper softly over the strings before playing -- the effect is Antheil's so-called 'harem theme.' Combined with flute and oboe solos in the high registers, it creates a haunting image. The King's March is rousing Slavic music, with lots of chromaticism over a securely C major bass drum. And, astonishingly, development of the theme, including a reference to the 2/4 waltz. Can-Can, co-orchestrated by the young composer Henry Brant, has much in common with the open orchestration and brief riffs of the piano concerto. The Valse's chromatic modulations return to a predominant and clear tonality. Meanwhile, a strongly indicated metric pulse and lush orchestration place this movement squarely in the Russian school of ballet writing. The end fades out in a manner that promises more, but... Antheil does an about-face and the Finale & Epilogue recaps earlier material in a waltz, with careful doses of bombast, and an intensely difficult piano cadenza. A creepy bit of piano tremolos bring back the 'harem' and Can-Can themes. [...]
"Antheil recalled with pleasure that writing the ballet 'took a considerable while, and in order to get it just right, I had to come to [Balanchine's] classes very often.' Antheil was living a bohemian life with his wife and another artist in an apartment near Carnegie Hall, and remembered those as good times despite the Great Depression: 'Balanchine would occasionally join us, usually arriving at two or three in the morning -- rather late afternoon for us.'
"Unfortunately, Antheil and Balanchine did not complete any more projects together, nor was Dreams ever revived. But the work lived on in several forms: La Vie Parisienne, a collection of solo piano pieces which Antheil composed in 1939, incorporates similar themes and styles. And the Can-Can also exists in a solo piano arrangement of Antheil's: Can-Can from the Ballet Dreams."
Self-described "bad boy of music," George Antheil (1900-1959) is best known for the modernism and iconoclasm of his early works such as Airplane Sonata (1921) and Ballet mécanique (1923-1925). These works were inspired by the composer's interest in machines and time-space theories, the fragmentation of cubist art, and the propulsive music of Igor Stravinsky. From the late 1920's onward Antheil moved away from this modernist aesthetic to a more neoclassic and "fundamentally American style" (Antheil), incorporating folk music from the US into his compositions. He became a respected composer for opera, ballet, musical theater, and film, believing that more popular genres could attract larger audiences for modern music. Antheil's late works bear a highly Romantic sensibility.
Antheil was born in Trenton, New Jersey, the son of a shoe salesman. At six years of age he began studying piano, and in his teenage years studied theory and composition with Constantin von Sternberg in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1919 he moved to New York City to study with Ernest Bloch; two years later he returned to Phildelphia and found a patron in Mary Louise Curtis Bok, founder of the Curtis Institute of Music, who supported Antheil for the next two decades. In 1922 Antheil toured Europe as a concert pianist, becoming a sensation; he based himself in Berlin, Germany, where he met Igor Stravinsky, who had a strong influence on Antheil's musical style.
The next year Antheil relocated to Paris, France, gaining notoriety for the riotous response to his piano recital in October 1923. He came to know a wide circle of artists including Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, Pablo Picasso, Ezra Pound, Erik Satie, Gertrude Stein, and William Butler Yeats. A prominent figure in modernism of the time, Antheil within a few years abandoned the style for a more neoclassical idiom. He became interested in the resurgence of opera in Germany, and composed two operas in the coming years: Transatlantic (1927-1928) and Helen Retires (1930-1931). Antheil travelled widely between Europe and United States during this time, finally returning to New York City in 1933. There he was active in ballet, musical theatre, and film, creating dance scores for choreographers George Balanchine and Martha Graham and film music for directors Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur.
Antheil's interest in film led him to Hollywood, California in 1936. He became a prolific film composer, composing dozens of scores for directors such as Cecil B. DeMille, John Huston, Fritz Lang, and Nicholas Ray. He wrote many articles on film music and a range of other subjects, developed a new tablature notation for piano called SEE-note, and with actress Hedy Lamarr created and patented a 'secret communications system' inspired by player piano technology which later became the basic principle behind cellular communiciation. The 1940's and 1950's proved to be the most fertile period in Antheil's career, as he embraced a new Romanticism and composed a number of well-received symphonies and operas. He died of a heart attack in 1958.
Antheil's music is recorded on many labels including Albany, Arte Nova, Centaur, col legno, CPO, ECM New Series, EMF, Naxos, Other Minds, Pavane, RCA Red Seal, and Wergo.
related websites
http://www.schirmer.com/composers/antheil_bio.html
The Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1991 by music director and conductor Daniel Spalding. Based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the orchestra performs repertoire ranging from Baroque to contemporary music; programs often include world premieres, new discoveries of lesser-known works, arrangements written especially for the orchestra, and standard repertoire, sometimes with added visual effects or stage movement. Since 1996 the Philadelphia Virtuosi has performed widely in the United States and conducted three extensive tours to South America. During the 2007-2008 season the orchestra continues to tour the US and makes its debut in Spain. Spalding has been a guest conductor with orchestras and opera and ballet companies in Europe and North America, and regularly conducts orchestras in Eastern Europe. Recordings of the Philadelphia Virtuosi can be found on the Connoisseur Society, Naxos, and New World Records labels.
related websites
http://www.philadelphiavirtuosi.com
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