Role

:

Composer  

Country

:

United States of America

Birth

:

July 8, 1900 in Trenton, NJ

Death

:

February 12, 1959 in New York City, NY

Period

:

Contemporary

 

 

Modern

Genre

:

Avant-Garde

 

 

Chamber

 

 

Keyboard

 

 

Orchestral

 

 

Symphony

 

George Antheil was an American composer, pianist, and author who was born on July 8, 1900, in Trenton, New Jersey. He was the son of German immigrants, Henry Antheil and Wilhelmina Pfau. His father was a businessman, and his mother was a musician who played the piano and sang. Antheil showed an early interest in music and began playing the piano at the age of six. Antheil's family moved to Philadelphia when he was nine years old, and he continued his musical studies there. He studied piano with Constantin von Sternberg and composition with Constantine von Sternberg and Hugh Aitken. He also attended the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Rosario Scalero. In 1922, Antheil moved to Europe to further his musical studies. He lived in Berlin, where he studied with Ernst Toch and became involved in the avant-garde art scene. He also met and became friends with other artists, including the painter Fernand Léger and the writer James Joyce. Antheil's early compositions were influenced by the music of Igor Stravinsky and Arnold Schoenberg. He was also interested in the music of jazz and popular music, and he incorporated these influences into his compositions. His first major work was the Ballet mécanique, which he composed in 1924. The piece was scored for a large ensemble of percussion instruments, pianos, and mechanical instruments, including airplane propellers and electric bells. The piece was intended to be performed with a film by the artist Fernand Léger, but the film was never completed, and the piece was not performed in its original form until 1999. Antheil continued to compose throughout the 1920s and 1930s, and his works during this period included the Symphony for Five Instruments, the Jazz Symphony, and the Second Sonata for Violin and Piano. He also wrote music for films, including the score for the 1936 film The Crime of Dr. Crespi. During World War II, Antheil worked for the U.S. government as a weapons designer. He developed a system for synchronizing the firing of machine guns on airplanes, which was used by the U.S. military during the war. After the war, Antheil returned to composing and wrote several operas, including Transatlantic and Volpone. Antheil also wrote several books, including his autobiography, Bad Boy of Music, which was published in 1945. The book was a bestseller and helped to establish Antheil's reputation as an enfant terrible of the music world. Antheil continued to compose and perform throughout the 1950s and 1960s. He wrote several works for orchestra, including the Symphony No. 4 and the Symphony No. 5. He also wrote several works for piano, including the Sonata No. 4 and the Sonata No. 5. Antheil died on February 12, 1959, in New York City. He was 58 years old. His music has been performed and recorded by many musicians and orchestras around the world, and his influence can be heard in the works of many contemporary composers.

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