George Antheil (June 8, 1900 – February 12, 1959) was an American composer and pianist of German and Lutheran descent, born in Trenton, New Jersey. (His autobiography, The Bad Boy of Music, is incorrect: he is not of Polish Jewish descent; his family immigrated to the US from Ludwigswinkel, Germany^[1].) He first established a career as a concert pianist, mostly in Europe, but shortly thereafter also attracted notice for his avant-garde compositions, which were strongly influenced by Stravinsky. His most famous work is Ballet mécanique (1926), intended as a concert piece and not as music for dancers, despite the title: it's the machines that are doing the dancing in this piece, which includes parts for electric buzzers and airplane propellers. The ballet was greeted with riot on its first performance, which critics claim was induced and managed by film director Marcel Lherbier for his film L'Inhumaine. During the 1920s he frequently toured playing together with Olga Rudge the violinist and mistress of his friend Ezra Pound. June 8 is the 159th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (160th in leap years), with 206 days remaining. ... 1900 (MCM) was an exceptional common year starting on Monday. ... February 12 is the 43rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A composer is a person who writes music. ... Pianist Glenn Gould, Toronto, 1974 A pianist is a person who plays the piano. ... The Lutheran movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity by the original definition. ... Map Political Statistics Founded c. ... A work similar to Marcel Duchamps Fountain Avant garde (written avant-garde) is a French phrase, one of many French phrases used by English speakers. ... Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (Russian: И́горь Фёдорович Страви́нский Igor Fjodorovič Stravinskij) (June 17, 1882 – April 6, 1971) was a Russian-born composer of modern classical music. ... Ballet mécanique is a 1924 experimental film directed by Fernand Léger and Dudley Murphy with music by George Antheil and starring Alice Prin. ... 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A classical music riot is a riot that occurs upon (usually) the premiere of a controversial piece of classical music. ... Olga Rudge circa 1915 Olga Rudge (13 April 1895 - 15 Mar 1996) was an American born concert violinist. ... Ezra Pound in 1913. ...

In the 1930s Antheil's music grew more traditional, but at the same time he found difficulty making a living, and at various times he wrote film scores, conducted a lonely-hearts column, and wrote for Esquire Magazine. Among other pieces, he wrote a series of articles for Esquire on glandular-analysis (endocrinology was his hobby). Antheil was a good friend of writer Jack Woodford. This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... Esquire is a magazine for men owned by the Hearst Corporation. ... Jack Woodford (1894–1971) was a successful pulp novelist and non-fiction author of the 1930s and 1940s. ...

His autobiography, Bad Boy of Music (1945),was a popular success, and it remains a vivid and entertaining, however not always factual account of his experiences. In the last two decades of his life he was in demand as a composer of operas and film scores. Long after his death, his work in yet another field was belatedly recognized: he and Hedy Lamarr are credited with inventing the frequency-hopping spread spectrum technique for signal transmission in 1942. He died in 1959, in New York City leaving his wife, Boski and Son Peter Antheil, along with another son Chris Beaumont who struggles to be recognized by the Antheil estate and his half brother, Peter. Hedy Lamarr Hedy Lamarr (November 9, 1913 – January 19, 2000) was an actress and communications technology innovator. ... Frequency-hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) is a spread-spectrum method of transmitting radio signals by rapidly switching a carrier among many frequency channels, using a pseudorandom sequence known to both transmitter and receiver. ... This article is about the year. ...

Written Works

• Everyman His Own Detective: A study of glandular criminology (1937)
• The Shape of the War to Come (1940)
• Death In the Dark
• Bad Boy of Music (1945)

Film Scores

• The Spectre Of The Rose
• Buccaneer, The (1938)
• Pride and the Passion, The (1957)
• 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957) (uncredited)
• Young Don't Cry, The (1957)
• Werewolf, The (1956) (uncredited)
• Juggler, The (1953)

Operas

• The Brothers (1954)
• Helen Retires (1930-31)
• Venus in Africa (1954)
• Volpone -- A Satire in Music(1949-52)
• The Wish (1954)
• Transatlantic

Important works

• Ballet mécanique (1924; first version)
• Airplane Sonata (1923)
• Sonate Sauvage (1923)
• Woman Sonata (1923)
• La Femme 100 Tetes (1930s)
• Collected Violin Sonatas (1923, 1940s)
• 6 symphonies (actually 7; there are two versions called 5)
• Operas
• Varied Choral and Orchestral Works
• String Quartets

Ballet mécanique is a 1924 experimental film directed by Fernand Léger and Dudley Murphy with music by George Antheil and starring Alice Prin. ...

Notes

1. ^ Proof of this can be found in his birth records and family records, including records available from his estate. More information is available from the Trenton Historical Society.

External links

• Schirmer.com: George Antheil
• Wikiquote: George Antheil
• Antheil.org
• IMDB page of Antheil's film scores

Listening

• American Mavericks: Program 3 - Oh to be Popular Three Antheil works performed by the San Francisco Symphony
• New Music Jukebox: George Antheil Three works performed by the American Composers Orchestra
• Tate Modern Online: George Antheil La Femme 100 têtes (1933)
• Art of the States: George Antheil Second Sonata for Violin with Accompaniment of Piano and Drums (1923)
• Del Sol Quartet: George Antheil The Complete Works For String Quartet by Del Sol Quartet