George Antheil: Symphony No. 3 "American"

George Antheil (Composer), Hugh Wolff (Conductor), Hugo Wolf (Conductor), Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Hugh Wolff, Hugo Wolf
• Composer: George Antheil
• Audio CD (November 16, 2004)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Cpo Records
• ASIN: B00068CVO4
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #244,716 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

George Antheil was one of the craziest and most original composers to come out of twentieth-century America, and his life was just as exciting and restless. The Bad Boy of Music, as he aptly termed himself in his autobiography, was not a man for small flames but, from the scandalmonger of the Ballet Mécanique to the serious composer of symphonies, fired up the engines in his quest for his own ego. In the process, he was unsystematic, unorganized, and firmly believed that talent and genius could do it all. Fortunately, fate mostly agreed with him. The chaos of the catalogue of his works and the state of his scores and performance materials, however, bring despair to those who today undertake to sort through his work. We thus are proud to announce, for the first time on CD, Antheil’s Symphony No. 3, composed during 1936-39. It is an American symphony....It is the America of the future, bold, fearless, new, and coming from the very breath of the new continent. The encores also have the appropriate American flair: the Tom Sawyer and McKonkey’s Ferry overtures, the jaunty Hot Time Dance, and the suite to the ballet The Capital of the World.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Terrific Music, March 23, 2005

By 

D. A Wend (Arlington Heights, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: George Antheil: Symphony No. 3 "American" (Audio CD)

The theme of the CD is music by George Antheil reflecting themes of Americana, and what a fabulous disc it is.

After his return to the United States in 1932, George Antheil got some much needed work writing film scores. The Third Symphony was begun in 1936 and completed in 1939. Briefly, it was numbered as his Second Symphony, which was undergoing revision, and the new symphony was also known as the American Symphony. The score has elements of America woven into the music. The long period of composition coincided with George Antheil's re-discovery of America. He eventually settled in California but spent some time traveling during these years from New York to the South and the Western states.

The opening Allegro movement immediately sweeps you up as the pictorial qualities of the music become immediately apparent. There is a lot of music in this movement as if the composer was so excited that he put too much material in it. The result is an exciting start to this symphonic journey. The second movement carries the journey onward. For me, it presents a musical picture of the American West. The themes have a Hispanic influence and there is a dance theme that reminded me of Elmer Bernstein. The third movement, The Golden Spike, was influenced by his music for the film Union Pacific rather than a direct relationship of the driving of the golden spike in 1869. There is a boisterous quality to the music, a bit like Copland, and Antheil also makes use of a theme from Sibelius' Fifth Symphony. The final movement, Back to Baltimore, conjures up visions of the American east coast but has been thought to represent California in character. The music has a sound something like Shostakovich but the style of Antheil's music was set early in his career in works like his opera Transatlantic (first performed in 1930). While we may think of Shostakovich (particularly in the use of the xylophone) it is not the kind of development that the Russian composer would have written.

Tom Sawyer was commissioned by the St. Louis Symphony. It is dance-like in its themes and was also known as California Overture (but not known why the name was applied). The music sounds like a blending of the Third and Fourth Symphonies: charming and witty.
The Hot Time Dance was composed in 1948 and was first played by the Boston Pops. The music has a distinct American flavor and seems influenced by the Romanian Rhapsody's of George Enescu. The opening clarinet solo is particularly evocative of Romanian themes, and the piece goes on exploring Americana variations. Mc Konkey's Ferry was composed to illustrate the famous painting of the crossing of the Delaware River by Washington in 1776. It is an atmospheric overture that sets out to depict the well-known scene. In a way, one could say this is film music for the crossing.

The Capitol of the World is a ballet composed in 1952, based on a short story by Ernest Hemingway. The story centers around bullfighting with Madrid as the capitol of the world. The protagonist Paco dreams of conquering his fear of the bull ring and becoming a famous matador. The suite from the ballet is recorded here and reveals what wonderfully colorful and captivating dance music it is. Reflecting upon the story, the music is influenced by Spanish rhythms, with the contrasts of light and dark on expects from the music of De Falla.

I highly recommend this CD, particularly if George Antheil is new to you. Antheil was one of the most popular American composers in the 1940s and 50s but today he is hardly known. This needs to be changed. The informative booklet has is very detailed to the point of being a short biography of the composer. I noticed that these performances were recorded in 2001; what took so long to get them on CD? I look forward to more music by George Antheil played by the Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Frankfurt and Hugh Wolff.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great CD, January 31, 2005

By 

Miles Massicotte "thedevilsadvocate" (Bristol, CT, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: George Antheil: Symphony No. 3 "American" (Audio CD)

I always wanted to hear Antheil's Third Symphony. I want to hear everything he wrote, but it is hard to come buy. Most of his music is sadly unpublished, and rarely recorded. I am always on the lookout for new Antheil, and this was great. I would especially check out the Hot-Time Dance and Tom Sawyer California Overture. Post-war/neoclassic Antheil at its best!

4.0 out of 5 stars Brash and bold music in excellent performances, May 10, 2011

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G.D. (Norway) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: George Antheil: Symphony No. 3 "American" (Audio CD)

Antheil's music is nothing if not eclectic, but he still manages to get something resembling a personal voice to shine through the obvious influences of Shostakovich and Copland (among others) on the music on this disc. The music is often frenzied and exuberant and brash and a little "raw"-sounding, but it is full of good ideas and a certain strain of lyricism. All the shorter works on this disc are with few exceptions quick-paced and muscular. The Tom Sawyer Overture combines sardonic humor reminiscent of, yes, Shostakovich with something of the Americana-style of Copland's ballets. The Capitol of the World opens busily as well - the Meditation may be quieter, but is also less striking, whereas the final movement is aggressive and spiky. And the two other shorter works, McKonkey's Ferry and Hot Time Dance, are both brash and audacious, slightly bombastic even.

While all of the shorter works are rarely less than enjoyable and interesting, and often quite rewarding, it is certainly the third symphony that is an should be the main attraction. Subtitled "American", the purpose of the work seems to have been to capture the free spirit, boldness and breadth of the continent. Still, there is little of Copland here (though there are some similarities with Schuman's (later) music). The music is muscular, vibrant and generally powerful, harmonically and rhythmically adventurous and inventively (and often unconventionally) scored. While there is a certain dearth of memorable themes, the music more or less successfully accomplishes what it set out to do, and it is overall a pretty rewarding work.

The performances are excellent. The Frankfurt Symphony Orchestra plays the music with all the unabashed impetuousness and vibrant spirit the music calls for - and it is an impressive band; the brass is particularly magnificent, but all the sections provide polished, full-blooded performances. Hugh Wolff knows this music and makes all the intuitively right choices. The sound quality is splendid. Is this disc a novel discovery or indispensable acquisition? I doubt it, but it is still a very recommendable and enjoyable collection.