Aside from his legendary Ballet mécanique, which still gets played as a kind of souvenir of the madcap 1920s, George Antheil's concert music has mostly fallen into obscurity. In spite of his reputation as an enfant terrible who hobnobbed with the leading lights of the avant-garde, his works attract less attention than the details of his life. Yet this state of affairs might be reversed if this delightful release from CPO gets proper distribution, for the pieces presented here are worth hearing in their own right, in ...
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Aside from his legendary Ballet mécanique, which still gets played as a kind of souvenir of the madcap 1920s, George Antheil's concert music has mostly fallen into obscurity. In spite of his reputation as an enfant terrible who hobnobbed with the leading lights of the avant-garde, his works attract less attention than the details of his life. Yet this state of affairs might be reversed if this delightful release from CPO gets proper distribution, for the pieces presented here are worth hearing in their own right, in addition to whatever biographical interest they may hold. The Piano Concerto No. 1 (1922) has a few obvious touches of Bartók and Debussy, and more than a little borrowing from Stravinsky's Petrouchka, but in spite of these derivative aspects, it is an imaginative composition with lively repartee between the pianist and the orchestra and quicksilver changes of mood. Somewhat more independently developed, consistent in material, and mature in style, the Piano Concerto No. 2...
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