Here Hugh Wolff leads the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra in the third volume of a series surveying the orchestral music of George Antheil. It's hard to imagine how Wolff and his crew are going to be able to top this one, as it brings together some of the cream of this repertoire in flawless, sharply etched performances that are big-boned and relentlessly exciting. Antheil's Symphony No. 3 "American" is a great American symphony, easily qualified to take its place of honor alongside the "Third" symphonies of his ...
Read More
Here Hugh Wolff leads the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra in the third volume of a series surveying the orchestral music of George Antheil. It's hard to imagine how Wolff and his crew are going to be able to top this one, as it brings together some of the cream of this repertoire in flawless, sharply etched performances that are big-boned and relentlessly exciting. Antheil's Symphony No. 3 "American" is a great American symphony, easily qualified to take its place of honor alongside the "Third" symphonies of his contemporaries Roy Harris and Aaron Copland. By the end of the 1940s Antheil was the third most frequently performed American composer in concert halls after Copland and Samuel Barber, but this exalted reputation did not survive his early death in 1959. In listening to the "American" Symphony one wonders why not, as it has all of the necessary hallmarks; big city complexity, open prairie landscapes, memorable tunes, and nervous, incessant rhythms derived from jazz. Everyone who loves the...
Read Less