The rare SPA recordings and private audio documents, 1943-1958. Composer George Antheil (1900-1959) is most remembered for his mechanistic piano music hailed by 1920s Paris, but by 1948, when he'd become the third most- played American-born composer of orchestral music, his style reflected a more emotional, more mature personality. This centennial collection highlights selections from Antheil's later "neo-romantic" period and includes the only recordings of Antheil himself at the piano. A 60-page booklet by Charles Amirkhanian, illustrated with previously unpublished photos, accompanies this 2-CD set. 

Track Listing:

DISC ONE

1-11 - Valentine Waltzes, for piano (1949)

12-19 - Eight Fragments from Shelley, for mixed chorus and piano (1950)

20 - McKonkey’s Ferry Overture, for orchestra (1948)

21-23 - Symphony No. 5, “Joyous” (1947-48)

DISC TWO

1-2 - Two Odes of John Keats, for narrator and piano (1950)‡

3 - “The Prostitute,” from the ballet Capital of the World, for piano (1953)‡

4-5, 8-9 - Stories for Peter, for voice and piano (1942)‡

6-7 - Prediction of Allied Invasion of North Africa (1942)‡

10 - George Antheil Speaks (1958)‡

11 - The SPA Interview (1981) (Charles Amirkhanian interviews Mrs. F. Charles Adler and Norman Fox)‡

‡ World Premiere Recording