George Antheil – Symphony no. 3 etc. (2004)

We all know the phenomenon of The Great American Novel, the one that’s never been written and probably never will be, although everybody concerned with serious literature tried; analogically, various composers gave it an effort to write the Great American Symphony. Such was definitely Antheil’s intention too when he composed this piece…and because he wasn’t quite satisfied with the final result himself, we might say he failed.
In general, critics observed there was lack of coherence in this piece; it would be four symphonic poems, or panoramas, rather than an integrated unity. Which is a perfect reflection of the man Antheil himself; the more I read about his life, the more I’m convinced his was a hopelessly chaotic personality. To give an example: around 1922, Antheil became friends with Stravinsky in Paris and managed to persuade the great Russian to organize a promotion concert for him; but when the big night was finally there, Bad Boy George was nowhere to be found because he’d dashed off to Poland with a new love. You simply don’t do that to Stravinsky, and it cannot be considered a very sensible career move.
Nevertheless, here’s the “American” symphony. I like all others Antheil wrote better (haven’t heard the second one yet), but it’s still Antheil. Worse things have been composed, and surely there’s an undefinably American feel to it.
Together with the third, some shorter pieces, which show sufficiently what a prodigious talent the man was. Rhythm, energy, joyous spirit, it’s all there. Personally, I find McKonkey’s Ferry the highlight of this album. Or perhaps Capital of the World? That's a very good one too.

Tracks:

01. I. Allegro - Symphony No. 3 '(American') (1936-39, rev.'46) [0:08:51.28]
02. II. Andante - Symphony No. 3 '(American') (1936-39, rev.'46) [0:07:09.43]
03. III. The golden spike: Andante - Symphony No. 3 '(American') (1936-39, rev.'46) [0:04:03.58]
04. IV. Back to Baltimore: Presto - Symphony No. 3 '(American') (1936-39, rev.'46) [0:05:06.53]
05. Tom Sawyer ('California Overture') (1949) [0:05:30.07]
06. Hot-time dance (1948) [0:04:28.60]
07. McKonkey's ferry, overture (1948) [0:09:06.63]
08. I. The tailor shop - Capital of the world, suite in three movements [0:05:21.22]
09. II. Meditation - Capital of the world, suite in three movements [0:07:32.27]
10. III. Knife dance - Capital of the world, suite in three movements [0:04:15.73]

Performers:

Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Frankfurt - Hugh Wolff