Specter: The Music of George Antheil

Album review

We are a long way, here from the George Antheil of the Ballet Mécanique of the 1927 version, which was one of the most explosive works of a young composer who was then considered one of music's real enfants terribles. That said, the 1946 Violin Concerto in a version for piano and violin signed by the composer himself (and which features many passages cut from the score for orchestra, which is yet to be restituted in its original format) is hardly short of explosive, avant-garde passages, but this is now an avant-garde part-way between the later Satie and Prokofiev. That said, the work's language is powerfully personal and it would be impossible to mistake it for the writing of anyone but Antheil. It is from the same era as the Sonatine, which is even more pared-down, doubtless influenced by a certain sparseness which Satie wouldn't have disavowed, but the devilishly sensual theme gives the violinist plenty of opportunities for excess. Also in those days, 1946 to be precise, Antheil signed off on the music for the noir thriller The Spectre of the Rose, which would provide his friend, violinist Werner Gebauer three waltzes – which approach Ravel in their elegance and Prokofiev in their sarcasm – for violin and piano. Here we finally see an aspect of the art of this perfect outsider, revealed by the very excellent Duo Odéon, who specialise in rediscovering the rarest works. © SM/Qobuz