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 A 60-page booklet by Charles Amirkhanian, illustrated with previously unpublished photos, accompanies this 2-CD set.

Disc 1

1-11 · Valentine Waltzes, for piano (1949) (20:50)
12-19 · Eight Fragments from Shelley, for mixed chorus and piano (1950) (11:34)
20 · McKonkey’s Ferry Overture, for orchestra (1948) (10:21)
21-23 · Symphony No. 5, “Joyous” (1947-48) (24:30)

Disc 2

1-2 · Two Odes of John Keats, for narrator and piano (1950)‡ (11:16)
3 · “The Prostitute,” from the ballet Capital of the World, for piano (1953)‡ (1:27)
4-5, 8-9 · Stories for Peter, for voice and piano (1942)‡ (10:41)
6-7 · Prediction of Allied Invasion of North Africa (1942)‡ (6:33)
10 · George Antheil Speaks (1958)‡ (17:59)
11 · The SPA Interview (1981) (Charles Amirkhanian interviews Mrs. F. Charles Adler and Norman Fox)‡ (20:06)

‡ World Premiere Recording