George Antheil

George Antheil pursued private lessons in composition and theory under Sternberg and Bloch. Among the earliest symphonies to weave in jazz elements was his own first effort in the genre. Reacting against the sentimental leanings of Strauss and the impressionists, he forged a modern mechanical idiom throughout the 1920s. The Airplane Sonata, built on jazz, noise, and ostinato, exemplifies the output of those years. Joining forces with Léger and Murphy, he helped realize one of the first abstract films, scoring it with a synchronized array of sixteen player-piano rolls. Exact synchronization proved unattainable, yet the music, presented independently, met with considerable success. From 1926 onward he adopted a neo-classical manner before moving into opera. Later compositions grew more conventional while drawing on American folktunes and popular idioms. He went on to score films and emerged as a bestselling author.