George Antheil: Ballet Mécanique (1926 rev. 1953)

[@afrofinka]

Crazy piece, our world needs such a spontaneous genius like Antheil ! And great performance by Daniel Spalding and his ensemble, bravo !

[@miyatada]

Yes, it was very fresh back then. So many followers, like movie music composers, make it boring.

[@ajunaleigh]

I like this. I love the industrial sounds mixed with the machinery sounds mixed with music. It would be cool to hear some every day sounds in there, as well.

[@AnthonyLeighDunstan]

Wow! I hear a bit of Varese here but gee-whiz, for all his self-assured bravado, Antheil was not wrong! This is some undiscovered brilliance right here.

[@johnappleseed8369]

This piece (the 1926 version though) has influenced me so much. I never realised the extent before though. He was a composer alongside Varese, who was one of the major roleplayers in the development of the heavier side of contemporary music!

[@MegaCirse]

Listen to that implies a regression, acceptance of an abandonment of critical sense and a letting go to resonate with expression of human passions. A moving and sensual music, it will always remain opened to the sicks of heart

[@ronaldbwoodall2628]

Looking back on its history, I wonder what all the interest (fuss) was about this work; it couldn't have been more shocking than, say, the "Rite of Spring" was a few years earlier. It must have been the forces used to perform it coupled with promotional efforts by Antheil, as the music itself is nothing special, it actually borders on boredom to me. Its integration into the short film called "Ballet Mecanique" didn't take place until much later as I understand it, at which time Antheil's 30-minute score was compressed to fit the less-than-20-minute film. I guess that this performance on YT is a normally paced but edited version?

[@lefthandedspanner]

this version is pretty tame compared to the 1926 version, which is a lot more dense, visceral and downright brutal

[@ivanwashington3186]

novel.

[@nobody_gtk]

music PHDs will do anything but admit that this shit sucks