George Antheil papers

George Antheil was born in Trenton, New Jersey July 8, 1900. He began his career in music at the tender age of 5 with violin lessons; five years later he began taking piano lessons as well. At Trenton High School he studied music theory, and upon graduation studied with composer Ernest Bloch in New York City.

In 1922, Antheil moved to Europe, where he hoped to launch his career as a concert pianist. A year later, after a brief residency in Berlin, Antheil moved permanently to Paris, focusing more on composition than on concert tours. It was in Paris that he met and married Elizabeth "Boski" Markus (m. October 4, 1925).

Antheil's crafted his most well-known composition in 1926, the Ballet mecanique. Originally created as a soundtrack to Fernand Leger's motion picture Le Ballet Mecanique , the piece called for 8 pianos, a player piano, and various percussion instruments, including anvils, bells, and buzzers. Antheil's first opera, Transatlantic, debuted in Germany in May of 1930.

In 1933, Antheil left Europe for New York City; for the next several years he worked writing articles for Esquire magazine. In 1935, he moved to Hollywood, California, where he quickly found work writing scores for motion pictures (e.g. The Plainsman , Specter of the Rose , Knock on Any Door , and The Pride and the Passion ).

His total works include 6 operas, 6 symphonies, 29 film scores, and three books, including his autobiography, The Bad Boy of Music (1945). George Antheil died in Manhattan, February 12, 1959.