The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-04-23
BY EN- 10 BASSHE
(AuthOr Of Earth" and adam Soil
taire," Director of the New Play
wrights Theatre)

wrights Theatre)
On Sunday evening, April II, an
audience of more than 5000 people
crowded into Carnegie Hall to take
part in the birth or death of a new
icreative force in American music
George Antheil. This Trenton, n. J.
youth has been alternating in Paris
the last few years, and according to
reports his concerts have caused riots
there and in Budapest.
The concert on Sunday night began
with a String Quartet in one move
ment with alternating allegro-presto
and andante motives. 1t was excel
lently performed by the Musical Art
Quartet; but it failed to prove the
composers contention that the ton
atty used is new to music or that it
presented a novel problem in quartet
writing. The Sonata for Violin,
Piano and Drum came next with Sas-
cha Jacobson at the violin and Mr..
Antheil presiding first at the piano,
then shifting to base drums. 1t is
described by the composer as "a COM
pOsite composition somewhat relative
to the Picasso 1918 Cubist period"
Futuristic Tinpan Alley.
The piano here is treated percus-
sively against the violin which
struggles heroically to maintain it
self as part of the duo. The thema-
tic material here is often original, but
snatches from such never-to-be-for-
gotten tidbits as Nearer My God To
Thee" and "In the Shade of the Old
Apple Tree" and others are included.
1t was satirical, often acrid; as
humorous as music usually permits
itself to be. 1t was here that the
audience began to giggle, forgetting
of course, that it was laughing with
the composer at the futuristic tin pan
alley. Just before the end the COM
poser abandoned the piano as made
quate and changed to the base drums,
which, like most of the modern COM
nosers, he finds to be the most salts
actory of the percussion instru-
1ents.
'The "Jazz Symphony" written in
1925 for Paul Whiteman, is In one
movement, and very short; but In the
fifteen or so minutes that it played
it gave one the feeling that at last
here is composer who has caught
the beauty Of pure Negro harmony. By
discarding the sentimentality that has
pervaded the school of music which
has attempted to interpret the Negro
in terms of music, he created a glori-
GUS piece of music, unforgettable and
astounding. It was double triumph,
for the orchestra composed of the best
Negro musicians and conducted by
Nile Ross, performed the work
perfectly.
America, Africa, Steel.
The tour de force of the evening,
however was the "Ballet Mechani-
que" Originally written to accom-
pany motion picture by Leger,
(shown in New York this winter by
the Film Associates) it was never
used because the composer was not
satisfied with the picture. IL was
planned in three parts, all allegro.
Its motif is America, Africa, and
Steel. The usual combination of or
chestral instruments are discarded and
In its place are ten concert grand
pianos, one mechanical piano, xylo-
phones, bass drums, thunder effects,
an aeroplane propeller, electric bells,
a contraption that initiates a riveting
machine, fire sirens. Eugene Goosens
conducted and a force Of the best
manipulators Of these instruments
took part.
Literally speaking BALLET" In this
case is a misnomer-this work could
Just as well be called a "Polytonal
Poem or Symphony in Disson-
snce," for much Of the meaning and