BBC Philharmonic, John Storgards - George Antheil: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5 (2017) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

Alongside its ongoing much-lauded Copland series, the BBC Philharmonic embarks on a new American journey, this time with its chief guest conductor, John Storgårds.

Known as the ‘bad boy of music’, George Antheil began his career with a reputation as an enfant terrible, composing shockingly avant-garde works such as his ever-popular Ballet mécanique, inspired by the dynamism and dissonances of Stravinsky’s early ballets. Although he is well-established on the film music scene, too, it is his symphonic output – sampled here – that today survives in the concert hall.

This new series documents the evolution of his musical style, which moved towards a fundamentally tonal and melody-based idiom, Antheil joining the growing ranks of famous US symphonists. The war-inspired Fourth Symphony and ‘joyous’ Fifth clearly represent this compositional shift, breaking with what the composer called the ‘now passé’ modernism.

Also here is the premiere recording of the Texas-inspired Over the Plains, memorable for its allusions to cowboy music and offering some unexpectedly dramatic and atmospheric twists along the way.

Tracklist:

1. Over the Plains (1945) 7:34

Symphony No.4 '1942' (1942)
2. I Moderato - Poco più mosso - Poco meno - Più mosso - Allegretto - Poco più mosso - Poco meno marcato - 10:53
3. II Allegro - Poco meno mosso - More mysterious, slower than before - 9:28
4. III Scherzo. Allegro molto - Marcato - Poco meno mosso - 5:20
5. IV Allegro non troppo - Più mosso - Meno mosso - Più mosso - Meno mosso - 7:52

Symphony No.5 'Joyous' (1947-48)
6. I Allegro - Molto marcato - Più mosso, poco più animato - 9:06
7. II Adagio molto - Poco più mosso - A tempo I - Poco più mosso, molto cantabile e espressivo - 7:55
8. III Finale. Allegretto (maestoso) - Allegro giocoso (più mosso) - 6:52