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Antheil (George) papers
PASC-M.0043
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Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Title: George Antheil papers
Creator:
Antheil, George
Identifier/Call Number: PASC-M.0043
Physical Description:
20 Linear Feet
(2 document boxes, 35 flat boxes, and 5 oversize flat boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1935-1957
Abstract: This collection consists primarily of scores for music composed by George Antheil for film and television.
Physical Location: Stored off-site. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
Items in Series 5. Correspondence have the following restrictions: No duplication or photography permitted.
Property rights to the physical objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Peter Antheil, 1980, 1992, 2006. Two items in Series 3 (The Wish, Toccata No. 2) gift of Irwin Parnes, 1978.
[Identification of item], George Antheil Papers (Collection PASC-M 43). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young
Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
9942303243606533
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Composer George Antheil was born June 8, 1900 in Trenton, New Jersey. He studied piano and composition from an early age and
moved to Europe in 1922, finally landing in Paris after a year in Berlin. While in Paris, Antheil befriended a number of avant-garde
artists and writers, and composed several works that called for unorthodox instrumentation. His best-known work
Ballet Mécanique (1924), originally intended to accompany a Fernand Léger film, included sirens, bells, and airplane propellers. Following
its unfavorable premier in New York in 1927, Antheil continued to compose concert works, ballets, and operas, while dividing
his time between Europe and the U.S. In 1936, he settled in Los Angeles, where he composed music for numerous films and also
continued to write classical works during the 1940s and 1950s. In addition to music, Antheil had several other pursuits including
writing, endocrinology, and technological invention. George Antheil died in New York on February 12, 1959.
For a catalog of Antheil's music see Linda Whitesitt's The Life and Music of George Antheil 1900-1959, 1983. Also see Antheil's
autobiography,
Bad Boy of Music.
This collection consists primarily of music composed by George Antheil for film and television. Manuscript and reproduction
scores are present for numerous films including Ben Hecht's
Once in a Blue Moon (1935), John Parker's
Dementia (1955), and Stanley Kramer's
Not as a Stranger (1955) and
The Pride and the Passion (1957). Also present are scores for episodes of the CBS television documentary series
The Twentieth Century.
The collection also includes a small number of songs and other musical compositions, including his opera
The Wish, as well as writings by Antheil about World War II, mostly written for Los Angeles radio programs.
This collection is arranged into the following series:
- Series 1. Film projects
- Series 2. Television projects
- Series 3. Other musical compositions
- Series 4. World War II writings
- Series 5. Correspondence
- Series 6. Sound recordings
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Composers -- Archives.
Television music -- Scores and parts.
Motion picture music -- Scores and parts.
American composers.