George Antheil

Composer and pianist, educated at the Curtis Music Settlement School. He studied with Constantin von Sternberg, Ernest Bloch and Clark Smith under a Guggenheim Fellowship. In Europe, he gave piano recitals between 1921-1926. He wrote incidental music to the play "Oedipus". Besides his film music, his compositions include six symphonies, three string quartets, two violin sonatas, two sonatas for violin and piano, and four piano sonatas, plus the "Piano Concerto"; "Violin Concerto"; "Concerto for Flute, Bassoon, Piano"; "Chamber Concerto for 8 Instruments" (on a League of Composers commission); "Crucifixion" (for string orchestra); "Decatur or Algiers"; "McKonkey's Ferry Overture"; "2 Odes of Keats"; "Songs of Experience" (William Blake poems); "Tom Sawyer"; "8 Fragments from Shelley"; "Valentine Waltzes"; and "Serenade for Strings". His ballets include "Ballet Mecanique"; and "The Capital of the World". His operas include "Helen Retires"; "Transatlantic"; "Volpone"; "The Brother"; and "The Wish" (commissioned by the Louisville Orchestra).

Antheil's original 1924 version of Ballet mécanique was not performed until 1999 at University of Massachusetts at Lowell, followed by sold-out performances at Carnegie Hall and by the San Francisco Symphony. The original version had never been played before, due to the physical impossibility of synchronizing 10-12 player pianos being played simultaneously until the advent of computer systems and computer-controlled player pianos. In 1942, Antheil and actress Hedy Lamarr were granted a patent for cryptography based on player piano technology. Neither made any money from this patent, even though it is crucial to computer cryptography and security to the present day.