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George Antheil arrives in New York for the historic (and disastrous) American premiere of Ballet mécanique at Carnegie Hall, April 1927 Courtesy of the estate of George Antheil
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MIAMI BEACH, FL (Nov. 20, 2007) – The Wolfsonian-Florida International University will mount a fully automated/robotic orchestration of the then-scandalous 1924 Ballet mécanique, the most notorious “lost” musical composition of the twentieth century, which was both hailed and hated upon its debut. Its young American composer George Antheil, known for his outrageous composition and piano recitals and for stirring up controversy, was considered by the Parisian artistic community as the musical spokesman for modernist ideals. Ballet mécanique was considered Antheil’s magnum opus. The original composition calls for ten human musicians, including two pianists; four bass drums; three xylophones; a tam-tam; seven electric bells; three airplane propellers; a siren; and sixteen player pianos. Highly rhythmic, often brutalistic, the piece combines atonal music and jazz.
Originally conceived as a score to accompany a film by French Dadaist artist Fernand Léger and American cinematographer Dudley Murphy, Ballet mécanique was never performed the way the composer envisioned it, because the technology―most significantly, the ability to synchronize multiple player pianos―did not then exist. The film, which runs for approximately 16 minutes, is a highly abstract collage of images, ranging from an animated Cubist caricature of Charlie Chaplin to half-a-dozen kitchen funnels dancing on a string cut together in the Dadaist fashion of continuously looping images backwards, forwards, and upside down. There were several attempts to present the film with Antheil’s music, but it wasn’t until the 1990s that music technology advanced to where Antheil’s piece could finally be played in its original orchestration. The first full performance of the piece was produced in 1999. The extraordinary robotic performance that will be mounted by The Wolfsonian is presented by Paul D. Lehrman, coordinator of music technology at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts and Eric Singer, director of the League of Electrical Musical Urban Robots (LEMUR) in Brooklyn, New York. Together they created the programming and the robotic mechanisms to bring this work to life.
Click here to see the postcard on the event.
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Newspaper cartoonists had a field day before and after the Carnegie Hall concert. (New York Sun, April 9, 1927) Courtesy of the estate of George Antheil
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November 30, 7pm: Experience the 1953 arrangement of Ballet mécanique for four pianos and Antheil’s extensive percussion battery, presented live by the New World Symphony’s Percussion Consort, America’s Orchestral Academy at the Lincoln Theatre. Tickets $10 and may be purchased by contacting 305.673.3331 or www.nws.edu/mecanique. Event takes place at The Lincoln Theatre, 541 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach.
December 1, 7 to 11pm: Join us for a DADA party and The Wolfsonian’s premiere of the robotic performance of Ballet mécanique along with a screening of its namesake film from 1925. Performances will take place at 8, 9, and 10pm. Tickets $60; $50 for members and NWS subscribers; $30 for FIU students with ID; $250 for VIP Salon Moderne Tickets, which give you access to an exclusive lounge replete with lavish hors d’oeuvres and private bar. RSVP required: 305.535.2631 or rsvp@thewolf.fiu.edu. Sponsored by Northern Trust; John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; and the Dade Community Foundation through the John S. and James L. Knight Donor-Advised Fund.
Ballet Mécanique Continues During DADA Days: December 2-11 The all-mechanical performances of Ballet Mécanique and screenings of Fernand Léger’s film Ballet mécanique and Bad Boy Made Good, a documentary about George Antheil and the history of this groundbreaking piece, play daily. Performances take place at 1 and 4pm; films screened at 2pm. Call 305.535.2648 for more information. Free with admission.
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Ballet mécanique at the Klavier-Festival Ruhr 2002 Photo by Andreas Köhring
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From December 2 – 11, students with valid ID are admitted free to all Ballet mécanique performances. Made possible by Carnival Foundation.
The extraordinary all-mechanical performance at The Wolfsonian–FIU was conceived by Paul D. Lehrman, coordinator of music technology at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts and Eric Singer, director of the League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots (LEMUR) www.lemurbots.org in Brooklyn, New York.
The following video was taken at a similar event at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.
About The Wolfsonian–Florida International University
The Wolfsonian is a museum, library, and research center that uses objects to illustrate the persuasive power of art and design. The collections comprise approximately 120,000 pieces from the period 1885 to 1945 — the height of the Industrial Revolution until the end of the Second World War — in a variety of media, including: furniture; industrial-design objects; works in glass; ceramics; metal; rare books; periodicals; ephemera; works on paper; paintings; textiles; and medals. The curatorial goal is to explore what it means to be modern, and to tell the story of social, historical, and technological changes that have transformed our world.
The Wolfsonian-FIU is located at 1001 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach, Florida. Admission is $7 for adults; $5 for seniors, students, and children ages six to twelve. Admission is free for Wolfsonian members, State University System of Florida staff and students with ID, children under six, and Miami Beach residents with ID. The museum is open Monday, Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday from noon-6pm; Thursday and Friday from noon-9pm; and it is closed on Wednesday. Contact us at 305.531.1001 or visit us online at www.wolfsonian.org.
The Wolfsonian receives ongoing support from the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts; Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners; City of Miami Beach, Cultural Affairs Program, Cultural Arts Council; Crispin Porter + Bogusky; Continental Airlines, the preferred airline of The Wolfsonian; the Arthur F. and Alice E. Adams Foundation; and Karla Conceptual Event Experiences.
—FIU—
Media Contact:
Julieth Dabdoub at 305-535-2622 or julieth@thewolf.fiu.edu
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