Jerome Moross was a friend of the Antheil's, George and Böske.
In June 1979, Charles Amirkhanian interviewed Jerome Moross about his friendship with the long departed composer. Antheil had died 20 years ago, in 1959. His widow, Elizabeth “Böske” Antheil, aka Boski Markus had died the year before, in 1978.
I'll repost it here, and I'll give you the background information about this conversation as well as a detailed breakdown of what's been talked about during that interview which I highly recommend to everyone interested in not only hearing the speaking voice of Moross but also hearing WHAT he has to say about Antheil, his privat life and career as a composer for concert halls as well as Antheil's lesser regarded commercial undertakings in Hollywood. Moross also talks about Copland, Brecht, Weill, Lambert and many others.
As few of you might know, Jerome Moross collaborated with Antheil on two films, and he talks about it in the interview, too.
Unfortunately, he was unable to name those two films by their titles. I'm pretty sure the first film was the Ben Hecht film "Once in a blue moon" (1935). The second film was, according to Moross, an experimental short feature film. He even remembers the exact day, when they recorded the music: June 12, 1941 - the day Hitler Germany invaded the Soviet Union.
Here is some music from "ONCE IN A BLUE MOON" - Moross orchestrated at least some parts of Antheil's score:
“Once in a Blue Moon” is an 1935 American film directed by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur with Lee Garmes responsible for the cinematography. Garmes acted also in the capacity as an associate director. It stars Jimmy Savo, Nikita Balieff and Cecilia Loftus.
George Antheil was 34 years old when he composed the score. Jerome Moross – then in his early twenties - assisted and orchestrated portions of Antheil’s score until he had to leave for another project.
About the story: A group of Russian nobles fleeing the Bolshevik revolution meet up with a traveling circus. To escape their pursuers, they disguise themselves as members of the circus troupe.
This video contains music and some minor sound effects.
0:00 Hecht-MacArthur Productions Logo 0:21 Main Titles 1:33 Intro
"Recorded in New York City on June 19, 1979, Charles Amirkhanian interviews Jerome Moross about his life-long friendship with George Antheil. Moross, a composer and conductor himself, met Antheil when he was living in New York in the early 1930s, and was impressed by his sophistication and international reputation as an avant-garde pianist and composer. Moross talks about Antheil’s difficulties in getting his modernist compositions performed in the U. S. and his gradual shift towards composing in a more traditional style in hopes of being more financially successful, but thereby also alienating many of his initial supporters. Clearly a fan of Antheil’s early style of composition, Moross describes Antheil as someone who had lost his way, forgoing the energetic, even dissonant works of the 1920s, yet refusing to keep abreast of the trends being successfully adopted by his fellow American composers. Moross also discusses Antheil’s personality, his perpetual boyish charm, and his relationship with his wife Böske, as well as with Noma Copley, to whom he dedicated his “Valentine Waltzes.“ Also partaking in this discussion is Moross’ wife, Hazel, and Carol Law."
Here is my detailed breakdown of what's been talked about during that interview - there's lots of namedropping:
(Moross obviously smoked during the interview.)
In spring 1931, Moross met George Antheil for the first time (Moross was 17 years old, Antheil 30). Bernard Herrmann Böske (=> Antheil’s spouse, Elizabeth (Böske) Antheil, aka Boski Markus (1902–1978)) Helen Retires (opera, 1934) Cagnes-sur-Mer (=> Montmartre de la Côte d'Azur) Ben Hecht (=> Once in a Blue Moon, film score, 1935[?]) Moross as uncredited assistant and orchestrator Hollywood The Plainsman (film score, 1936) Airplane Sonata (Second Piano Sonata) (1922) Arthur Berger WEVD (American brokered programming radio station with some news-talk launched in August 1927 by the Socialist Party of America) Eugene Victor Debs Charles Ives (1st Sonata, Songs) Debussy, Stravinsky etc. (lots of namedropping of contemporary composers and works and conductors) Transatlantic (opera, 1930) War analysis Daily News (column) 4th Symphony (1942) Aaron Copland Elie Siegmeister Elliott Carter Kurt Weill Nadine Boulanger GA’s style and its disappearance Dmitri Shostakovich “That’s what destroyed George as a composer.” Archipelago (aka “Rhumba”, 1935) McKonkey's Ferry Helen Retires (opera, 1934) Friedrich Kiesler, aka Frederick Kiesler Neoclassicism Volpone (opera, 1952) John Erskine “George’s personal life was a mess.” The Twentieth Century (TV, 1957) Walter Cronkite, CBS George Antheil’s death “George was a charmer.” Misses Bach [?!] [ca. 19:30, pause of a couple of seconds] 4th Symphony (1942) Leopold Stokowski 5th Symphony (1948) Eugene Ormandy 6th Symphony (1948) Pierre Monteux Sonata No. 4 for Violin and Piano, a.k.a. "New Second Violin Sonata" (1948) Frederick Marvin “He was interested only in what happened in Europe.” Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Weill, Prokofiev “The music was moving past him.” Benjamin Britten Ballet mécanique (1924, revision 1953) Jazz Symphony (1925, revision 1955) “George was not a good orchestrator. […] He used the instruments badly.” Henry Brant Antheil’s film music [unnamed] short film (2-3 reels, experimental, ca. 1942) Moross as orchestrator & composer in Hollywood Moross’ theatre music (ballets, “The Golden Apple”, “Gentlemen, Be Seated!”, “The Last Judgement”) [ca. 29:30, pause of a couple of seconds] Siegel-Antheil Galleries: Series of concerts [concert & film] Lindbergh's Flight (Der Lindberghflug) by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht [later retitled as “The Flight across the Ocean” (German: Der Ozeanflug)] The Threepenny Oper (L'Opéra de quat'sous) (German: Die 3 Groschen-Oper) (film) G. W. Pabst Aaron Copland (Piano Concerto) Oscar Levant Francis Poulenc George Auric Joan Miró Böske Antheil family stories Noma Copley, Antheil’s mistress Artur Rodzinski “I liked Böske more than I did George.” Arthur Schnitzler [S’s grandson => The Cardinal] Béla Bartók Herny W. Antheil, Jr. The 1920s, 30s, 40s Louise Brooks Brecht & Weill The Mother Hanns Eisler Maxim Gorky “Brecht was an evil man.” Paul Hindemith ‘Die Leuchte’ – Lindbergh's Flight (Der Lindberghflug) by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht [later retitled as “The Flight across the Ocean” (German: Der Ozeanflug)] The Threepenny Oper / Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny / The Seven Deadly Sins Constant Lambert Darius Milhaud La création du monde (The Creation of the World) The Rio Grande (and other Lambert works) Lord Berners Thomas Beecham The Rio Grande recording by André Previn
Thank you so much for posting. I'll have to delve into this. I like some of Antheil's concert works, and Moross's scores. I'm curious to hear what he says about Weill. . . .
Thank you so much for posting. I'll have to delve into this. I like some of Antheil's concert works, and Moross's scores. I'm curious to hear what he says about Weill. . . .
Well, Moross considered Kurt Weill as a "pure genius" - he couldn't be clearer about it during that interview.
Here is an archival recording of George Antheil's "McKonkey’s Ferry Overture" - it's a piece Moross liked very much.
F. Charles Adler · Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (1958)
...and a newer recording:
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra · John Storgårds (2019)
When I first discovered the LP collection of the wonderful Donnell Library on 53rd Street in the early 1960s, the symphonies of Antheil caught my eye. I had seen The Pride and the Passion and wondered what else he had written. The series of symphony recordings made it seem as if Antheil had joined the standard repertory. Sadly that does not seem to have been the case. Good to see him getting consideration here.
1) What's the name of the experimental film that Antheil scored with Moross' assistance in the early 1940s?
2) Who directed it?
3) Who is Misses Bach? - Amirkhanian mentions her name at 19:10.
4) Did that Italian biography MMM mentioned in the old thread linked above ever come out? - I couldn't find any reference to it.
By the way, Mark Alburger's lengthy and interesting blog about Antheil's life and career, published in 2013, gives you good context info regarding the Moross interview.
