Thetours the Ballet mécanique
music by Antheil, film by Léger/Murphy –

conducted by Jurjen Hempel 
with Squarepusher and Jamie Lidell


photo: PIXELSURGEON.COM

The professional world premiere of Paul Lehrman’s edit of George Antheil’s music for Ballet mécanique, synchronized with the film, took place March 12, 2004, at the sold-out 2600-seat Royal Festival Hall.

The next night, 1000 fans packed the Warwick Arts Centre. Three more concerts followed: the Anvil in Basingstoke, the Brighton Dome, and Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.
Full tour details are still on the London Sinfonietta's site here.

Read all about the madness in the June 2004 issue of

And they did it again in 2005!
May 1, Zaragoza, Spain • May 4, Parco della Musica, Rome, Italy
May 7, Concertgebouw, Bruges, Belgium • May 11, Sage, Gateshead, UK

June 10, 2005, at the Holland Festival, Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, Amsterdam

 of London called the film, "A sinister portrayal of human activity at its most mechanistic, perfectly matched [by] Antheil's brutal, clangorous score."

 

said, "It was exhilarating in a masochistic kind of way....In George Antheil's Ballet Mecanique, performed alongside Fernand Leger's marvellous surrealist film, the accumulated energy was just as powerful as Squarepusher's because its harmonic resources were richer." FULL REVIEW

 

called it "an essay in early-20th-century brutalism."



photo: PIXELSURGEON.COM
 said,
"Poised between radical experiment and
sensational publicity vehicle, Antheil’s
conceptual magnum opus continues to
inspire notoriety – the audience responding
with a buzz all its own". FULL REVIEW

magazine said,
"The music and visuals were perfectly synchronised...
fresh, exciting and vital...one of the highlights of
the evening." FULL REVIEW

Listen to a BBC Radio report (with a few
mistakes) and an interview with Squarepusher
Real Audio

more pix (click to enlarge):

photo: David Bowen
Steve Reich: Six Marimbas
photo: David Bowen

conductor Jurjen Hempel
photo: David Bowen
photo: David Bowen

John Cage: First Construction in Metal
photo: David Bowen

Intrepid audio/computer tech
Ian Dearden of Sound Intermedia
during rehearsal
photo: Paul Lehrman

Here's the whole program:

Steve Reich Pendulum Music
Aphex Twin Jynweythek and hy a Scullyas lyf adhagrow (arr. for prepared piano)
Edgard Varèse Ionisation
Squarepusher I Wish You Could Talk and Conc 2 Symmetriac (arr. Fraser Trainer and Sound Intermedia)
Squarepusher solo improv set
George Antheil Ballet Mécanique (with film by Fernand Leger & Dudley Murphy)
Steve Reich Violin Phase
Jamie Lidell solo improv set
John Cage First Construction in Metal
Steve Reich Six Marimbas
Aphex Twin Polygon Window (arr. Kenneth Hesketh)

Jurjen Hempel, conductor
London Sinfonietta
Clio Gould, violin
Clive Williamson, piano
Flat-e, Bluespoon visuals

co-presented by Warp Records and CMN Tours


 

 

Bonus rehearsal picture:
Conductor Jurjen Hempel faces the music
photo: Paul Lehrman




And now, you can own the Ballet mécanique!

Copyright © 2005 by Paul D. Lehrman. All rights reserved