Résumés
Abstract
George Antheil’s Ballet Mécanique is notorious for its cacophonous sonorities, its industrial allusions, and its use of mechanical instruments, notably the player piano. Despite a successful première in Paris in 1926, the 1927 American reception of the piece was viscerally critical. Drawing upon contemporary documents, this article reconsiders the American reception of the ballet in light of the relationship between early twentieth-century American audiences and the mechanical. It suggests that through its use of mechanized instruments, specifically the player piano, Ballet Mécanique exacerbated anxiety and skepticism about the mechanical and mirrored a growing fear about the destructive consequences of a mechanized society.
Keywords:
- Mechanical Instruments,
- George Antheil,
- Urban Soundscapes,
- Twentieth Century America
Résumé
Le Ballet mécanique de George Antheil est célèbre pour ses sonorités cacophoniques, ses allusions industrielles et son utilisation d’instruments mécaniques, notamment le Pianola. Bien reçue à Paris en 1926, la pièce fut très mal accueillie aux États-Unis en 1927. En s’appuyant sur des sources de l’époque, cet article reconsidère la réception américaine du ballet à la lumière de la relation entre le public américain du début du XXe siècle et le machinisme. Il suggère qu’à travers son utilisation d’instruments mécaniques, en particulier le Pianola, le Ballet mécanique a exacerbé l’anxiété et le scepticisme à l’égard des machines en reflétant la peur croissante des conséquences destructrices d’une société mécanisée.
Mots-clés :
- Instruments mécaniques,
- George Antheil,
- Paysages sonores urbains,
- Amérique du XXe siècle
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Biographical note
Carolyne Sumner is an Assistant Professor and Cross-Cultural Exchange Advisor at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music, and has recently completed her PhD in Musicology at the University of Toronto (2022). Her doctoral thesis, “Musical Networks and Cultural Policy in Canada from 1945 to 1982,” which was supported by a SSHRC Doctoral Award, investigates the gatekeeping activities of a network of musicians and music administrators who governed the cultural institutions crucial to the dissemination of Canadian art music during the mid-twentieth century, and evaluates the subsequent challenges posed by the implementation of a national cultural policy in Canada upon their activities during the postcentennial era. She completed an MA in Musicology at the University of Ottawa in 2016 and obtained her BA in 2014 from the same institution.
Bibliography
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