With acclaimed recordings of the Symphonies and selected orchestral works, Cpo has gone some way in demonstrating this American composer was one of the twentieth century’s most important composers.

Antheil wrote his one act opera The Brothers in 1954. The libretto, penned by Antheil himself, drew on the biblical story of Cain and Abel. Its setting is the working-class world of post-war America, and the four men and one woman presented by Antheil on stage are all damaged and traumatized.

Although Antheil’s operas received positive, sometimes even enthusiastic reviews, they did not find a firm place in the opera repertoire of American or European theatres. The Brothers celebrated its European premiere some fifty-five years later, in a performance by the Bochum Symphony presented on this CD.

For the scores of his late operas, Antheil turned to elements from all his compositional periods. Here the machine-like sound of his Ballet mécanique and the nonstop motoric drive of his compositions from the 1920s are heard together with idioms from his film music.

The recording features a superb cast that includes the young American soprano Rebecca Nelsen and leading English baritone William Dazeley. The Bochumer Symphoniker is conducted by their music director, the American born Steven Sloane.