"Alongside its ongoing much-lauded Copland series, the BBC Philharmonic embarks on a new American journey, this time with its chief guest conductor, John Storgards.

Known as the 'bad boy of music', George Antheil began his career with a reputation as an enfant terrible, composing shockingly avant-garde works such as his ever-popular Ballet mecanique, inspired by the dynamism and dissonances of Stravinsky's early ballets. Although he is well-established on the film music scene, too, it is his symphonic output – sampled here – that today survives in the concert hall.

This new series documents the evolution of his musical style, which moved towards a fundamentally tonal and melody-based idiom, Antheil joining the growing ranks of famous US symphonists. The war-inspired Fourth Symphony and 'joyous' Fifth clearly represent this compositional shift, breaking with what the composer called the 'now passe' modernism.

Also here is the premiere recording of the Texas-inspired Over the Plains, memorable for its allusions to cowboy music and offering some unexpectedly dramatic and atmospheric twists along the way."

"1. Over the Plains 07:42
2. Symphony No. 4 ""1942"": I. Moderato - Allegretto 10:59
3. Symphony No. 4 ""1942"": II. Allegro 09:33
4. Symphony No. 4 ""1942"": III. Scherzo (Presto) 05:24
5. Symphony No. 4 ""1942"": IV. Allegro non troppo 08:00
6. Symphony No. 5 ""Joyous"": I. Allegro 09:09
7. Symphony No. 5 ""Joyous"": II. Adagio molto 08:00
8. Symphony No. 5 ""Joyous"": III. Allegretto maestoso - Allegro giocoso 06:54
"