“You know, the last thing in the world I wanted to do was play Antheil on the radio at 7 o’clock in the morning. I’d be guilty of somebody stabbing themselves in the eye with their own toothbrush…”
—Boston Radio Host Robert J. Lurtsema
“George had Paris by the ear” —Composer Aaron Copland
“I envied George his freedom from academic involvements, the bravado of his music, and its brutal charm.”
—Critic Virgil Thomson
“Later, when the piece is finished, when you’ve stood up, taken your bow, and sat down again, when you’ve wiped your forehead, and your very important hands, you think: ‘I wish I were a professional boxer, the next round against the Steinway would be much more comfortable wearing shorts.’ ”
—George Antheil
“All were fascinated by Antheil’s cheerful lack of modesty. He was in fact the literary mind’s idea of a musical genius: bold, bumptious, and self-confident.”
—Virgil Thomson on meeting Antheil in Paris
