The Collective shows how the New World pumps fresh blood into a European tradition. In the soulful Piano Trio, Ives looks back on his years on campus at Yale. The middle section TSIAJ is hilarious, where a polytonal montage of folk songs evokes the cheerful atmosphere of joking students on a free afternoon. Antheil's unique futurism goes much further. Inspired by machines and cubist art, the 'Bad Boy of Music' rolls a mechanically chopping piano with a stubbornly persistent violin. In addition to American melodies, they also put ragtime through the wringer. The Suite opus 23 proves that Korngold had an even greater future than being a film composer in Hollywood. The last Viennese prodigy composes sumptuously late Romantic, but with playful ease and with a natural voice like a 20th-century Mozart. The highlight is the Groteske, a devilish perpetual motion machine with a wonderfully sweet surprise at its heart. Korngold's masterpiece takes its time, but as an audience member you gratefully enjoy every second.
