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  • Grand Ideas and Second Thoughts:Lessons from George Colburn's Personal Score to Antony and Cleopatra (Cines-Kleine, 1914)
  • James M. Doering (bio)

In late November 1913 Chicago composer George Colburn (1878–1921) received a remarkable proposal. George Kleine Attractions (GKA), a leading film distributor at that time, offered Colburn the opportunity to compose "special music" for the U.S. release of its newest Italian import, Marcantonio e Cleopatra (Cines, 1913). The special music would have significant exposure both as the accompanying score for the film's month-long run at Chicago's American Music Theater and as a printed piano score sent to theaters exhibiting the film.

For a composer like Colburn, who spent most of his time teaching (composition and harmony at Chicago's American Conservatory) and conducting (directing bands at the Northwestern Military Academy in Highland Park), this combination of performances, publication, and national distribution must have caused his eyes to widen. Moreover, the project's potential for success was significant. Antony and Cleopatra was a likely blockbuster.1 It depicted a classic epic of love and tragedy with flair and operatic largess, featuring a cast of thousands, intricate costumes and sets, location shots in Egypt and Italy, and grand battle reenactments. Its director was the acclaimed painter turned director Enrico Guazzoni, [End Page 46] who had recently captivated audiences across the globe with his feature Quo Vadis? (Cines, 1912). Guazzoni's directorial approach was artistically sophisticated, technically advanced, and historically informed.2 Cines had imposed no limits on Guazzoni in terms of duration for Antony and Cleopatra. The film's original Italian release was eleven reels (approximately two hours and forty-five minutes long), this at a time when most films were still one or two reels (fifteen to thirty minutes).3 For the U.S. release, GKA edited Antony and Cleopatra significantly, paring the film down to eight reels (ninety minutes). But despite the more compressed version, the U.S. release still represented a large film for that time. For Colburn, it was a broad canvas on which to sketch musical ideas.

How Colburn came to GKA's attention for this project is not documented. It is doubtful he sought the opportunity himself. His previous musical work had not intersected in any direct way with "moving pictures" or companies like GKA. Colburn was firmly ensconced in Chicago's classical music scene, having taught at Chicago's American Conservatory since 1902.4 He was a versatile composer, experienced in a variety of genres, from chamber music to operettas to dance pieces. He also performed, occasionally as a pianist (often in connection with his own compositions) and more frequently as a conductor.5 In the months immediately prior to the GKA offer, Colburn had worked his way into the higher echelons of Chicago concert music. In the summer of 1913 he apprenticed for the Chicago Symphony's esteemed conductor Frederick Stock as part of a summer festival at Ravinia.6 In addition, just weeks before Colburn received the GKA offer, the Chicago Symphony premiered one of Colburn's orchestral works, Spring's Conquest, as part of a program featuring local composers.7 Colburn's piece received strong reviews, and it is possible that this exposure in the Chicago papers was the spark for the GKA offer.

Regardless, Colburn was intrigued by the GKA project, and despite the daunting deadline of less than a month to complete the music, he took on the challenge. In early December 1913 he agreed to compose the score. By mid-January 1914 his special music was up and running with the film at the American Music Theater in Chicago, performed by a nine-piece orchestra for a month-long run.8 Audiences responded favorably to the film and the music, and Colburn's efforts even garnered a rare review by the Daily Tribune's opera critic, who called his score "decidedly promising."9 Within a few weeks of the premiere, the piano score was printed and filed at the Library of Congress.10 GKA then began the process of sending the printed score to movie theater exhibitors and their music directors throughout the country (fig. 1).

Colburn's special music for Antony...

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