George Antheil, a composer, was born in 1900 in Trenton, New Jersey. George was a child prodigy, composing music at a young age. He eventually became a student of Ernest Bloch, and later received a fellowship grant to go to Paris. While in Europe, his music made quite a stir. George composed a type of music called experimental music which often used machines. His famous "Ballet Mecanique" was written for 12 player pianos, an air plane propeller, and a symphony. Many people did not appreciate this style of music and ridiculed George for composing it. However, many people today feel that his music was just ahead of its time. When the Nazis took over the German government in 1933, Hitler started closing German opera houses that presented modern music. George was very angry about Hitler’s influence on European arts and he decided to return to the United States.