New Jersey-born George Antheil travelled to Europe in 1922 determined to become 'noted and notorious'. The first three violin sonatas come from this period, with the eclectic Violin Sonata No. 1 displaying the fiercely barbaric influence of Stravinsky, the more jazzy No. 2 developing experiments in 'musical cubism' and the Violin Sonata No. 3 achieving a synthesis of Stravinskyian rhythms and Antheil's more song-like tendencies. The later No. 4 is built on Classical and Baroque models.