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.

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