Descrizione
Written early in Beethoven’s career on a commission from the Viennese court’s ballet-master, The Creatures of Prometheus draws upon a creation myth for its inspiration. The ballet recounts the ancient story of the demigod Prometheus, who molds humans both literally, from clay, and intellectually, by endowing them with gifts of art and science–an irresistible scenario for Beethoven’s Enlightenment sensibilities. The theme for the ballet’s finale reappeared later in the composer’s “Eroica” Symphony, as well as in the Eroica Variations for piano solo. Other aspects of this work, starting with a thunderstorm portraying Zeus’s wrath, demonstrate the sudden key changes, tonal shifts, and unexpected tense episodes characteristic of Beethoven’s style. Musicians and music lovers will want to add this authoritative score to their libraries. Noted scholar Stanley Appelbaum has provided comprehensive notes to this edition, clarifying the historical and musical background of this unusual work. Unabridged republication of Die Geschopfe des Prometheus, Ballet, Op. 3: Series 2, No. 11, from the Breitkopf & Härtel Complete Works Edition. Introduction to the Dover Edition by Stanley Appelbaum.
