Ludwig van Beethoven - The Creatures of Prometheus (Charles Mackerras)

Information

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

• Die Geschöpfe des Prometheus, Op. 43

Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Charles Mackerras, conductor

Date: 1994
Label: Hyperion
https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDH55196

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Review

Prometheus, who defied the gods by stealing fire from Heaven and warming his clay figures into men, was a powerful symbol of romantic defiance, and to none more than Beethoven. What seems (from the synopsis, all that survives of the ballet's plot) to have been an entertainment on a very eighteenth-century idea, that of the hero providing Enlightenment for humanity through art and science, left Beethoven haunted by the gentle tune he wrote for the finale. He used it for piano variations and for a wind piece, finally making it the symbolically charged conclusion to his symphony incarnating the Hero Principle, the Eroica. In the ballet, it remains a blithe dance; and one of the qualities of Sir Charles Mackerras's performance is that although the treatment of the theme is (at first) close enough to the Eroica finale to cause momentary deception, it is here played with a purely balletic grace innocent of any symphonic ambition.

Sir Charles opens with a vigorous account of the Overture, and takes clear delight in touching off the contrasting moods of what are sometimes very brief numbers. Even in such a gentle, unassuming movement as the ''Pastorale'', there is a grace and an originality of phrase to be found by a conductor with the ears to hear it. The longer solos for the dancers, especially that for the ballet's originator, Salvatore Vigano, contain rather more, but this is the lighter Beethoven, and played with an exact judgement of the weight. The Scottish Chamber Orchestra respond enthusiastically, and the recording is fresh and clear.

-- John Warrack, Gramophone

More reviews:
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2005/jun/24/classicalmusicandopera.shopping4
http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/h/hyp55196a.php
https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Orchestra-Mackerras-Gesch%C3%B6pfe-Prometheus/dp/B000002ZV0

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Ludwig van Beethoven (baptized 17 December 1770 – 26 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential of all composers. Beethoven is acknowledged as a giant of classical music, and his influence on subsequent generations was profound. His best-known compositions include 9 symphonies, 5 piano concertos, 1 violin concerto, 32 piano sonatas and 16 string quartets. Many of his most admired works come from the last decade of his life, when he was almost completely deaf.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_van_Beethoven

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Charles Mackerras (17 November 1925 – 14 July 2010) was an Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. Mackerras was known for his broad repertoire, expertise in Czech music, and use of period performance practices with modern orchestras. Mackerras recorded three Mahler symphonies and all of the symphonies of Mozart, Brahms and Beethoven. His final recording was Suk's Asrael Symphony in 2007. His final public performance saw him conduct Così fan tutte at Glyndebourne in the summer of 2010.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Mackerras

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