Franz Liszt composed his Prometheus in 1850, numbering it No. 5 in his cycle of symphonic poems when he revised it in 1855. The work is based on the

Greek myth A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities of d ...

detailing the Titan

Prometheus In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning " forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titan god of fire. Prometheus is best known for defying the gods by stealing fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technology, kn ...

' theft of fire from the gods and is numbered S.99 in the Searle catalogue.

Overview

Composition

In 1850, Franz Liszt composed an overture and eight choruses with orchestra accompaniment for Johann Gottfried Herder's ''Der entfesselte Prometheus'' (''Prometheus Unbound''), a mythological work of thirteen scenes meant as a

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek ...

's ''

Prometheus Bound ''Prometheus Bound'' ( grc, Προμηθεὺς Δεσμώτης, ''Promētheús Desmṓtēs'') is an Ancient Greek tragedy traditionally attributed to Aeschylus and thought to have been composed sometime between 479 BC and the terminus ant ...

''. This was to be performed for the Herder Festival scheduled for August of that year in Weimar.Shulstad, 209. Liszt gave indications for the orchestration, and from these notes Liszt's helper Joachim Raff produced a score which was used in the first performance. This concert commemorated the unveiling of a monument to Herder on 24 August 1850. In 1855 Liszt revised both the overture and the choruses, added new instruments, mainly woodwinds, which resulted in the expansion of the overture to a symphonic poem and the choruses to a concert stage work. The symphonic poem was first performed on 18 October 1855.

Description

The work that was composed to illustrate the imprisonment, pain, hope, and the final triumph of Prometheus turned out to be incomprehensible to the contemporary public because of the many dissonances in the music. The choral parts ended too soon and were unusable, but the overture acquired its own life as a symphonic poem thanks to many performances of it by conductor

Hans von Bülow Freiherr Hans Guido von Bülow (8 January 1830 – 12 February 1894) was a German conductor, virtuoso pianist, and composer of the Romantic era. As one of the most distinguished conductors of the 19th century, his activity was critical for es ...

. For the performance of the revised choruses, Weimar critic Richard Pohl condensed Herder's work into prologues to be read before each chorus. Unlike Herder's

allegorical As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory t ...

text, Pohl's prologues develop Prometheus' character, emphasizing both his sufferings and his turbulent relationship with

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek reli ...

. They also create an intensity not present in Herder's drama, which carries over into the symphonic poem, from the furious opening (marked ''Allegro energico ed adagio assai'') to the principal musical material (marked ''Allegro molto appassionato'').Shulstad, 209–10.

Transcriptions

As with the other symphonic poems written during the Weimar period, ''Prometheus'' was also transcribed for piano four-hands and two pianos. Additionally, the organist and composer Jean Guillou has transcribed ''Prometheus'' for organ solo.

Discography

*''Prometheus, the myth in music'' :

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...

directed by

Claudio Abbado Claudio Abbado (; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony ...

, :label

SONY Classical Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired by ...

, SK 53978-2 :live recording from 4 October 1994. *''Liszt, Symphonic Poems'' :the symphonic orchestra of

Polskie Radio Polskie Radio Spółka Akcyjna (PR S.A.; English: Polish Radio) is Poland's national public-service radio broadcasting organization owned by the State Treasury of Poland. History Polskie Radio was founded on 18 August 1925 and began making ...

, directed by Michael Hálasz :label

Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best ab ...

8.550487 :recorded 2–6 April 1991 *''Liszt, A Faust Symphony, A Dante Symphony, Les Preludes, Prometheus'', (2CD) : London Philharmonic Orchestra directed by Sir Georg Solti :label

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

, 466751 :recorded 13 June 1977

Bibliography

* ed. Hamilton, Kenneth, '' The Cambridge Companion to Liszt'' (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005). (paperback). ** Shulstad, Reeves, "Liszt's symphonic poems and symphonies" * ed. Walker, Alan, ''Franz Liszt: The man and His Music'' (New York: Taplinger Publkishing Company, 1970). SBN 8008-2990-5 ** Searle, Humphrey, "The Orchestral Works" * Walker, Alan, ''Franz Liszt, Volume 2: The Weimar Years, 1848–1861'' (New York: Alfred A Knopf, 1989).

Additional sources

*Müller-Reuter, Theodor. Lexikon der deutschen Konzertliteratur. Leipzig: C.F. Kahnt, 1909 *Raff, Helene. "Franz Liszt und Joachim Raff im Spiegel ihrer Briefe." Die Musik. 1901–1902 *Paul Allen Bertagnolli. "From overture to symphonic poem, from melodrama to choral cantata: studies of the sources for Franz Liszt’s ''Prometheus'' and his ''Chöre zu Herder's Entfesseltem Prometheus''" (Ph.D. Dissertation, Washington University, 1998).

External links

*
musicwithease.com
Cantata, "Prometheus", by Liszt.

includes history.
LisztWorks
list of orchestral compositions.

Notes

{{Authority control Symphonic poems by Franz Liszt 1855 compositions