Beethoven: Creatures Of Prometheus

Only two ballet scores from the Classical period have survived: Gluck's Don Juan and this piece, Beethoven's The Creatures of Prometheus. Beethoven composed this work in March of 1801 and described it as a "heroic-allegorical" work. The story of the ballet is taken from the myth of Prometheus, who in this ballet steals fire from the gods to create two human figures out of clay. Finding them devoid of emotion, he takes the humans to Parnassus, where Apollo, Bacchus and the Muses teach them the arts and the passions of human life. Although the work is a wonderful portrait of a young Beethoven in the early stages of his career, The Creatures of Prometheus is relatively unknown apart from the overture and a catchy little tune in the finale. That particular tune was later made famous as the theme in Beethoven's 3rd Symphony, the "Eroica" Symphony.