GODS, HEROES, AND MEN

Combining the famous Third Symphony (“Eroica”) with excerpts of the lesser known ballet music “The Creatures of Prometheus,” Grammy® Award winning conductor Kent Nagano has chosen repertoire based on Beethoven’s admiration for Napoleon Bonaparte. The ballet score, written shortly before the Third Symphony, reveals the first clear signs in music of the composer’s admiration for the “Prometheus of his era.” The finale’s melody was taken from a popular French operetta of the time, which Beethoven also used in the last movement of the “Eroica.” Kent Nagano’s unique pairing of these interrelated Beethoven works evokes the enthusiasm of both scholars and casual music lovers alike.