Encounters III: Griffon dance company / Beethoven "Prometheus" and 7th Symphony

The Camerata greets 2012 with an impressive production and a first for Greece: the first time a Greek audience will hear Beethoven’s music as it sounded in the early 19th century, played on instruments identical to those for which the great composer conceived his music. And the experience is sure to change our sonic perceptions of Beethoven: the symphonic sound becomes more delicate, while the brilliance and intensity of modern instruments give way to the clarity, sweetness and aggression of period instruments. The authentic sounds and our knowledge of period performance practices conspire to create a new contemporary music experience.

Beethoven’s great 7th Symphony greets the new year with its “Bacchic fury” intact. Described by Wagner as the “apotheosis of the dance”, the symphony abounds with joy, laughter, dance rhythms and limitless energy, while the celebrated second movement (Allegretto in A minor) is perhaps the most sensual music the composer ever wrote.

With the Camerata ensconced in the orchestra pit for the rest of the evening, the Griffon dance company takes to the stage to perform Beethoven’s “Creatures of Prometheus” in a choreography by Ioanna Portolou which seeks to breathe new life into the ballet. The work, commissioned by the Neapolitan choreographer Salvatore Vigano for a libretto he had wrotten inspired by the myth of Prometheus, was premiered at Vienna’s Hoftheater in 1801. The ballet, which Beethoven dedicated to the empress Maria-Theresa, was a great success and received no fewer than 29 performances. Beethoven considered Prometheus’ sacrifice the ultimate act of heroism and self-sacrifice, which may explain why he recycled the main theme from the ballet’s finale in the finale of his Eroica Symphony.