FIRE OF PROMETHEUS
(1950)

Prometheus Brings Fire to Mankind by Heinrich Füger, (1817)

Akira Ifukube’s ballet Fire of Prometheus was first performed on December 11 and 12, 1950, at the Imperial Theater in Tokyo. This ballet, based on Greek mythology, was conceived by the librettist Hisatoshi Kikuoka, the dancer Takaya Eguchi and by Ifukube.

The ballet consists of five parts: “Prologue,” “Darkness without Fire/Dance of Aio,” “Those Who Steal Fire,” “Joy of Fire” and “Atop the Caucuses.”

The original orchestral score for the ballet is considered lost. Shortly after finishing the full orchestral version, Ifukube made an arrangement of the complete score for two pianos and four hands to facilitate the performance of the music for a Japanese national tour.

Since the 1950s, Fire of Prometheus fell into obscurity. Music from the ballet was finally heard again in 2008, however, when the Japanese pianist Reiko Yamada released a CD of piano music by Ifukube. Included on the disc was a recording of the ballet's ecstatic "Joy of Fire" section for two pianos. Yamada performed with Patrick Godon.

Ifukube stated that no Greek music was used in the score. Rather, the music sounds "Asian," making use of pentatonic scales, which is an Ifukube hallmark.

---

Please use your browser's BACK button to return to the Music Library

---

Copyright 2009 Erik Homenick. All rights reserved.