Music inspired by Greek Mythology

[Maciek]

Well, to be technical a Faune is from Roman Mythology.  If it were Prélude à l'après-midi d'un satyr...

You're right, of course.

But then, to be technical, the poem does start "Ces nymphes, je les veux perpétuer" (my italics). (Then again, the Romans did adapt nymphs too.) Perhaps I'm being influenced by Szymanowski's Myths, but I wonder if Mallarmé didn't have Pan in mind.

[Scarpia]

Well, most figures in Greek Mythology have a counterpart in Roman.  I grant that the "prelude" can be considered to be inspired by Greek Mythology as long as "by" is taken vaguely enough.  (That's almost a Clintonesq distinction.)

[Roy Bland]

"Hymn to the sanctuary and oracle of Zeus Naios and Diones" (world first performance
Saturday 16 July 2022, time 21:00
Poetry: Iota Partheniou
Composition: Kostas Lolis

remaining time Theodorakis

[pjme]

OK - fun!  13 years later: this could give us all some new ideas.
I'll check my collection later.

[Cato]

Icarus by Lera Auerbach!

[San Antone]

Stravinsky - Oedipus Rex

[vers la flamme]

Bantock: Sapho

Came here to post this, only to see you beat me to the punch by over a decade...

[JBS]

Stravinsky - Oedipus Rex

Also Persephone and Apollo Musagete.

[JBS]

Can we say a entire form of music was inspired by Greek mythology?

Opera!

Consider Monteverdi's Orfeo followed by Il Ritorno di Ulisse.

And at the least how many operas take Greek myths as their start.
Baroque opera is full of them.
Gluck based 4 operas on them.
And less frequent but still a steady line since then...Idomeneo...Les Troyens*...Ariadne auf Naxos...

*yes, a Roman story, but one overlaid on the Greek originals

[Cato]

ELektra! Richard Strauss!

[JBS]

ELektra! Richard Strauss!

Or as a longtime member of GMG once described it, three women screaming at each other.

At any rate, the inspiration continues

[San Antone]

Also Persephone and Apollo Musagete.

I posted earlier in this thread with Apollo and Orpheus (and also Agon although someone chided me for that), but not Persephone. 

For the longest time I had thought Threni was Greek inspired until I looked it up before posting in this thread.

[relm1]

I really liked Matthew Aucoin's opera, Eurydice (2019), but unfortunately there are no recordings.  I heard it from a live radio broadcast but would love to hear it again. 

[pjme]

Igor Markevitch: ballet L'envol d'Icare

André Jolivet: Suite Delphique (12 instruments) and a ballet Ariadne (for Alvin Ailey)

[Luke]

[Cato]

Hello Luke!

Thanks for the link!

[pjme]

Szymanowski - orchestrated

Apparently Mouquet is a one hit wonder with his flute sonata (1904 - later orchestrated)

He wrote some sonatines for piano, a string quartet, a sonata for violin and piano and some orchestral works with enticing titles:
Diane et Endymion, op. 2, prélude symphonique pour orchestre
Persée et Andromède, poème symphonique
Danse grecque op. 14, pour flûte et piano ou harpe, ou orchestre
Nocturne pour orchestre, op. 4
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Mouquet

Marcel Poot: Pygmalion

[Luke]

...similarly:

...and:

...and of course, the granddaddy of this genre (the solo flute, with or without electronics, representing the primal world of Greek myth):

[pjme]

I have very fond memories of this production of Cavallis La Callisto - wit the superb voice of Maria Bayo! And some bearish fun...

[pjme]

I forgot this score by Jean Roger-Ducasse - it should appeal to lovers of Ravel, early Stravinsky and Florent Schmitt.

I have it in this form