KSO Masterworks This Week: Beethoven’s Seventh + Dorman’s ‘Spices, Perfumes, Toxins!’ with Nief-Norf

While music and dance are each infinite universes unto themselves, rhythm is an elemental feature of both and the theme of this week’s KSO Masterworks concert pair.

In 1800, Beethoven began work on his only ballet, Die Geschöpfe des Prometheus (The Creatures of Prometheus) from a scenario by the Italian choreographer Salvatore Vigano. The ballet got its premiere in Vienna in 1801. The orchestral version of the overture was published in 1804.

Following the Beethoven overture, the Knoxville-based contemporary music ensemble, Nief-Norf, joins the KSO for Avner Dorman’s Spices, Perfumes, Toxins!, a percussion concerto written in 2006 for the percussion duo PercaDu.

Dorman has stated “…the title Spices, Perfumes, Toxins! refers to three substances that are extremely appealing, yet filled with danger. Spices delight the palate, but can cause illness; perfumes seduce, but can also betray; toxins bring ecstasy, but are deadly. The concerto combines Middle-Eastern drums, orchestral percussion, and rock drums with orchestral forces – a unique sound both enticing and dangerous.”

Of course, the multi-year celebration surrounding Beethoven’s 250th birthday is already underway. The KSO joins this global party with the Prometheus overture and concludes the concert with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, a work that has practically defined orchestral rhythm since its premiere in 1813. The work has also attracted a multitude of choreographers over the years including Isadora Duncan in 1908 and Twyla Tharp in 2000 for the New York City Ballet.