Goldmark, rose from a poverty-stricken childhood (he was one of twenty children of a Jewish cantor from a Hungarian village), essentially teaching himself composition. He became one of the best-known composers of the second half of the nineteenth century. His colorful, attractive, but rather conservative music mostly faded out of the repertory.

He was noted for his flair for orchestration and his penchant for descriptive music. This is the fifth of his eighth overture. It is not written for any production of Aeschylus' tragedy. Rather, it is a concert overture with the nature of a symphonic poem.

At over sixteen minutes, it is a substantial symphonic work. Timpani and brass picture the hopeless plight of the titan, bound to a rock to be eternally devoured by a carrion bird. His crime was bringing fire from the heavens against the will of the gods, in order to improve the lot of mankind. The music softens - perhaps this is a flashback to the telling of the story of this "crime." A dramatic struggle is depicted, with Prometheus' fire providing relief. At the end, though, the gloom and doom of the opening returns and the music sinks back into darkness.

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