A passion for stories
Donald Macleod investigates the origins of Berlioz’s flair for drama and how his imagination was set alight by great writers, past and present.
Donald Macleod investigates the origins of Berlioz’s flair for drama
Berlioz burst onto the musical stage of 19th-century Paris, determined to break the mould of France’s elegant and refined classical style. He wanted to create music that could be bombastic, barbaric and grotesque, as well as sentimental, scintillating and sorrowful. In this, he was inspired by writers as much as fellow musicians. He was captivated by stories and crowded his imagination with the tales of Virgil, Scott, Goethe and, most of all, William Shakespeare. This week, Donald Macleod traces the tangled literary connections in Berlioz’s life and music, including the profound spell cast by Shakespeare over the composer’s art and personality.
Today, fantasy spills into real-life, not for the last time, as teenage Berlioz is emboldened by his favourite romantic novel to pursue his young neighbour, Estelle Dubœuf.
Symphonie fantastique: IV. Marche au supplice
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Claudio Abbado
Harold en Italie: III. Sérénade
William Lincer, viola
New York Philharmonic
conducted by Leonard Bernstein
Les Nuits d'été: IV. Absence, VI. L'île inconnue
Dame Janet Baker, mezzo-soprano
New Philharmonia Orchestra
conducted by Sir John Barbirolli
Waverley, Grande Ouverture
Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse
conducted by Michel Plasson
Roméo et Juliette: Part 1 (extracts)
Michèle Losier, mezzo-soprano
Samuel Boden, tenor
BBC Symphony Orchestra
BBC Symphony Chorus
conducted by Sir Andrew Davis
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Hector Berlioz
Symphonie fantastique: IV. Marche au supplice
Performer: Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Claudio Abbado.- DG : 474-165-2.
- DG.
- 5.
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Hector Berlioz
Harold en Italie: III. Sérénade
Performer: William Lincer. Orchestra: New York Philharmonic. Conductor: Leonard Bernstein.- SONY : G010001400711N.
- SONY.
- 3.
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Hector Berlioz
Les Nuits d'été: IV. Absence, VI. L'île inconnue
Orchestra: New Philharmonia Orchestra. Conductor: John Barbirolli. Singer: Janet Baker.- EMI : CDM-7 69544-2.
- EMI.
- 4.
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Hector Berlioz
Waverley, Grande Ouverture
Performer: Toulouse Capitole Orchestra. Conductor: Michel Plasson.- Warner Classics 3714972.
- Warner Classics.
- 6.
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Hector Berlioz
Roméo et Juliette: Part 1 (extracts)
Singer: Michèle Losier. Singer: Samuel Boden. Orchestra: BBC Symphony Orchestra. Choir: BBC Symphony Chorus. Conductor: Andrew Davis.- Chandos CHSA 5169.
- Chandos.
- 2.
Broadcast
- Mon 6 Nov 2023 12:00BBC Radio 3
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