Hector Berlioz

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(1803 – 1869)

Louis Hector Berlioz (11th December 1803–8th March 1869) was a French Romantic composer best known for the Symphonie fantastique, first performed in 1830, and for his Requiem - Grande messe des morts - of 1837, with its tremendous resources that include four antiphonal brass choirs. Berlioz was born in France at La Côte-Saint-André in the département of Isère, between Lyon and Grenoble. His father was a physician, and young Hector was sent to Paris to study medicine at the age of eighteen. Berlioz was horrified by the process of dissection, and, despite his father’s disapproval, he abandoned his career path in medicine to study music a year later. He then attended the Paris Conservatoire studying opera and composition.

He became identified early on with the French romantic movement. Among his friends were writers such as Alexandre Dumas, Victor Hugo, and Honoré de Balzac. Later, Théophile Gautier wrote, “Hector Berlioz seems to me to form with Hugo and Delacroix, the Trinity of Romantic Art.”

Berlioz is said to have been innately romantic, experiencing emotions deeply from early childhood. This manifested itself in his weeping at passages of Virgil as a child, and later in a series of love affairs. At the age of 23, his unrequited (at first) love for the Irish Shakespearean actress Harriet Constance Smithson was the inspiration for his Symphonie fantastique. In 1830, the same year as the symphony’s premiere, Berlioz won the Prix de Rome.
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  • ArtyJSimpson

    Столько леблов его издали;)

    last month

  • MusicHallofFame

    The Music Hall of Fame are delighted to induct Hector Berlioz into the Class of 1960. Congratulations. Please vist our page too see the latest inductees into the Music Hall of Fame

    February 2012

  • jinofcoolnes

    this guy is amazing. wait....he's on tour? he should be...

    January 2012

  • Sosen

    I always associate Symphonie Fantastique with those crazy dreams that make no sense and aren't really bad or good.

    January 2012

  • confu

    who cares, the playlist is awesome. thanks mate

    January 2012

  • slavicfrost

    ulyssestone > how much do you get paid for commercials?

    December 2011

  • Biscuit1978

    Come along and join the group Orchestral Composer of the Week. Nominate your 5 favourite composers each week and see who gets into the Hall of Fame.

    December 2011

  • ulyssestone

    Hector Berlioz: complete works in one Spotify playlist. http://www.spotifyclassical.com/2011/10/hector-berlioz-complete-chronological.html Including Messe solennelle (rediscovered in 1992), all Prix de Rome Cantatas, both Weimar and Paris version of Benvenuto Cellini, Beecham's legendary recording of the Requiem. More than 24 hours of music, sorted in chronological order.

    October 2011
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