Hector Berlioz

1840}}

Louis-Hector Berlioz ; ; .|group=n}} (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold in Italy'', choral pieces including the Requiem and ''L'Enfance du Christ'', his three operas ''Benvenuto Cellini'', ''Les Troyens'' and ''Béatrice et Bénédict'', and works of hybrid genres such as the "dramatic symphony" ''Roméo et Juliette'' and the "dramatic legend" ''La Damnation de Faust''.

The elder son of a provincial physician, Berlioz was expected to follow his father into medicine, and he attended a Parisian medical college before defying his family by taking up music as a profession. His independence of mind and refusal to follow traditional rules and formulas put him at odds with the conservative musical establishment of Paris. He briefly moderated his style sufficiently to win France's premier music prize – the Prix de Rome – in 1830, but he learned little from the academics of the Paris Conservatoire. Opinion was divided for many years between those who thought him an original genius and those who viewed his music as lacking in form and coherence.

At the age of twenty-four Berlioz fell in love with the Irish Shakespearean actress Harriet Smithson, and he pursued her obsessively until she finally accepted him seven years later. Their marriage was happy at first but eventually foundered. Harriet inspired his first major success, the ''Symphonie fantastique'', in which an idealised depiction of her occurs throughout.

Berlioz completed three operas, the first of which, ''Benvenuto Cellini'', was an outright failure. The second, the epic ''Les Troyens'' (The Trojans), was so large in scale that it was never staged in its entirety during his lifetime. His last opera, ''Béatrice et Bénédict''based on Shakespeare's comedy ''Much Ado About Nothing''was a success at its premiere but did not enter the regular operatic repertoire. Meeting only occasional success in France as a composer, Berlioz increasingly turned to conducting, in which he gained an international reputation. He was highly regarded in Germany, Britain and Russia both as a composer and as a conductor. To supplement his earnings he wrote musical journalism throughout much of his career; some of it has been preserved in book form, including his ''Treatise on Instrumentation'' (1844), which was influential in the 19th and 20th centuries. Berlioz died in Paris at the age of 65. Provided by Wikipedia
Showing 1 - 20 results of 42 for search 'Berlioz, Hector, 1803-1869', query time: 0.03s Refine Results
  1. 1

    Benvenuto Cellini : an opera in 3 acts / by Berlioz, Héctor, 1803-1869

    Musical Score Book
  2. 2

    Les Troyens / by Berlioz, Héctor, 1803-1869

    Published 1973
    Musical Score Book
  3. 3

    Overtures / by Berlioz, Hector, 1803-1869

    Published 1998
    Audio
  4. 4

    Benvenuto Cellini, op. 23 : opera comique in two acts and four tableaus / by Berlioz, Hector, 1803-1869

    Published 1972
    Audio
  5. 5

    Les Troyens : opéra en cinq actes / by Berlioz, Héctor, 1803-1869

    Published 1994
    Audio
  6. 6

    La Damnation de Faust, op. 24 : premiere et deuxième parties / by Berlioz, Hector, 1803-1869

    Published 2001
    Audio
  7. 7

    La Damnation de Faust, op. 24 : troisieme et quatrieme parties / by Berlioz, Hector, 1803-1869

    Published 2001
    Audio
  8. 8

    El director de orquesta / by Berlioz, Héctor, 1803-1869

    Published 1977
    Book
  9. 9

    Symphonie Fantastique = Le Carnaval romain / by Berlioz, Hector, 1803-1869

    Published 1994
    Audio
  10. 10

    Requiem, op. 5 : Grande Messe des Morts / by Berlioz, Héctor, 1803-1869

    Published 1994
    Audio
  11. 11

    Grande trattato di istrumentazione e d'orchestrazione moderne / by Berlioz, Héctor, 1803-1869

    Published 1912
    Musical Score Book
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14

    Requiem, op. 5 : Grande Messe des Morts / by Berlioz, Hector, 1803-1869

    Published 1968
    Audio
  15. 15

    Requiem op. 5 : 1 / by Berlioz, Héctor, 1803-1869

    Published 1997
    Audio
  16. 16

    Requiem, op. 5 : 2 ; Te Deum, op. 22 / by Berlioz, Héctor, 1803-1869

    Published 1997
    Audio
  17. 17

    Memorias / by Berlioz, Héctor, 1803-1869

    Published 1977
    Book
  18. 18

    Sinfonía fantástica, op. 14 / by Berlioz, Hector, 1803-1869

    Audio
  19. 19

    Symphonie fantastique, op. 14 / by Berlioz, Héctor, 1803-1869

    Musical Score Book
  20. 20

    Haroldo en Italia, op.16 / by Berlioz, Héctor, 1803-1869

    Audio