Contents
Hector Berlioz
Composing Symphonie fantastique and expanding the dramatic possibilities of the orchestra.
Symphonie fantastique · Requiem
- Born
- 11 December 1803
- Birthplace
- La Côte-Saint-André, France
- Died
- 8 March 1869
More people
Hector Berlioz
Hector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer, conductor and critic. He treated orchestral sound as a storytelling medium, using striking instrumental combinations and unusually large forces.
Early life
A doctor’s son
Received much of his early education from his father and learned flute and guitar.
Medicine abandoned
Moved to Paris to study medicine but turned towards composition and the Conservatoire.
Career
- 1820s
Composition training
Studied in Paris while repeatedly entering the Prix de Rome competition.
- 1830
Breakthrough year
Won the Prix de Rome and premiered Symphonie fantastique.
- 1840s–1860s
International conducting
Toured abroad conducting his music while working as a critic.
- Later years
Large dramatic works
Completed major operatic projects despite difficulty securing productions.
Selected work
Symphonie fantastique
Five-movement orchestral drama following an artist’s obsessive fantasies.
Requiem
Choral work using vast musical forces and spatially separated brass.
Les Troyens
Opera drawing on Virgil’s account of Troy and Carthage.
Beyond work
Memoirs
Wrote a vivid account of his musical struggles, travels and relationships.
Shakespeare enthusiasm
The plays and actress Harriet Smithson deeply influenced his dramatic imagination.
Sources & photo credit
Biography ↗Life and work ↗Photo: w:August Prinzhofer (1816–1885). Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
