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The second selected music is “Symphonie fantastique” by Hector Berlioz.
“Symphonie
fantastique” is a symphony written by the French composer Hector Berlioz in
1830, one of the important works of the early Romantic period. It was premiered
at the Paris Conservatoire on 5 December 1830, and Franz Liszt made a piano
transcription of the symphony in 1833.
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| Hector Berlioz |
The American composer and conductor
Leonard Bernstein described the symphony as the "first musical expedition
into psychedelia," based on its hallucinatory and dreamlike character and
the suggestion that Berlioz composed the piece while he was under the influence
of opium.
In 1831, Berlioz wrote a less
famous sequel to the work, “Lélio, ou Le retour à la vie,” for actors,
soloists, chorus, piano, and orchestra.
“Symphonie
fantastique” is a piece of program music, telling the story of an artist who,
after suffering from unrequited love, tries to commit suicide with opium, and
in a coma, experiences all sorts of fantasies involving the woman he loves.
Berlioz wrote the overall plot of
the piece himself as his own preface for each movement of the piece.
On September 11, 1827, Berlioz attended a performance of William Shakespeare's Hamlet and fell in love with the Irish actress Harriet Smithson, who played the role of Ophelia.
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| Harriett Smithson, George Clint |
He sent her
numerous love letters, but all of them were unanswered, and in 1829 she left
Paris. He then wrote “Symphonie fantastique” as a way of expressing his
unrequited love, with many different portrayals of Harriet Smithson throughout
the symphony. Smithson did not attend the premiere in 1830, but she realized Berlioz's
genius when she heard the work in 1832. Finally, they married on October 3,
1833, but their marriage became increasingly unhappy, and they eventually
divorced a few years later.
Thank you.
“Seungyong Chang’s Culture and Art Stories” News Letter (November 26, 2022)
“Interesting Art Stories” Internet Lecture
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