Berlioz : A Listener's Guide

A bold innovator in 19th century music, Hector Berlioz’s output is in fact less familiar than it should be and much misunderstood. Victor Lederer provides an introduction to Berlioz’s output for the general music lover.

A bold innovator in the 19^th century, Hector Berlioz was a musical dramatist with an output that is less familiar than it should be and often misunderstood. Victor Lederer introduces and surveys the music of Berlioz—from the early symphonic masterworks to the sacred music and concert overtures and to his mighty five-act opera Les Troyens. His most famous and popular pieces are the thrilling programmatic symphonies, the Symphonie fantastique and Harold en Italie. The “dramatic symphonies” Roméo et Juliette and La damnation de Faust are both driven by conflict and excitement, which contrast his piercing, long-limbed melodies and startling harmonic shifts. Berlioz’s strongly profiled musical style possesses high rhythmic energy, and manic outbursts that are instantly identifiable as his, and he is widely acknowledged as one of the most innovative and effective orchestrators in history.