Harriet
Donald Macleod explores the women who shaped Hector Berlioz鈥檚 life and work. Today, Berlioz finally lands the woman of his dreams, but can she live up to them?
Donald Macleod follows the drama as Berlioz finally marries the woman of his dreams.
Hector Berlioz was one the most innovative and rebellious musicians of 19th-century France. He was a man of unwaveringly high expectations, in his wider life as well as his music. As the quintessential Romantic, one friend said that love was the 鈥渁lpha and omega of his existence鈥�. This week Donald Macleod looks at Berlioz through the passions and relationships that shaped who he was and what he created, exploring the romantic obsessions of an especially obsessive man. We鈥檒l also hear a movement of his Symphonie Fantastique each day 鈥� Berlioz鈥檚 best known work, and the musical embodiment of his most powerful infatuation.
Today, Berlioz鈥檚 dreams come true when he finally manages to win the attention of his unrequited muse, Harriet Smithson, at the triumphant premiere of his Symphonie Fantastique. But after years of waiting, can she live up to his idealised image of her?
Requiem: Lacrimosa
Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus
Roger Norrington, conductor
Chanson de Brigands (Lelio)
John Shirley-Quirk, baritone
London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus
Pierre Boulez, conductor
Symphonie Fantastique (3rd movement - Scene aux champs)
Les Siecles
Francois-Xavier Roth, conductor
Benvenuto Cellini: Overture
Orchestre National de Lyon
Leonard Slatkin, conductor
La Mort d鈥橭ph茅lie
Susan Graham, soprano
Malcolm Martineau, piano
Produced in Cardiff by Amelia Parker
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Music Played
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Hector Berlioz
Grande Messe des Morts, Op 5 (Lacrimosa)
Ensemble: Stuttgart SWR Vocal Ensemble. Orchestra: South-West German R S O. Conductor: Sir Roger Norrington.- HANSSLER : HAEN-93131.
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Hector Berlioz
Lelio - Chanson de Brigands
Singer: John Shirley鈥怮uirk. Choir: London Symphony Chorus. Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Pierre Boulez.- MASTERWORKS : G0100037679774.
- MASTERWORKS.
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Hector Berlioz
Symphonie Fantastique, Op 14 (3rd movement - Scene aux champs)
Orchestra: Les Si猫cles. Conductor: Fran莽ois鈥怷avier Roth.- HARMONIA MUNDI : HMM 902644.
- HARMONIA MUNDI.
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Hector Berlioz
Benvenuto Cellini: Overture
Orchestra: Orchestre national de Lyon. Conductor: Leonard Slatkin.- NAXOS : 8.-573297.
- NAXOS.
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Hector Berlioz
La Mort d'Ophelie
Performer: Malcolm Martineau. Singer: Susan Graham.- ONYX : ONYX-4105.
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Broadcast
- Wed 7 Jul 2021 12:00蜜芽传媒 Radio 3
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