What is special about Symphonie Fantastique?
What is special about Symphonie Fantastique?
Symphonie fantastique is an epic for a huge orchestra. Through its movements, it tells the story of an artist’s self-destructive passion for a beautiful woman. The symphony describes his obsession and dreams, tantrums and moments of tenderness, and visions of suicide and murder, ecstasy and despair.
What instrument was used in Symphonie Fantastique?
Instrumentation: Two flutes, piccolo, two oboes plus off-stage oboe, English horn, two clarinets, piccolo clarinet, four bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, two cornets, three trombones, two tubas, timpani, percussion, two harps and strings.
What is the name of the recurring musical theme in Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique that represents his obsession with the beloved?
the idée fixe
Unlike most symphonies of the time, whose movements each were built from distinct themes, the Symphonie fantastique was marked by a persistent theme—the idée fixe—that surfaced in various forms in all five movements of the work, although not always as the main theme.
What is the first movement of Symphonie Fantastique?
Symphonie Fantastique is cast in five movements: the first a dream, the second a ball where the artist is haunted by the sight of his beloved. After a country scene, the fourth movement slips into nightmare: “Convinced that his love is spurned, the artist poisons himself with opium,” explained Berlioz.
Which Beethoven symphony or symphonies influenced Berlioz’s composition of the Symphonie fantastique?
The first result was the Symphonie fantastique of 1830. The work is evidently not one that Beethoven himself would ever have written, but it could not have been composed without the influence of Beethoven. The 3rd movement, for example, is an obvious homage to the Pastoral Symphony, which Berlioz admired so much.
What is the message of Symphonie fantastique?
Symphonie fantastique is an epic for a huge orchestra. Through its movements, it tells the story of an artist’s self-destructive passion for a beautiful woman. The symphony describes his obsession and dreams, tantrums and moments of tenderness, and visions of suicide and murder, ecstasy and despair.
What is the literary program of Berlioz Symphonie fantastique?
The literary program to Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique: épisode de la vie d’un artiste (1830) was not written until the music was well along toward completion. The symphony was thoroughly planned out thematically and formally and stands as a musical unity without regard to the program, which Berlioz himself eventually withdrew.…
What are the scenes in the fields in Symphonie fantastique?
Scenes in the Fields. While in Italy, Berlioz explored the musical landscape of the countryside and continued to polish Symphonie fantastique. The Third Movement of Symphonie fantastique opens with an echo from Berlioz’s childhood: the sound of a cowherd’s melody.
Did Harriet Smithson attend the premiere of Symphonie fantastique?
Symphonie fantastique premiered in Paris in 1830. Reactions were mixed. Most disappointingly, Harriet Smithson did not attend. The second movement invites us to a ball. Two harps lead the waltz as the music alternates between watching the dancers and spying on the Artist trying to gain the attention of his beloved.
What is one reason why Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz is historically significant?
The American composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein described the symphony as the first musical expedition into psychedelia because of its hallucinatory and dream-like nature, and because history suggests Berlioz composed at least a portion of it under the influence of opium.
Was Symphonie Fantastique a success?
The concert was a great success. The audience even requested to have an encore of the March played. This symphony was a first of its kind in every way. The idea of a programmatic symphony had previously only briefly been touched upon by Beethoven in his “Pastoral” 6th.
Is Symphonie Fantastique an idée fixe?
In Symphonic Fantastique, Berlioz utilizes an idée fixe, a theme that appears in all five of his movements and lends unity to the piece as a whole. The idée fixe sounds mellifluous and homophonic here, and our introduction to Harriet is soft and warm.
What is the genre of Symphonie fantastique?
Fantasy Symphony
It is one of the most famous Romantic works for orchestra. The official title of the piece is Episode de la Vie d’un Artiste (An Episode in the Life of the Artist), but it is always called by its subtitle Symphonie Fantastique which means Fantasy Symphony.
What movies has Symphonie fantastique been in?
Filmography
- Known For. Star Trek: First Contact Soundtrack (1996)
- Original Sin Soundtrack (2001)
- The Shining Soundtrack (1980)
- Seven Psychopaths Soundtrack (2012)
- Soundtrack. The Bureau (2020)
- The Righteous Gemstones (2019)
- The Protector (2018)
- Roma (2018)
What musical genre best describes Symphonie fantastique?
The official title of the piece is Episode de la Vie d’un Artiste (An Episode in the Life of the Artist), but it is always called by its subtitle Symphonie Fantastique which means Fantasy Symphony. The “Fantasy” refers to the story that is described by them music.
Which French composer wrote the Symphonie fantastique?
-Hector Berlioz
Hector Berlioz, in full Louis-Hector Berlioz, (born December 11, 1803, La Côte-Saint-André, France—died March 8, 1869, Paris), French composer, critic, and conductor of the Romantic period, known largely for his Symphonie fantastique (1830), the choral symphony Roméo et Juliette (1839), and the dramatic piece La …
Is Symphonie fantastique classical?
Classical Classics – Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, Classical Notes, Peter Gutmann. but one of the most influential, enduring and celebrated of all classical masterworks, the Symphonie Fantastique of Hector Berlioz, was meant to depict a drug trip.
How did Bernstein make a living?
Bernstein became Music Director of the New York Philharmonic in 1958. From then until 1969 he led more concerts with the orchestra than any previous conductor. He subsequently held the lifetime title of Laureate Conductor, making frequent guest appearances with the orchestra.
What is idée fixe who is the idée fixe in Symphonie fantastique?
In music, it is traceable to the composer Hector Berlioz, who used the term to denote the recurring theme in his Symphonie fantastique: épisode de la vie d’un artiste (1830), a programmatic work depicting the life of an artist; the theme represented the artist’s obsession with his beloved.
How many movements does Symphonie fantastique have?
five movements
Berlioz called the five movements inspired by this program: “Reveries and Passions,” “A Ball,” “In the Country,” “March to the Scaffold” and “Dream of the Witches Sabbath.” All of the symphony’s innovations — the radical orchestration, eerie harmonies, eccentric rhythms, and the idée fixe representing the beloved (a …
What is Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique?
The creative depth of Berlioz’s signature work, Symphonie Fantastique, is revealed in this collection of exceptional recordings ‘A young artist of morbidly sensitive temperament and fiery imagination poisons himself with opium in a fit of lovesick despair.’
What are the best Berlioz works to listen to?
Explore our selection of the best Berlioz works including Symphonie Fantastique, Les Troyens and La Damnation De Faust . Listen to the best Berlioz works on Apple Music and Spotify and scroll down to explore our selection of the best Berlioz works.
What makes Berlioz rediscovered so special?
Berlioz Rediscovered, an 8CD +1DVD set of their ground-breaking Philips recordings, includes the key orchestral works Symphonie Fantastique, Harold in Italy, the “dramatic symphony” Roméo et Juliett e, the “dramatic legend” La Damnation de Faust and the world premiere recording and Grammy Award-winning Messe Solenelle.
Was Berlioz a ‘young artist of morbidly sensitive temperament’?
With those words, Berlioz introduced his Symphonie fantastique at its Parisian premiere in 1830, and listeners were left with little doubt that the ‘young artist of morbidly sensitive temperament’ was Berlioz himself.
