OTA Berlin Apartments

 

Hector Berlioz – www.foto-face.com

* December 11^th 1803, La Côte-Saint-André † March 8^th 1869, Paris

Berlioz was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande Messe des morts (Requiem). Berlioz made great contributions to the modern orchestra with his Treatise on Instrumentation and by utilizing huge orchestral forces for his works, sometimes calling for over 1,000 performers. At the other extreme, he also composed around 50 songs for voice and piano.

Although neglected in France for much of the 19th century, the music of Berlioz has often been cited as extremely influential in the development of the symphonic form, instrumentation, and the depiction in music of programmatic and literary ideas, features central to musical Romanticism. He was considered extremely progressive for his day, and he, Wagner, and Liszt have been called the “Great Trinity of Progress” of 19th century Romanticism.

In 2003, the bicentenary of Berlioz’s birth, his achievements and status are much more widely recognized, and his music is viewed as both serious and original, rather than an eccentric novelty. Newspaper articles reported his colorful life with zeal, and many festivals dedicated to the composer were held, readings of his books and a French dramatized television biography all helped to create a lot of exposure to the composer’s life and music.

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