Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique

Orchestre National de Lyon;
Slatkin, Leonard

NBD 0029

The Symphonie fantastique not only had a far-reaching influence on subsequent composers such as Liszt and Wagner, but as a musical drama conceived in five movements also bears autobiographical traits that Berlioz processed into this grandiose work. During the creation of the Symphonie fantastique the composer suffered from his passionate but tragically unrequited love for the Irish actress Harriet Smithson. This love recurs in the Symphonie fantastique as a leitmotif, allowing the listener to see how the story develops. The protagonist, who suffers from lovesickness in the drama, dreams in an opium frenzy that he will kill and execute his beloved in revenge for her cold feelings and infidelity. Later he encounters his love as a witch on a witch sabbath. Berlioz still married Harriet Smithson, but the marriage lasted only seven years.

The American conductor Leonard Slatkin enjoys worldwide recognition as an interpreter of an extensive and versatile repertoire.

Blu-ray audio

Muzyka klasyczna

Naxos

23-08-2012

0730099002967