Building a Collection #11: Hector Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique
Including recommended recordings
Portions of this post come from a previous post published November 21, 2021 on Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique.
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Building a Collection #11
Symphonie Fantastique Op. 14
By Hector Berlioz
“For some time I have had a descriptive symphony … in my brain. When I have released it, I mean to stagger the musical world.”
-Hector Berlioz
Symphonie Fantastique
Welcome back to Building a Classical Music Collection. We have arrived at #11 on the list of the greatest classical works of all-time. French composer Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique is an epic, program symphony written in 1830. The complete title is Symphonie fantastique: Épisode de la vie d'un artiste… en cinq parties or translated Fantastical Symphony: Episode in the Life of an Artist … in Five Sections. It is one of the most important pieces in classical music, and dates from the very early part of the romantic period. The symphony tells the story of an artist who poisoned himself with opium due to unrequited love (it is conjectured that Berlioz himself may have been under the influence of opium when composing the piece). Although Berlioz later downplayed the programmatic aspect to the music, he did give each section a title and description of what the music is meant to depict. The symphony was groundbreaking and revolutionary in conception and orchestration, especially for 1830, only three years after the death of Beethoven.
The inspiration for the symphony allegedly came from Berlioz’s own unrequited love for Irish actress Harriet Smithson, sparked after he had seen a performance of Hamlet with Smithson in the role of Ophelia. He wrote her several letters that went unanswered. The postscript is supposedly Smithson eventually heard the symphony in 1832, shortly after its premiere, and fell in love with Berlioz’s genius. They were married in 1833, but eventually the marriage ended in a bitter separation. In this sense the work is really a sort of autobiographical for Berlioz. It is also known that Berlioz suffered from bouts of loneliness, depression, and mood swings.
The orchestration calls for over 90 instruments, making for an unusually large orchestra. There are five movements, rather than the traditional four, which is another revolutionary element used by Berlioz. The movements are as follows:
I. "Rêveries – Passions" (Reveries – Passions)
II. "Un bal" (A Ball)
III. "Scène aux champs" (Scene in the Fields)
IV. "Marche au supplice" (March to the Scaffold)
V. "Songe d'une nuit du sabbat" (Dream of a Witches' Sabbath)
The musical themes that recur throughout the symphony represent the protagonist being haunted by his dreams and the idea of his beloved. When the dreams occur, they are accompanied by music. In those dreams, he experiences joy, passion, melancholy, jealousy, fury, and tenderness. With the history of the traditional forms of classical music immediately prior, the direction Berlioz takes is decidedly unconventional. The intense harmonies and tempo changes are a significant departure from traditional forms seen with Haydn, Mozart, and even Beethoven.
The second movement “Un Bal” is essentially a waltz. But even in the midst of joyful celebration, the artist is haunted by thoughts of his beloved. Two important side notes here: Berlioz unusually deploys the use of two harps here, something you can listen for throughout the movement. Also Berlioz later added a cornet part to the score that some modern conductors include, while most use the originally published score without the cornet. Personally I really enjoy the inclusion of the cornet part, which will be mentioned again in this review.
The third movement “Scene au champs” is a slower movement depicting a pastoral setting and some calm entering the artist’s heart, along with some hope and happy thoughts. As the movement progresses, hope mingles with fear and a dark premonition that he will be rejected by his beloved. There are two shepherds in the music, represented by English horns. Eventually toward the end of the movement, when one shepherd calls, the other one doesn’t answer back. The movement ends in loneliness, silence, and solitude.
The fourth movement is the “Marche au supplice” or march to the scaffold. At this point the artist believes he is being spurned by his beloved, so in desperation he takes opium and falls asleep. While dreaming he has strange visions, imagines killing his beloved, and being condemned to death. He is marched to the scaffold, and is witnessing his own execution. The march is solemn but interrupted by wild and brilliant outbursts, and then the haunting theme returns at the end.
Finally, in the fifth movement, "Songe d'une nuit du sabbat" is meant to depict the artist’s funeral. It becomes a vulgar affair, more of an orgy dance, a parody of the traditional Dies Irae, with the witches leading the dance. Tempo changes abound, along with syncopated notes, chromatic touches, and trills. It is great fun, and the combination of minor and major chords build to quite a climax.
Both Berlioz and Smithson are buried at Montmartre Cemetery in Paris.
Top Recording
Our top recommendation was recorded in 1974 in the historical Concertgebouw in Amsterdam with the Concertgebouw Orchestra led by Sir Colin Davis. This justly acclaimed recording draws out the radical harmonies extraordinarily well, and builds the dramatic tension in every movement. The acoustic of the Concertgebouw is ideal for the atmosphere that Berlioz creates, and Davis and the Concertgebouw Orchestra play with intensity and focus. The sound from Philips (now Universal) is warm yet detailed. It is one of the greatest recordings of all-time in my opinion, and it has stood the test of time.
What makes this recording stand out for me are:
Davis takes all the repeats in the score which in my opinion are essential, particularly in the fourth movement “Marche au Supplice” and
The recording has just the right balance between the lyrical, the dramatic, and the dynamic.
Davis chooses to use the solo cornet part that Berlioz added to the second movement “Un Bal” in the autographed score, which was published after his death. The vast majority of recordings do not use the cornet part, but I believe it adds something important to the waltz.
Historic Choices
The Spanish conductor Ataulfo Argenta’s tragic death in 1958 robbed the musical world of its second young superstar conductor in two years (following the tragic death of Guido Cantelli in 1956). One of Argenta’s most enduring legacies is his superb recording of Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique with the Orchestre de la Société du Conservatoire Paris, recorded by Decca in 1957. Argenta’s interpretation is fiery, vivid, and cinematic in its impact, aided by astonishing state-of-the-art early stereo sound. The orchestra is well-balanced, and details are transparent. The strings and brass burst forth with conviction, but never intrusively. Argenta seems to have a natural feel for the peculiar tonal and rhythmic qualities of the piece. One of my very favorite recordings of this masterpiece.
The Alsatian conductor Charles Munch, the long-time director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, made the Symphonie Fantastique his calling card, and he is perhaps the conductor most associated with Berlioz. He recorded the piece several times commercially, but it is this 1954 stereophonic Living Stereo recording with the Bostonians that still stands today as one of the finest versions put down. The recorded sound is excellent for its time, though it is closely miked and perhaps lacking a bit of depth. Regardless, this is a high-adrenaline account full of verve and swagger. Attacks are sharp, and tension is built in a tremendous way. Orchestral sections are balanced well, and when you hear the bells at the beginning of the final movement, it elicits chills and even creepiness. Even without repeats and the optional cornet part, this is a recording for the ages.
Other recommendations
The 2003 Deutsche Grammophon recording from South Korean conductor Myung-Whun Chung and the Orchestre de l’Opera Bastille, Paris has been one of my favorites for this work since it was released. Chung is very successful at communicating the frenetic energy that is so essential to this piece, as well as delivering the necessary hysteria and nightmarish moods associated with the theme. This is a fresh, vivid, and electric performance, but Chung also is able to broaden the landscape in slower passages by making them sound uniquely lyrical and well-considered. It is the dynamic changes and going from extreme to extreme that I find particularly fitting for this symphony, and it just feels right. The individual touches throughout are consistently effective, and Chung’s Bastille orchestra sounds thoroughly French and idiomatic. In some spots I felt as though I was listening to a completely new piece of music. The Marche au supplice, one of my favorite movements in all music, is tightly controlled and sharply focused, and the final witches sabbath is wild and frenzied, but pulled off with brilliant virtuosity. Chung also uses the optional cornet in the second movement, but doesn’t take all the repeats.
Leonard Bernstein’s 1963 recording of Symphonie Fantastique with the New York Philharmonic on Sony is full of verve, wit, and nervous energy. Bernstein’s personality is a good fit for this “fantastic” symphony, and you would be hard pressed to find a more passionate performance. Bernstein would record the symphony again in 1968 with the New Yorkers, and then again in 1976 for EMI with the French National Orchestra. For me, it was his first recording that sizzled with adrenaline and originality. Of course you can listen for yourself, and some listeners won’t like some of Bernstein’s eccentricities and willfulness (I enjoy it, at least on this occasion). The first movement is pushed faster than most (same as his 1968 recording), but it does present a compelling version of a possibly intoxicated composer writing some of the most kaleidoscopic music ever heard. This is deeply moving, electric Berlioz. The sound is rather bright and forward, but excellent for its time. This is a recording I return to often because it seems to me Bernstein just instinctively understood this revolutionary music.
Despite Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa’s long tenure with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the many recordings they made together, there are precious few that rise to the level of greatness. However, their 1973 Deutsche Grammophon recording of Symphonie Fantastique scales the heights and remains one of the most recommended recordings. The Bostonians maintained their reputation for excellence in French repertoire in particular since the days of Charles Munch. While Ozawa’s reading is relatively mainstream, more in the style of Davis than Chung or Bernstein, the orchestra plays with tremendous flair and conviction. The young Ozawa was in great form, and he is especially attuned to the colors and moods. The sound is quite good, similar to other BSO releases on DG from the time period.
John Eliot Gardiner took his period instrument group, Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique (founded in 1989 by Gardiner) to the actual location where the premiere of Symphonie Fantastique took place in 1830, the Ancien conservatoire National de Musique et de Déclamation in Paris, to make this period instrument recording of the symphony. The recording caused a sensation when it was released in 1993, and it remains my choice for a period recording. The acoustic of the recording location is dry, with little reverberation. The advantage is that the sound is clear, direct and natural, but there is some loss of depth and atmosphere. You can hear a lot of detail with the transparent soundstage. The performance itself is enjoyable, with Gardiner choosing relatively mainstream speeds, and bringing out the emotion and drama where needed. The orchestra has enough weight to compete with the best modern instrument recordings, and in this sense is the clear choice when compared to its two main period instrument competitors, namely those from Jos van Immerseel and Francois-Xavier Roth. Immerseel and Roth both lead good performances, but for both the weight of the strings in particular is underweight and less than satisfying. I also like that Gardiner includes the optional cornet part in the second movement, as well as the repeats.
Finally there is the outstanding 2013 recording by the late Mariss Jansons and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra of Munich, released on the orchestra’s own label. In a warm and sumptuous acoustic, the state-of-the-art recording brings out all the undulating dynamics in the first movement quite nicely, and there is great presence and clarity. Jansons’ approach is not to blast you out of your seat with the explosive climaxes, but is intent on bringing out all the tone colors and feelings. You don’t feel as pushed and pulled as much as Bernstein or Chung, but Janson’s approach works equally well especially when you have such a fantastic orchestra like the BRSO. There is still plenty of boldness and excitement, but for Jansons it is never at the expense of orchestral polish. The second movement is ravishingly played, full of style and elegance. The Scene aux Champs is suitably agitated and pulsing, while the Marche au Supplice grows increasingly ominous as it progresses. The finale is a demonstration of orchestral virtuosity, with Jansons injecting the right amount of devilish charm. In my view this is one of the very best recordings Jansons made in his time with the BRSO.
Thank you once again for reading, and join us next time for #12 in the Building a Collection series when we will focus on Gustav Mahler’s Symphony no. 5. Until then, happy listening!
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Notes:
Howard, Leslie (1991). "History of Liszt's Transcription of Symphonie fantastique". Hyperion Records.
"Leonard Bernstein – Young People's Concerts". leonardbernstein.com. Archived from the original on 2014-12-05. Retrieved 2014-11-30.
Bernstein, Leonard (2006). Young People's Concerts. Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire: Amadeus Press. ISBN 978-1-5746-7102-5.
Translation of Berlioz's program notes to the Symphonie fantastique
Taruskin, Richard (2019) [2013]. The Oxford History of Western Music (2 ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. p. 449.
"Hector Berlioz: Mémoires – Chapitre 51". hberlioz.com. Retrieved 2014-11-30.
Steinberg, Michael. "The Symphony: A Listener's Guide". pp. 61–66. Oxford University Press, 1995.
"Hector Berlioz – Discussion on Symphonie fantastique". ugcs.caltech.edu. Archived from the original on 2015-11-26.
The Hector Berlioz Website: Berlioz Music Scores. Retrieved 26 July 2014
Bernstein, Leonard. "Berlioz Takes a Trip": Commentary on Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique[not specific enough to verify]
Hovland, E. (2019, p20) “Who’s afraid of Berlioz?” Studia Musicologica Norvegica. Vol 45, No. 1, pp9-30.
Holoman, D. Kern, Berlioz (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1989). ISBN 0-674-06778-9.
Oxford Companion to Music, Oxford University Press, 2002. ISBN 0-19-866212-2.
Wright, Craig, "The Essential Listening to Music" (Schirmer, Cengage Learning 2013). ISBN 978-1-111-34202-9.