Berlioz - Context Flashcards
What musical era/period of history was Berlioz from?
Romantic period (c1810-1900)
When did Berlioz live?
1803-1869
What nationality was Berlioz?
French
What is Berlioz famous for innovating in music?
Expanding the size and use of the symphony orchestra.
What is interesting about Berlioz and the piano?
He did not learn to play it as a child, which he says was both beneficial and detrimental to his musical development.
How did Berlioz learn about music?
Largely self taught from text books.
What did Berlioz initially study at aged 18.
Medicine, but he was not interested in it.
How did Berlioz get into music.
He started to visit the Paris Conservatoire and subsequently enrolled there to study composition in 1826, much to his parent’s disgust!
Which composer particularly influenced him as a student?
Beethoven - he became familiar with his symphonies, quartets, piano works at the conservatoire in Paris.
What prestigious composition prize did he win, after multiple attempts?
Prix de Rome
What works other than Symphonie Fantastique were successful?
‘Harold in Italy’ for viola and orchestra.
Grand Messe des Morts (Requiem mass).
Operas, e.g. ‘Les Troyens’.
When was ‘Symphonie Fantastique’ composed?
1830 (but later revised)
‘Symphonie Fantastique’ is an example of programme music. What does this mean?
Music which tells a story or depicts a scene.
What is the ‘programme’ of the symphony?
The symphony tells the story of a talented artist with a lively imagination who has poisoned himself with opium in the depths of despair because of hopeless love.
How many movements are there in the symphony?
5, which was one more than normal.
- Rêveries – Passions (Reveries – Passions)
- Un bal (A Ball)
- Scène aux champs (Scene in the Fields)
- Marche au supplice (March to the Scaffold)
- Songe d’une nuit du sabbat (Dream of the Night of the Sabbath)
Which movement do we study for the A level course?
Movement 1, known as ‘Reveries (Passions)’.
What is an ‘idee fixe’?
A recurring theme (melodic idea) that appears throughout the symphony.
How was the symphony ground breaking/original for its time?
Through its treatment of melody, rhythms and harmony and Berlioz’s ability to express moods and drama through music.
The symphony is thought to be (autobiographical). What aspect of Berlioz’s life is it believed to be about?
His love and obsession of the Irish born Shakespearean actress Harriet Smithson.
What was Berlioz’s ‘Treatise on Orchestration’?
A book he wrote on the history of the orchestra. He was seen as a superb orchestrator (someone who writes and sets music for an orchestra).
