Hector Berlioz

The discovery of timbre as an independent, essential element of composition is probably the most important innovation in the work of Hector Berlioz (1803 – 1869). His exceptional power of tonal imagination guided him almost automatically to orchestral music, which he deeply influenced, not only through his compositions, but also through his “Treatise on Instrumentation” published in 1844. Berlioz’ treatise in the revised version by Richard Strauss is the standard work in this field and is crucial to the development of the modern orchestra.

In retrospect, Berlioz describes his life as an “improbable novel”. Indeed, it was an adventurous series of ups and downs involving ardent love affairs, great successes and professional disasters, accompanied practically throughout by financial worries. The composer came from a small village at the foot of the French Alps and was originally destined to become a doctor like his father. However, Berlioz abandoned his half-hearted studies of medicine in 1826 and devoted himself completely to music. In 1830, he created his masterpiece, the “Symphonie fantastique”, which was first performed in December of the same year. In this symphony, Berlioz dismisses numerous genre conventions, previously thought to be sacrosanct, at the same time introducing a poetic, narrative style of great clarity and dramatic strength.

Following the “Symphonie fantastique”, Berlioz was offered a series of prestigious commissions. In these works, his artistic concepts permanently hovered on the border between pure music and musical narrative. Innovative symphonic concepts in works such as “Harold en Italie” and “Roméo et Juliette”, or “Requiem” earned him considerable success. However, his opera “Benvenuto Cellini” with its ambitioned libretto, which broke with conventional operatic dramaturgy, was a spectacular failure. Ultimately, Berlioz did not really manage to establish himself as a musician, especially not in Paris, and was thus forced to depend throughout his entire life on bread-and-butter earnings as a journalist – with brilliant literary ability – and as a librarian. From 1835, Berlioz also worked as a conductor, appearing primarily as an advocate of his own compositions.

During the course of the 1840s, Berlioz’ standing in the musical scene underwent a change. In comparison to younger composers such as Liszt and Wagner, who were artistically indebted to him in many respects, Berlioz, the former “musical revolutionary”, seemed almost conservative. He never succeeded in staging his opera “Les Troyens”, the central project of his later creative years, in the manner he had envisioned. However, a much abbreviated version enjoyed great success in 1863. During the 1860s, Berlioz felt increasingly isolated and lapsed into depressive resignation. He died in Paris on 8 March 1869, shortly after his return from a concert tour in Russia.