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Hector Berlioz

Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the Symphonie fantastique and Harold in Italy, choral pieces including the Requiem and L'Enfance du Christ, his three operas Benvenuto Cellini, Les Troyens and Béatrice et Bénédict, and works of hybrid genres such as the "dramatic symphony" Roméo et Juliette and the "dramatic legend" La Damnation de Faust.

The elder son of a provincial doctor, Berlioz was expected to follow his father into medicine, and he attended a Parisian medical college before defying his family by taking up music as a profession. His independence of mind and refusal to follow traditional rules and formulas put him at odds with the conservative musical establishment of Paris. He briefly moderated his style sufficiently to win France's premier music prize – the Prix de Rome – in 1830, but he learned little from the academics of the Paris Conservatoire. Opinion was divided for many years between those who thought him an original genius and those who viewed his music as lacking in form and coherence.

At the age of twenty-four Berlioz fell in love with the Irish Shakespearean actress Harriet Smithson, and he pursued her obsessively until she finally accepted him seven years later. Their marriage was happy at first but eventually foundered. Harriet inspired his first major success, the Symphonie fantastique, in which an idealised depiction of her occurs throughout.

Berlioz completed three operas, the first of which, Benvenuto Cellini, was an outright failure. The second, the huge epic Les Troyens (The Trojans), was so large in scale that it was never staged in its entirety during his lifetime. His last opera, Béatrice et Bénédict – based on Shakespeare's comedy Much Ado About Nothing – was a success at its premiere but did not enter the regular operatic repertoire. Meeting only occasional success in France as a composer, Berlioz increasingly turned to conducting, in which he gained an international reputation. He was highly regarded in Germany, Britain and Russia both as a composer and as a conductor. To supplement his earnings he wrote musical journalism throughout much of his career; some of it has been preserved in book form, including his Treatise on Instrumentation (1844), which was influential in the 19th and 20th centuries. Berlioz died in Paris at the age of 65.

Birth and Death Data: Born December 11, 1803 (La Côte-Saint-André), Died March 8, 1869 (Paris)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1903 - 1942

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, librettist, arranger

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 26-50 of 113 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor C-27092 12-in. 11/27/1922 Absence Maria Jeritza Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor BVE-37816 10-in. 2/14/1927 Woodwind Victor Orchestra Instructional composer  
Victor BVE-38218 10-in. 3/10/1927 Ballet des sylphs Victor Concert Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Victor CVE-39890 12-in. 10/12/1927 Rákoczy march Philadelphia Orchestra ; Leopold Stokowski Orchestra composer  
Victor CVE-46448 12-in. 9/3/1928 March to the scaffold Eugene Goossens ; Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Victor CVE-47899 12-in. 11/8/1928 Plaisir d'amour Nina Koshetz Soprano vocal solo, with instrumental quartet arranger  
Victor BS-83145 10-in. 5/14/1934 Love for three oranges : March Bruno Reibold ; Victor Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Victor CS-101243 12-in. 5/8/1936 Minuet of the will o' the wisps Boston Symphony Orchestra ; Serge Koussevitzky Orchestra composer  
Victor CS-101244 12-in. 5/8/1936 Damnation of Faust : Presto and waltz Boston Symphony Orchestra ; Serge Koussevitzky Orchestra composer  
Victor CS-101245 12-in. 5/8/1936 Rakóczy march Boston Symphony Orchestra ; Serge Koussevitzky Orchestra composer  
Victor C-[Unnumbered 1923-03-06-01] 12-in. 3/6/1923 Marche hongroise Philadelphia Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Victor CS-010945 12-in. 6/28/1937 The Roman carnival : Overture Boston Pops Orchestra ; Arthur Fiedler Orchestra composer  
Victor CS-010946 12-in. 6/28/1937 The Roman carnival : Overture Boston Pops Orchestra ; Arthur Fiedler Orchestra composer  
Victor BS-011024 10-in. 6/24/1937 Marche hongroise Frank Black ; Victor Concert Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Victor BS-018157 10-in. 1/14/1938 Beatrice and Benedict : Overture Goldman Band Band composer  
Victor BS-018158 10-in. 1/14/1938 Beatrice and Benedict : Overture Goldman Band Band composer  
Columbia 19279 10-in. 3/29/1911 Rákóczy induló Prince's Band Band composer  
Columbia 37378 12-in. 8/23/1915 Chanson de la puce Oscar Seagle Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Columbia 49491 12-in. 9/6/1918 A Roman carnival Columbia Symphony Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Columbia 49492 12-in. 9/6/1918 A Roman carnival Columbia Symphony Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Columbia 49673 12-in. 10/22/1919 Hungarian march Philharmonic Orchestra of New York ; Josef Stransky Orchestra composer  
Columbia 6907 12-in. approximately 1916 Roman carnival overture Beecham Symphony Orchestra ; Thomas Beecham Orchestra composer  
Columbia 6924 12-in. approximately 1916 Damnation of Faust march Beecham Symphony Orchestra ; Thomas Beecham Orchestra composer  
Columbia 74225 12-in. 12/13/1920 Rákóczy march Hallé Orchestra ; Hamilton Harty Orchestra composer  
Brunswick X14862-X14864 12-in. 2/8/1925 Le carnival romain overture, part 1 Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra Orchestra composer  
(Results 26-50 of 113 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Berlioz, Hector," accessed March 29, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102481.

Berlioz, Hector. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 29, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102481.

"Berlioz, Hector." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 29 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102481

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