Immensely influential, the remarkable symphonie fantastique was composed while hector berlioz was suffering an intense and unreciprocated passion for the irish actress harriet smithson. Romeo and juliet is one of berliozs greatest and most original works, and reflects a number of influences. It was first performed at the theatre lyrique theatrelyrique imperial du chatelet, paris on 27 april 1867. Finale brawl between the capulets and the montagues 1. Michael tilson thomas in highresolution audio at available in mqa. New england conservatory chorus, boston symphony orchestra, seiji ozawa, cond.
Gramophone magazines essential berlioz recording sir colin daviss third recorded romeo et juliette with fine young soloists and his superb lso forces. Hector berlioz romeo et juliette boxset, vinyl discogs. He has form in the best sense in berlioz, so to turn to the frenchman another anniversary boy he died in 1869 and especially to his great hybrid romeo and juliet, was an inspired choice. The composition of the dramatic symphony romeo and juliet in 1839 was. Romeo et juliette finale sascha waltz paris 2012 youtube. Feb 09, 2012 the orchestra of the age of enlightenment conducted by mark elder perform berliozs romeo et juliette at the royal festival hall, london on 18 february, and extracts from the work at reverb. Customers and visitors can download classical music in high quality flac or mp3 and find out more about classical music. Romeo et juliette is a symphonie dramatique, a largescale choral symphony by french composer hector berlioz, which was first performed on 24 november 1839. Berliozs romeo et juliette was based on shakespeares plays. Free download berlioz, toscanini, nbc symphony orchestra romeo and juliet 1st part introduction tumult strife the prince intervenes,2nd part prologue romeo alone,2nd part conclusion,calm night love scene,3rd part funeral march for juliet, romeo at the tomb of the capulets, finale flac album. Louis hector berlioz romeo et juliette, for alto, tenor. Berlioz, toscanini, nbc symphony orchestra romeo and. Hector berliozs romeo et juliette symphony was a compound labor of love for. Though recorded in the same month, the sonics are less vibrant, sibilants spray from the speakers, vocal overtones form buzzing halos that come and go around sedovs bass, and the orchestra seems set farther back.
The beethoven was the more complex work musically, but the berlioz was harder for performers to grasp. It is in the first instance a homage to the genius of shakespeare, whose discovery by berlioz in 1827 had such a profound effect on his artistic development quite apart from his personal life. Michael tilson thomas and the san francisco symphony bring unsurpassed storytelling and musicality to their latest recording on the grammy awardwinning sfs media label. Berlioz romeo et juliette, symphonie dramatique, op. Michael tilson thomas in highresolution audio at available in mqa and 192 khz 24bit, 96 khz 24bit aiff, flac. Much as berliozs romeo et juliette transcended the established range of a symphony and largely eschewed an attempt to depict the events of the plot, tchaikovskys romeo and juliet fantasy overture was more of an abstract meditation on the underlying premise of love arising from disorder and struggling to remain above social demands. Romeo at the tomb of the capulets see also texts and documents.
It is a sprawling, strangely constructed score, typical of berlioz, and compelling from the first bar. New england conservatory chorus, boston symphony orchestra, charles munch, cond. For more than two decades, the sfs adventures in music program has. The libretto was written by emile deschamps, and the completed work was assigned the catalogue numbers op. Excerpt 1 14 measures before to 8 measures after, excerpt 2 27 measures before to 1 measure after.
Its an aesthetic realized in berlioz romeo et juliette, a sprawling. This new recording of romeo et juliette his first, i believe is not a disappointment. Likewise, the funeral music is closely connected to the finale that follows. Berlioz referred to his romeo et juliette as a symphonie dramatique, and sylvain cambreling certainly takes note of the drama of this fascinating score. Berliozs romeo et juliette comes out of beethoven almost as much as out of shakespeareout of the revelation of the beethovenian symphony at the conservatoire concerts in 1828. Berliozs third symphonic work, romeo et juliette 1839, rarely heard in its entirety, incorporates chorus and vocal soloists into its five large sections, which are programmatically derived from episodes of shakespeares drama. Berlioz romeo and juliet the hector berlioz website.
A year earlier, in 1839, berlioz had produced, thanks to paganinis generosity, his dramatic symphony romeo et juliette, whose totally unconventional form baffled contemporary critics and has continued to trouble some but won wagners wholehearted admiration. The major work here is the dramatic symphony romeo et juliette, which combines two of the recurring points of inspiration for this composer. The substantial filler, les nuits dete, comes as a letdown after such a commendable romeo et juliette. Dueling choruses represent the montagues and capulets. This is how hector berlioz described the dramatic potential of a bold new kind of symphonic music a.
Romeo et juliette 2018 flac tracks 24bit96 khz time 96. The crowd rushes to the cemetery brawl between montagues and. Queen mab scherzo, and the finale, and the full score was not published till 1847. Munch conducts berlioz classical music album play streams in full or download mp3 from classical archives, the largest and best organized classical music site on the web. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Sep 11, 2016 here, by way of compensation, is an orchestrally superb new version of berliozs dramatic symphony loosely based on shakespeares romeo and juliet. Hector berliozs music has been a steady undercurrent in the career of pierre boulez, a conductor famed mostly for his interpretations of 20 thcentury works. Romeo et juliette, opus 17 by sasha cooke, nicholas phan, luca pisaroni, san francisco symphony chorus, ragnar bohlin, san francisco symphony, michael tilson thomas from amazons classical music store. Romeo et juliette is one of berliozs greatest works and if you havent got a recording of it in your collection, you really cant do better than this superbly played, recorded and interpreted version. Romeo et juilette is a dramatic symphony with full chorus and three vocal soloists. Romeo et juliette finale sascha waltz paris 2012 duration.
The score is berliozs most comprehensive and detailed programmatic piece. For berlioz, on the contrary, the ninth proclaimed the final emancipation of the symphony from its 18thcentury restrictions. The composition of the dramatic symphony romeo and juliet in. I recently took part in performances of the missa solemnis and romeo et juliette. Not coincidentally, berlioz was a great admirer of beethoven. Only in the final movement are they heard together, overcoming their ancient feud. The refinement of the sound brings pianissimos of breathtaking delicacy, focused in fine detail. It seems that cambrelings gifts have yet to achieve full recognition in the uk, but a glance at his biography reveals extensive operatic background, including messiaens st francois dassise in 1992 at the opera bastille in paris. Berliozs music still gives me the little unexpected jolt. Finale brawl between the capulets and the montagues 01. Romeo et juliette, for alto, tenor, bass, chorus and orchestra, h. Boulez is always thoughtful and detailoriented, but here he is also genuinely heartfelt. But, rather than using shakespeares text directly, berlioz used the text by emile deschamps,which was based on garricks version of shakespeare. Released in the year of shakespeares 400th anniversary, valery gergiev and london symphony orchestra are joined by soloists olga borodina, kenneth tarver and evgeny nikitin for berlioz romeo et juliette, recorded live at the barbican hall in november 20.
There are splendid performances from mezzosoprano olga borodina one of the few russian singers who perform nonslavic works satisfactorily for the western ear, tenor thomas moser. Berlioz romeo et juliette by san francisco symphony issuu. More than 1150000 cds, dvds, vinyls, games, technics, equipment and toys since 1991 at your service. Structurally and musically, romeo et juliette is most indebted to beethovens 9th symphony 1 2. It is also one of the great renditions of this famous and sad story of love thwarted by petty minds and vanity. Large print program notes are available through the generosity of. Though there are currently six recordings of berliozs highly demanding dramatic symphony in the catalogue, ranging from toscaninis fairly eccentric 1947 broadcast and charles munchs welljudged 1953 version to several more recent ones, the deletion of sir colin daviss 1968 philips set 1268 has left a gap. This was the first of two concerts to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his debut.