The term classical music is used to refer to the music of the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic eras, which ranged roughly from the years 1600 - 1900. Classical musical consists of some of the world's best known and celebrated composers, such as Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, Weber, and many more. Classical music can be heard by orchestras all throughout the world. In modern times Berlioz is very popular among classical music fans.
Coming out of the Renaissance period of music, classical music made a move toward music that was much more expressive than previous forms. Its composers used concepts such as instrumentation in order to invoke emotion in their audiences by writing parts for specific instruments. Today, classical music is often used as the background for major motion pictures in order to produce certain emotions in movie-going audiences. It has also made stars of many solo artists, such as cellist Yo-Yo Ma and violinists Andre Rieu and Joshua Bell. Get your chance to hear some an example of classical music by buying Berlioz tickets from TicketRoom.
| Date | Location | Venue | Price | Get tickets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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29.11.2024 08:00 |
Los Angeles USA |
The Novo 29.11.2024 08:00 |
$53.40-$327.00 |
Buy tickets |
|
12.02.2025 07:30 |
Fort Lauderdale USA |
Parker Playhouse 12.02.2025 07:30 |
$37.00-$499.00 |
Buy tickets |
|
23.05.2025 07:30 |
Salt Lake City USA |
Abravanel Hall 23.05.2025 07:30 |
$50.60-$519.09 |
Buy tickets |
|
24.05.2025 07:30 |
Salt Lake City USA |
Abravanel Hall 24.05.2025 07:30 |
$35.53-$519.09 |
Buy tickets |
Hector Berlioz was born in France on December 11, 1803. He turned his back on a career in medicine to follow his passion for music, and went on to compose works that showcased the innovativeness and search for expression that were hallmarks of Romanticism. His well-known pieces include the Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts. At the age of 65, Berlioz died in Paris on March 8, 1869.
Louis-Hector Berlioz was born on December 11, 1803, in La Côte-St-André, Isère, France (near Grenoble). Hector Berlioz, as he was known, was entranced with music as a child. He learned to play the flute and guitar, and became a self-taught composer.
Heeding his physician father's wishes, Berlioz went to Paris in 1821 to study medicine. However, much of his time was spent at the Paris-Opéra, where he absorbed Christoph Willibald Gluck's operas. Two years later, he left medicine behind to become a composer.
In 1826, Berlioz enrolled at the Paris Conservatoire. The next year, he saw Harriet Smithson in the role of Ophelia and became captivated by the Irish actress. His ardor inspired the Symphonie fantastique (1830), a piece that broke new ground in orchestral expression. With its use of music to relate a story of desperate passion, it was a hallmark of Romantic composition.
Following three unsuccessful attempts to win the Prix de Rome, Berlioz finally succeeded in 1830. After spending more than a year in Italy, he headed back to Paris, where a performance of his "fantastic symphony" took place in 1832. Smithson attended the concert; after meeting the woman who had haunted him, Berlioz married her the next year.
The 1830s saw Berlioz produce more of his inventive compositions, such as the symphony Harold en Italie (1834) and the impressive choral work Requiem, Grande messe des morts (1837). However, an opera, Benvenuto Cellini (1838), flopped. Berlioz was often forced to rely on music criticism and other writing jobs to make ends meet, though a large financial gift from violinist Niccolò Paganini helped him write the choral symphony Roméo et Juliette (1839).
In the 1840s, touring throughout Europe began to offer Berlioz another source of income; he was particularly appreciated as a conductor in Germany, Russia and England. When the production of another choral work, La Damnation de Faust, became a financial sinkhole after its premiere in 1846, touring again came to the rescue.
Berlioz found his financial footing in the 1850s, when his L'Enfance du Christ (1854) was a success and he was elected to the Institut de France, thus enabling him to receive a stipend. He wrote Les Troyens, inspired by Virgil's Aeneid, at this time, but only got to see a few of the opera's acts be performed in 1863. He also returned to William Shakespeare once more, creating the opera Béatrice et Bénédict (based on Much Ado About Nothing), which had a successful debut in Germany in 1862.
Following more European tours, a lonely Berlioz returned to Paris in 1868. His marriage to Smithson had not lasted, and his second wife had passed away in 1862. He had lost his only child, Louis, in 1867. At the age of 65, he died in Paris on March 8, 1869.
Hector Berlioz left behind many innovative compositions that had set the tone for the Romantic period; though the originality of his work may have worked against him during his lifetime, appreciation of his music would continue to grow after his death.