The orchestra Les Siècles uses period instruments from Berlioz's time, including gut strings, to recreate the original timbres and sonic blends the composer intended.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Berlioz is seen by some as a composer of intimacy and sensitivity, while others view him as a genius of the extraordinary and extravagant, who invented the modern orchestra.
Composition History
Les Nuits d'été was inspired by Berlioz's new partner, the mezzo-soprano Marie Recio, and was initially published for mezzo or tenor and piano in 1841.
Interpretation
François-Xavier Roth, the conductor of Les Siècles, discovered Berlioz's music on period instruments while assisting Sir John Eliot Gardiner on Les Troyens.
Compositional Technique
Berlioz was the first composer to write a song cycle accompanied by an orchestra and to create a symphonic poem with a principal viola.
Compositional Technique
In Harold en Italie, Berlioz invented a new role for the solo viola, not as a concertante soloist, but as a musical character, narrator, and protagonist of the story.
Composition History
Harold en Italie began with a misunderstanding in 1834 when Niccolò Paganini, a famous virtuoso violinist, requested a concert piece for his new Stradivarius viola from Berlioz.
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Berlioz: Les Nuits d'été, Op. 7 - Harold en Italie, Op. 16
