Berlioz: Overtures

Featuring

Sir Andrew Davis
Bergen Filharmoniske Orkester
Hector Berlioz

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Berlioz's overtures often follow a standard outline: a contrast between 'dreams of love' and 'honour and arms', inspired by a quotation from Walter Scott's novel, Waverley.

Composition History

Berlioz composed the overture Le Roi Lear in Nice in 1831 while recovering from an emotional crisis, after reading Shakespeare's play in Florence.

Compositional Technique

Le Carnaval romain, an overture extracted from Berlioz's opera Benvenuto Cellini, is noted for best revealing his brilliant and breathtaking orchestral gifts.

Compositional Technique

The timpani figure at the end of the introduction to Le Roi Lear represents the king's entry into his council chamber, based on a drumbeat that accompanied King Charles X of France.

Composition History

Berlioz considered the Overture to 'Les Francs-juges', composed in 1826, to be his first substantial instrumental composition.

Critical Reception

Berlioz's second opera, Benvenuto Cellini, was received with hostility at its 1838 Paris premiere and quickly withdrawn, partly due to its unflinching rhythmic energy.