Berlioz, Hector

Date of Birth

Date of death

Profession

composer

A country

Berlioz went down in history as a brave artist who expanded expressive possibilities musical art, as a romantic who sharply captured the violent spiritual impulses of his time, as a composer who closely connected music with other forms of art, as the creator of program symphonic music - this conquest of the romantic era, established in creativity composers of the 19th century century.

The future composer Hector was born on December 11, 1803 in La Côte-Saint-André near Grenoble. His father, the doctor Louis-Joseph Berlioz, was a free-thinking and independent man.

He introduced his son to music theory and taught him to play the flute and guitar. One of Berlioz's first strong musical impressions was the singing of a women's choir in a local monastery. Although Berlioz's interest in music awoke relatively late - in his twelfth year - it was unusually strong and soon turned into an all-consuming passion. From now on, only music existed for him. Geography and the classics of literature faded into the background.

Berlioz turned out to be a typical self-taught person: he owed his musical knowledge to himself and to the books he found in his father’s library. Here he became acquainted with such complex works as Rameau’s “Treatise on Harmony”, with books that required deep special preparation.

The boy showed increasing musical success. He played the harmonic, flute and guitar fluently. His father did not allow him to learn to play the piano, fearing that this instrument would take him further into the field of music than he would like. He believed that the profession of a musician was not suitable for his son, and dreamed that Hector, like him, would be a doctor. On this basis, a conflict subsequently arose between father and son. Young Berlioz continued to compose, and meanwhile his father continued to prepare his son for the medical profession. In 1821, 18-year-old Berlioz successfully passed the baccalaureate exam in Grenoble. From there he and cousin went to Paris to enter the medical faculty. Both young men settled in the Latin Quarter, the center of student life in Paris.

Berlioz spent his free time in the library of the Paris Conservatory, studying the scores of great masters, especially Gluck, whom he adored. Realizing that without serious preparation it was impossible to become a composer, he began to study the theories of composition, first with Gerono, and then with Lesueur, a professor at the conservatory, author of several operas and choral works.

On Lesueur's advice, Berlioz entered the conservatory in 1826. Over the next two years, according to Berlioz, his life was illuminated by “three strikes of lightning”: acquaintance with the works of Shakespeare, Goethe and Beethoven. These are further stages of spiritual maturation. But there was another lightning bolt that had nothing to do with music.

In 1827, a new English dramatic troupe led by the famous tragedian Kemble and actress Smithson visited Paris. Berlioz was incredibly excited by Smithson's talent and entire artistic appearance; he fell in love with her at first sight. The young English artist, Irish by birth, was 27 years old at that time. Contemporaries noted the sincerity of her lyrical talent and deep emotional responsiveness. The surviving portraits, especially the lithograph by Deveria, recreate the appearance of a talented artist, an inspired face, and a thoughtful look.

Love for the famous actress, spoiled by triumph in London and Paris, forced Berlioz to achieve creative success at all costs. Meanwhile, Harriet Smithson did not pay attention to him, and fame did not come to him.

Easily flammable, constantly in a state of creative excitement, Berlioz composes, moving from one idea to another: cantatas, songs ("Irish Melodies"), orchestral overtures and much more. Since 1823, he has been publishing controversial articles in the press and has not parted with the journalist’s pen for many years. So imperceptibly, but intensely, he became involved in the artistic life of Paris, becoming close to the best representatives advanced intelligentsia: Hugo, Balzac, Dumas, Heine, Liszt, Chopin and others.

His life is still not guaranteed. He gave an original concert, which was a success. But he had to rewrite the parts with his own money, invite soloists and an orchestra, and therefore went into debt. This will continue in the future: like Balzac, he cannot pay off his creditors! The official authorities do not cooperate in anything. Moreover, conservative music circles They create obstacles at every step. For example, three times after graduating from the conservatory, he was denied a state scholarship, which was issued for a trip to Italy for three years (the so-called Rome Prize). Only in 1830 he was awarded the high honor...

During this period, Berlioz wrote both purely symphonic works and works in which vocal and orchestral episodes were freely combined. Their ideas are always unusual and carry a charge of energy. Unexpected literary and pictorial associations, sharp contrasts of figurative comparisons, sudden changes in states - all this conveys in a bright, colorful sound the conflicting mental world of the artist, endowed with a passionate imagination.

On December 5, 1830, the premiere of the Symphony Fantastique, Berlioz's most famous work, took place. This is a kind of musical novel with complex psychological overtones. It is based on a plot that is briefly summarized by the composer as follows: “A young musician, with morbid sensitivity and a passionate imagination, is poisoned with opium in a fit of love despair. The narcotic dose, too weak to cause his death, plunges him into a heavy sleep, while during which sensations, feelings and memories are transformed in his sick brain into musical thoughts and images. The beloved woman herself becomes for him a melody and, as it were, an obsession that he finds and hears everywhere."

In the given program, which explains the concept of the symphony, one can easily see autobiographical features- echoes of Berlioz's passionate passion for Harriet Smithson.

Long before the end of his stay in Italy, in 1832, Berlioz returned to Paris. At the concert he gave, the Fantastic Symphony was performed in new edition and the monodrama "Lelio". There was a new meeting with Harriet Smithson. The life of the actress at this time was difficult. The audience, fed up with new theatrical experiences, ceased to be interested in the performances of the British. As a result of the accident, the actress broke her leg. Her stage activities ended. Berlioz showed touching concern for Smithson. A year later she married Berlioz. The young composer had to work 12-15 hours to feed his family, snatching hours from the night for creativity.

Looking ahead, let's say that family life didn't work out. Due to her refusal to perform, Smithson's character deteriorated. Berlioz seeks consolation on the side, is attracted to the mediocre Spanish singer Maria Recio, who became friends with him not so much out of love as out of selfish motives: the name of the composer was already widely known at that time.

Berlioz's new major work was the symphony "Harold in Italy" (1834), inspired by memories of this country and his passion for Byron. The symphony is programmatic, but the nature of the music is less subjective than in Fantastic. Here the composer sought not only to convey the personal drama of the hero, but also to depict the world around him. Italy in this work is not only a background that shades a person’s experiences. She lives her life, bright and colorful.

In general, the period between the two revolutions - 1830 and 1848 - was the most productive in creative activity Berlioz. Constantly in the thick of life's battles, as a journalist, conductor, composer, he becomes an artistic figure of a new type, who defends his convictions by all means available to him, passionately denounces inertia and vulgarity in art, and fights for the establishment of high romantic ideals. But, easily catching fire, Berlioz cools down just as quickly. He is very unstable in his emotional impulses. This largely darkens his relationships with people.

In 1838, the opera Benvenuto Cellini premiered in Paris. The performance was excluded from the repertoire after the fourth performance. Berlioz could not recover from this blow for a long time! After all, the music of the opera bursts with energy and fun, and the orchestra captivates with its bright characteristics.

In 1839, work was completed on the Third, the most extensive and endowed with the brightest contrasts, symphony - “Romeo and Julia” for orchestra, choir and soloists. Berlioz had previously introduced elements of theatricality into his instrumental dramas, but in this work, in the rich change of episodes inspired by Shakespeare's tragedy, the features of operatic expressiveness were even more clearly evident. He revealed the theme of pure young love that grew in spite of hatred and evil and conquers them. Berlioz's symphony is a deeply humanistic work, filled with a fiery belief in the triumph of justice. The music is completely free from false pathos and frantic romanticism; perhaps this is the most objective creation of the composer. The victory of life over death is affirmed here.

The year 1840 was marked by the performance of Berlioz's Fourth Symphony. Together with the previously written Requiem (1837), these are direct echoes of the progressive beliefs of the frantic romantic. Both works are dedicated to the memory of the heroes of the July Revolution of 1830, in which the composer took a direct part, and are intended to be performed by gigantic ensembles in open-air squares.

Berlioz also became famous as an outstanding conductor. Since 1843, his tours began outside of France - in Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Russia, and England. Everywhere he had phenomenal success, especially in St. Petersburg and Moscow (in 1847). Berlioz is the first touring conductor in the history of performing arts, who performed contemporary authors along with his own works. As a composer, he evokes contradictory, often polar opinions.

Every Berlioz concert won new listeners to his music. Paris remained a sad contrast in this regard. Nothing has changed here: a small group of friends, the indifference of bourgeois listeners, the hostile attitude of most critics, the malicious grins of musicians, hopeless need, the hard forced labor of a newspaper day laborer. Big hopes Berlioz credited the first performance of the dramatic legend “The Damnation of Faust” that he had just completed at the end of 1846. The only result of the concert was a new debt of 10,000 francs, which the performers had to pay for renting the premises. Meanwhile, "The Damnation of Faust" is one of the composer's most mature works. The indifference and misunderstanding with which it was met is explained by the novelty of the music, the break with tradition. The genre nature of The Damnation of Faust baffled not only ordinary listeners, but also musicians.

The original concept for the work dates back to 1828-29, when Berlioz wrote Eight Scenes from Faust. However, since then the idea has undergone significant changes and become deeper. This dramatized oratorio, even more than the dramatic symphony Romeo and Julia, is closer to the theatrical stage genre. And just like Byron or Shakespeare, in his last work Berlioz very freely interprets the literary source - Goethe's poem, freely adding a number of scenes he invented.

The rebellious period in Berlioz's biography has ended. His violent temperament cools down. He did not accept the revolution of 1848, but at the same time he was stifled in the grip of the empire of “the pathetic nephew of the great uncle” (as Hugo nicknamed Napoleon III). Something broke in Berlioz. True, he is still active as a conductor (he visited Russia again in 1867-68), as a writer about music (publishing collections of articles, working on memoirs), and composing, although not so intensively.

Berlioz stopped writing symphonies. Only the small cantata “The Childhood of Christ” (1854), distinguished by its musical picturesqueness and shades of mood, is intended for concert performance. In the theater, Berlioz dreams of achieving decisive success. Alas, this time it was in vain... Neither his opera in two parts “Les Troyens” (1856), in which Berlioz tried to revive the majestic pathos of Gluck, nor the elegant comedy “Beatrice and Benedick” (based on Shakespeare’s play “Much Ado”) was successful. out of nothing", 1862). For all their merits, these works still lacked the emotional power that was so impressive in the works of the previous period. Fate is cruel to him: Smithson died, paralyzed. The second wife, Recio, also died, and his only son, a sailor, died in a shipwreck. Relationships with friends also deteriorate. Berlioz was overcome by illness. He dies alone on March 8, 1869.

Of course, in this twentieth year, not everything was painted in such a bleak light. There was partial success and formal recognition of merit. But the greatness of Berlioz was not understood by his contemporaries in his homeland. Only later, in the 1870s, he was proclaimed the head of the new French school of music.

Interesting Facts

1. What a memory!

Oddly enough, despite the fact that Berlioz was introduced to music from childhood, little Hector could not stand the piano, but he enjoyed playing the guitar, flute and flageolet.

Possessing an exceptional musical memory, he mastered sight reading to perfection. Arriving in Paris, young Hector decided to first join the choir. When he came to the audition, he was asked in surprise:

Where are your sheet music, young man? For what? - Berlioz was surprised in turn.

But you came to the audition, didn't you? How are you going to sing if you don't have music notation? Berlioz replied:

Very simple.

What will you sing?

Whatever you want. Give me some kind of score, solfeggio, or just a notebook of vocalises.

Do you sight sing? - the choir director was pleasantly surprised. -Can’t you sing anything from memory?

Easily! I know the operas from memory: “Vestal”, “Cortes”, “Stratonica”, “Oedipus”, both “Iphigenia”, “Orpheus”, “Armide”...

Enough! Incomprehensible memory! Then sing Sacchini's Oedipus aria "She lavished on me..."

Berlioz performed the aria superbly to the accompaniment of the violin and was enrolled in the choir.

2. Don't pay attention?

A certain aspiring composer turned to Berlioz with a request to evaluate his works. Berlioz, having looked at them, told the young man:

Unfortunately, I must say that you do not have minimal musical abilities. I don’t want to mislead you so that you can choose another profession before it’s too late.

When the distressed young man, having left the famous composer’s apartment, had already gone out into the street, Berlioz suddenly looked out of the window and shouted:

Young man! Don't pay attention to what I said. In fairness, I must confess to you that when I was your age, my teacher told me exactly the same thing!..

3. Slept through a masterpiece

When Hector Berlioz was asked which of his symphonies he considered the best, he usually answered: - Alas, I... slept through my best symphony...

But how could this happen?!

The fact is that I composed it from beginning to end... in a dream. When I woke up, I wanted to write it down, but I had neither paper nor pencil at hand. And I immediately fell asleep. But in the morning I could not remember anything, not a single divine melody.

4. Your choice

Berlioz did not like to give autographs. The famous singer Adelaide Patti asked the composer many times to write at least something for her album, but he was adamant...

One day she said to Berlioz with a smile:

Maestro, if you will be so kind as to write at least a few lines in my album, as a reward for this I will give you a gift. Your choice, maestro: either I will sing for you, or I will give you the most excellent liver pate, which was just sent to me today from Toulouse...

After thinking, Berlioz picked up the album and wrote only two Latin words.

What does this mean? - asked the surprised singer.

This means: “Bring the pate,” Berlioz smiled.

5. My head is spinning!

Young Berlioz was delighted with Beethoven. But his already rather elderly teacher, Lesueur, could not stand this new music. However, one day Berlioz managed to persuade the old man, and he nevertheless went to listen to Beethoven’s symphony.

The next day Berlioz asked the teacher:

Well, sir, what impression did the music of the great Beethoven make on you?

Where did you send me! - thundered Lesueur. - And I, an old fool, listened... Do you know that this devilish music brought me to such a state that when I returned home, went to bed and wanted to put on my nightgown, I could not find my head! Is it possible to create music that makes a person lose his head!

“Ah, maestro,” Berlioz said, laughing, “maybe once or twice in your life it’s worth losing her... But not more often,” the teacher responded sternly.

I don’t think this threatens us,” Berlioz responded, becoming serious. - Agree that such music is not created often...

6. 20,000 francs for delight..

Having first heard the performance of Berlioz's symphony "Harold in Italy", Paganini was so shocked by its beauty that he threw himself on his knees in front of the author in delight... However, this did not end there: the next day Berlioz received a check from Paganini for twenty thousand francs; The check was accompanied by a letter from the great violinist, in which he called Berlioz Beethoven's successor.

Thanks to this unexpected financial assistance, Berlioz was able to devote his entire time to creating a new dramatic symphony, Romeo and Julia.

7. Let this remain between us...

On the Viennese stage, Berlioz's music enjoyed resounding success. One day, after another brilliant premiere, one of the fans ran up to the composer. He was a short and very expansive man who immediately started babbling:

Dear Maestro Berlioz, I am a passionate admirer of your tremendous talent and have long dreamed of telling you about it! “Oh, thank you for such a flattering review,” Berlioz bowed.

No, no, maestro! It is I who thank you and ask your permission to touch the brilliant hand that wrote such beautiful music!.. With these words, the Berlioz fan simply grabbed the composer’s sleeve and froze blissfully.

“Sir,” the composer told him cheerfully, “you are holding my left hand.” Since you are a true fan of mine, I will tell you one secret: I have a habit of writing with my right hand...

XCHARACTERISTICS OF CREATIVITYBERLIOZA

Hector Berlioz(12/11/1803, Côte-Saint-André, France, – 3/8/1869, Paris). Born into the family of a doctor, a free-thinking, enlightened person. In 1821, Berlioz became a medical student, but soon, despite the resistance of his parents, he left medicine, deciding to devote himself to music. In 1826-1830 Berlioz studies at the Paris Conservatory with J. F. Lesueur and A. Reicha. Received the Prix de Rome (1830) for the cantata Sardanapalus. Returning to Paris in 1832, he studied composing, conducting, critical activities. Since 1842 he toured a lot abroad. He performed triumphantly as a conductor and composer in Russia (1847, 1867-1868).

Berlioz – bright representative romanticism in music. Berlioz was an innovative artist: he boldly introduced innovations in the field of musical form, harmony and especially instrumentation (in the field of orchestration Berlioz was an outstanding master), gravitated towards theatricalization symphonic music and the grandiose scale of his compositions.

Berlioz's work also reflected the contradictions inherent in romanticism. In 1826, the cantata “The Greek Revolution” was written, which became a response to the liberation struggle of the Greek people. Berlioz greeted the July Revolution of 1830 with delight: on the streets of Paris he practiced revolutionary songs with the people, including the “Marseillaise” he arranged for choir and orchestra. A number of Berlioz’s major works reflected revolutionary themes: the grandiose “Requiem” (1837) was created in memory of the heroes of the July Revolution. However, Berlioz did not accept the Revolution of 1848. In the last years of his life, Berlioz became increasingly inclined to moral problems; at this time he created the oratorio trilogy “The Childhood of Christ” (1854) and the operatic duology “The Trojans” based on Virgil (“The Taking of Troy” and “The Trojans in Carthage”, 1855-1859).

Berlioz's style was already defined in the Symphony Fantastique (1830, subtitled "An Episode from the Life of an Artist"). This is Berlioz's most famous work - the first romantic software symphony. It reflected the typical moods of that time (conflict with reality, exaggerated emotionality and sensitivity). The artist’s subjective experiences rise in the symphony to social generalizations: the theme of “unhappy love” takes on the meaning of a tragedy of lost illusions. Following the “Symphony”, Berlioz wrote the monodrama “Lelio, or Return to Life” (1831 - continuation of the “Symphony”).

Berlioz was attracted to the plots of works by Byron (symphony for viola and orchestra “Harold in Italy” - 1834, overture “The Corsair” - 1844) and Shakespeare (overture “King Lear” - 1831, dramatic symphony “Romeo and Juliet” – 1839, comic opera “Beatrice and Benedict” – 1862). He also loved Goethe (dramatic legend (oratorio) “The Damnation of Faust” - 1846). Berlioz also wrote the opera “Benvenuto Cellini” (staged in 1838), cantatas, orchestral overtures, romances, etc.

Berlioz was an outstanding conductor. Berlioz also made a significant contribution to the development of musical critical thought. He was the first among foreign critics to appreciate the importance of M.I. Glinka (article about Glinka - 1845) and Russian music in general.

« FANTASTIC SYMPHONY"

1) The symphony is inspired by the story of Berlioz’s passionate love for the actress Smithson. This symphony brought him success and fame. Symphony software(i.e. it has a plot) and consists of five parts. The same theme runs through all parts - leitmotif beloved. This topic itself is tense and controversial. It begins with fanfare intonation. The theme is constantly transformed, as are the hero’s visions.

2) The orchestra is standard, but the composition of the wind and percussion groups has been increased, unusual instruments have been used, for example, English horn, clarinet in Es, ophiclede (second tuba), bells (with f.-p.), etc.

3) Composition:

Part 1- “Dreams. Passion." (The plot: the main character takes a drug and begins to hallucinate.) The entire first part is permeated with the leitmotif of the beloved. Starts with a slow intro in character lamento(c- moll), fundamental key C- dur.

Part 2- “Ball.” For the first time Berlioz introduced into the symphony waltz. Two solo harps. Beloved's leitmotif in the middle, in key F major.

Part 3- “Scene in the Fields.” Inspired by Beethoven's "Pastoral Symphony". The most static part. The frame is a roll call of two shepherds (an English horn and an oboe). At the end - distant rumbles of thunder (4 timpani solo).

Part 4- “Procession to execution.” Main theme - g- moll. Introduction – ominous timbre of horns with mute. 2nd theme – solemn march ( B- dur). All the time there is a clear rhythm of the timpani (two timpani players). At the end - the initial intonation of the leitmotif (solo clarinet, pp ), then a blow (execution) and deafening fanfare ( G- dur; in an orchestra there is a tremolo of the bass and snare drums).

Part 5- “A Dream on the Night of the Sabbath.” Witches flock to the funeral of the main character, among them, in the guise of a witch, is his beloved. This is the most innovative part. It contains several episodes: 1) Witches' Gathering; in the orchestra there is chaos and isolated exclamations of instruments. 2) Arrives she. General joy, and then a riotous dance (solo Es-clarinet). 3) Black Mass: bell ringing, parody of the canon Dies Iræ . 4) Round dance of witches. In episodes - strings play col legno(bow shaft).

Let the silver thread of fantasy wind around the chain of rules.
R. Schumann

G. Berlioz is one of the greatest composers and the greatest innovators of the 19th century. He went down in history as the creator program symphony, which had a deep and fruitful influence on all subsequent development of romantic art. For France, the name of Berlioz is associated with the birth of a national symphonic culture. Berlioz is a musician of a wide profile: composer, conductor, music critic, who defended advanced, democratic ideals in art, generated by the spiritual atmosphere of the July Revolution of 1830. The childhood of the future composer took place in a favorable atmosphere. His father, a doctor by profession, instilled in his son a taste for literature, art, and philosophy. Berlioz's worldview took shape under the influence of his father's atheistic beliefs and his progressive, democratic views. But for the boy’s musical development, the conditions of the provincial town were very modest. He learned to play the flute and guitar, and his only musical experience was church singing - Sunday solemn masses, which he loved very much. Berlioz's passion for music manifested itself in his attempt to compose. These were short plays and romances. The melody of one of the romances was subsequently included as a leittheme in the “Fantastic” symphony.

In 1821, Berlioz went to Paris at the insistence of his father to enter Medical School. But medicine does not attract the young man. Passionate about music, he dreams of professional music education. In the end, Berlioz makes an independent decision to abandon science for the sake of art, and this incurs the wrath of his parents, who did not consider music a worthy profession. They deprive their son of all material support, and from now on the future composer can only rely on himself. However, believing in his destiny, he devotes all his strength, energy and passion to independently mastering his profession. He lives, like Balzac's heroes, from hand to mouth, in attics, but he does not miss a single performance at the opera and spends all his free time in the library, studying scores.

Since 1823, Berlioz began to take private lessons from J. Lesueur, the most prominent composer of the Great era. french revolution. It was he who instilled in his student a taste for monumental forms of art designed for a mass audience. In 1825, Berlioz, showing extraordinary organizational talent, organized a public performance of his first major work - the Great Mass. The following year he composed the heroic scene “Greek Revolution”; this work opened a whole direction in his work related to revolutionary themes. Feeling the need to get deeper professional knowledge, in 1826 Berlioz entered the Paris Conservatory in Lesueur's composition class and A. Reich's counterpoint class. Great importance for the formation of aesthetics young artist has contacts with outstanding representatives of literature and art, among whom are O. Balzac, V. Hugo, G. Heine, T. Gautier, A. Dumas, Georges Sand, F. Chopin, F. Liszt, N. Paganini. He is connected with Liszt by personal friendship, community creative searches and interests. Subsequently, Liszt would become an ardent promoter of Berlioz's music.

In 1830, Berlioz created the “Fantastic Symphony” with the subtitle: “An Episode from the Life of an Artist.” It opens a new era of programmatic romantic symphony, becoming a masterpiece of world musical culture. The program was written by Berlioz and is based on the biography of the composer himself - the romantic story of his love for the English dramatic actress Henrietta Smithson. However, autobiographical motifs in musical generalization acquire the significance of the general romantic theme of the artist’s loneliness in modern world and more broadly - the theme of “lost illusions”.

1830 was a turbulent year for Berlioz. Participating in the competition for the Rome Prize for the fourth time, he finally won, presenting the cantata “The Last Night of Sardanapalus” to the jury. The composer finishes his work to the sounds of the uprising that began in Paris and goes straight from the competition to the barricades to join the rebels. In the following days, having orchestrated and arranged “La Marseillaise” for a double choir, he practiced it with people in the squares and streets of Paris.

Berlioz spent 2 years as a Roman scholar at the Villa Medici. Returning from Italy, he unfolds active work conductor, composer, music critic, however, he encountered complete rejection of his innovative activities from the official circles of France. And this predetermined his entire later life, full of hardships and material difficulties. Berlioz's main source of income became musical critical work. Articles, reviews, musical short stories, feuilletons were subsequently published in several collections: “Music and Musicians”, “Musical Grotesques”, “Evenings in the Orchestra”. The central place in Berlioz's literary heritage was occupied by Memoirs - the composer's autobiography, written in a brilliant literary style and giving a wide panorama of artistic and musical life Paris of those years. Berlioz’s theoretical work “Treatise on Instrumentation” (with its appendix “The Orchestra Conductor”) became a huge contribution to musicology.

In 1834, the second program symphony “Harold in Italy” (based on the poem by J. Byron) appeared. The developed solo viola part gives this symphony the characteristics of a concert. 1837 was marked by the birth of one of Berlioz's greatest creations - the Requiem, created in memory of the victims of the July Revolution. In the history of this genre, Berlioz's Requiem is a unique work, which combines a monumental fresco and sophisticated psychological style; Marches and songs in the spirit of the music of the French Revolution are side by side with either soulful romantic lyrics or the strict, ascetic style of medieval Gregorian chant. The Requiem was written for a huge cast of participants: 200 choristers and an expanded orchestra with four additional sections of wind instruments. In 1839, Berlioz completed work on the third program symphony “Romeo and Juliet” (based on the tragedy of W. Shakespeare). This masterpiece of symphonic music, Berlioz's most original creation, is a synthesis of symphony, opera, oratorio and allows not only concert but also stage performance.

In 1840, the “Funeral-Triumphal Symphony” appeared, intended for performance in the open air. It is timed to coincide with the solemn ceremony of transferring the ashes of the heroes of the 1830 uprising and vividly revives the traditions of theatrical performances of the Great French Revolution.

“Romeo and Juliet” is adjacent to the dramatic legend “The Damnation of Faust” (1846), also based on a synthesis of the principles of program symphony and theatrical stage music. Berlioz’s “Faust” is the first musical reading of J. V. Goethe’s philosophical drama, which laid the foundation for numerous subsequent interpretations of it: in opera (C. Gounod), in a symphony (Liszt, G. Mahler), in a symphonic poem (R. Wagner), in vocal and instrumental music (R. Schumann). Berlioz also wrote the oratorio trilogy "The Childhood of Christ" (1854), several program overtures ("King Lear" - 1831, "Roman Carnival" - 1844, etc.), 3 operas ("Benvenuto Cellini" - 1838, the duology "The Trojans" - 1856-63, “Beatrice and Benedict” - 1862) and a number of vocal and instrumental compositions in different genres.

Berlioz lived a tragic life, never achieving recognition in his homeland. The last years of his life were gloomy and lonely. The composer's only bright memories were associated with trips to Russia, which he visited twice (1847, 1867-68). Only there did he achieve brilliant success with the public and real recognition among composers and critics. The dying Berlioz's last letter was addressed to his friend, the famous Russian critic V. Stasov.

Hector Berlioz is an outstanding French composer, one of the most prominent and progressive musicians of the 19th century.

He declared himself a talented conductor, music writer and critic. G. Berlioz had a huge influence on the development of the romantic movement in musical art and national symphonic culture.

Childhood

His early years passed in the south of the country near Grenoble in the small town of La Côte-Saint-André, where he was born on December 11, 1803 in the family of a local doctor. Besides him, there were five more children in the family.

The boy was raised primarily by his father, who strove to develop his son comprehensively. Childhood in the French province introduced the boy to the folk melodies, legends and myths of his native land.

From the age of twelve, Hector became interested in music, played several musical instruments, and independently studied harmony using textbooks. He wrote short musical works, mainly romances and chamber works.

Hector's Choice

Berlioz's parents saw him as a doctor. Therefore, after graduating from school, he was sent to study at a Paris medical school. However, he had no desire to study there. He connected his future with music. He attends opera performances, meets famous musicians, engages in musical self-education, visits the library of the Paris Conservatory, and takes private music lessons.

In 1823 he published an article in a music magazine. His first musical works date back to this period, and Hector finally decided to become a composer. Having learned about this decision of their son, his parents leave him without financial support. The future composer sometimes goes hungry, lives in attics, directing all his energy to mastering the skill of composition.

As a student at the conservatory, he wrote the “Solemn Mass,” which was successfully performed. During his studies, he writes critical articles about music, meets prominent figures of literature and art, and writes new musical works.

Creation

Berlioz's creative activity is varied. He composed symphonic works and operas, overtures, cantatas, and works for concerts. However, not all of his works were appreciated by the public.

The composer paid great attention to musicology, working with the orchestra, its harmonic and rhythmic features. He enriched the timbre dramaturgy, using original combinations of timbres and unusual musical instruments. In 1843, Berlioz published a fundamental work on the art of instrumentation.

A significant part of the musician’s work was occupied by conducting activities, including with the orchestra of the Paris Conservatory, at numerous concerts. Contemporaries noted his great conducting skills. He is considered one of the founders of today's conducting school.

Berlioz is the author of a fundamental theoretical work devoted to the art of the conductor. For several decades in specialized newspapers and magazines, he regularly published talented critical articles and feuilletons. His music-critical work was his main source of income.

His memoirs occupy a special place in Berlioz's literary heritage. Here, his autobiography is presented in a brilliant literary style, showing a wide panorama of the life of the creative elite.

Famous works

The most fruitful years for Berlioz's work were the 30s and 40s. The following famous musical creations were created at this time:

• Fantastic Symphony
• Symphony "Harold in Italy"
• Symphony "Romeo and Juliet"
• "Funeral-triumphal symphony"
• opera "The Damnation of Faust"
• opera "Benvenuto Cellini"
• Trojans

In total, Herbert Berlioz created about forty musical works in various genres.

Personal life

Having established himself as a talented musician and critic, G. Berlioz met in Paris famous writers and musical figures. He spent a lot of time in discussions with Alexandre Dumas, Victor Hugo, George Sand, and Nicolo Paganini. He had a warm relationship with O. Balzac. He had friendly relations with Franz Liszt, who actively promoted his friend’s music.

Berlioz was married twice. In 1833 he married the Irish singer G. Smithson. A year later their son Louis was born. Ten years later the marriage broke up. When G. Smithson died, Berlioz became the husband of the singer Maria Recio, who died unexpectedly in 1953. At 33 summer age his son passed away. Left alone, Berlioz died ill in March 1869.

• Berlioz was a popular journalist, publishing sharp polemical materials in the press
• I consider Berlioz to be the first conductor in history to perform on tour, where he performed his own works. The great Paganini, after one of their concerts, kissed Berlioz’s hands, calling him Beethoven’s successor
• After his ruin in 1846, Berlioz, on the advice of O. Balzac, went to Russia on tour. His performances as a conductor were a triumph, and the musician’s financial situation improved
• Every year in August hometown composer, a classical music festival is held, where mainly the works of this great French composer are performed.

en.wikipedia.org

Biography

Born in the town of Cote-Saint-André (Isère) in southeastern France in the family of a doctor. In 1821, Berlioz was a medical student, but soon, despite the resistance of his parents, he left medicine, deciding to devote himself to music. The first public performance of his work “Solemn Mass” took place in Paris in 1825, without, however, having any success. In 1826-1830, Berlioz studied at the Paris Conservatory with J. F. Lesueur and A. Reicha. In 1828-1830 Several works by Berlioz were again performed - the overtures “Waverley”, “Francs-juges” and “Fantastic Symphony” (an episode from the artist’s life). Although these works also did not meet with much sympathy, they nevertheless drew the attention of the public to the young composer. Beginning in 1828, Berlioz began to act, not without success, in the field of music critic.

Having received the Rome Prize (1830) for the cantata “Sardanapalus”, he lived as a scholarship holder in Italy, from which, however, he returned 18 months later as a staunch opponent of Italian music. From his trip Berlioz brought with him the King Lear Overture and symphonic work“Le retour a la vie”, which he called a “melologist” (a mixture of instrumental and vocal music with recitation), which constitutes a continuation of the “Fantastic Symphony”. Returning to Paris in 1832, he was engaged in composing, conducting, and critical activities.

Since 1834, Berlioz's position in Paris improved, especially after he became a contributor to the newly founded musical newspaper Gazette musicale de Paris, and subsequently to the Journal des Debats. Working in these publications until 1864, B. acquired a reputation as a strict and serious critic. In 1839 he was appointed librarian of the conservatory, and from 1856 - a member of the Academy. From 1842 he toured abroad a lot. He performed triumphantly as a conductor and composer in Russia (1847, 1867-68), in particular, filling the Moscow Manege with the public.

Berlioz's personal life was overshadowed by a number of sad events, which he talks about in detail in his Memoirs (1870). His first marriage to the Irish actress Harriet Smithson (1833) ended in divorce in 1843 (Smithson suffered from an incurable nervous illness for many years); after her death, Berlioz married the singer Maria Recio, who died suddenly in 1854. The composer's son from his first marriage died in 1867. The composer himself died alone on March 8, 1869.

Creation

Berlioz is a prominent representative of romanticism in music, the creator of a romantic program symphony. His art is in many ways akin to the work of V. Hugo in literature and Delacroix in painting. He boldly introduced innovations in the field of musical form, harmony and especially instrumentation, and gravitated toward the theatricalization of symphonic music and the grandiose scale of his works.

The composer’s work also reflected the differences inherent in romanticism: the desire for the whole people, the mass character of music was used with extreme individualism, heroism and revolutionary pathos - with intimate revelations of the lonely soul of an artist predisposed to exaltation and fantasy. In 1826, the cantata “The Greek Revolution” was written - a response to the liberation struggle of the Greeks against Ottoman Empire. During the Great July Revolution of 1830, on the streets of Paris, he practiced revolutionary songs with the people, in particular, “La Marseillaise,” which he arranged for choir and orchestra. A number of Berlioz’s major works reflected revolutionary themes: the grandiose “Requiem” (1837) and “Mourning and Triumphal Symphony” (1840, written for the solemn ceremony of transferring the ashes of the victims of the July events) were created in memory of the heroes of the July Revolution.

Manuscript of the first page of the Symphony Fantastique

Berlioz's style was already defined in the Symphony Fantastique (1830, subtitle: “An Episode from the Life of an Artist”). This famous work Berlioz's first romantic program symphony. It reflected the typical moods of that time (discord with reality, exaggerated emotionality and sensitivity). The artist’s subjective experiences rise in the symphony to social generalizations: the theme of “unhappy love” takes on the meaning of a tragedy of lost illusions.

Following the symphony, Berlioz wrote the monodrama Lelio, or Return to Life (1831, continuation of the Symphony Fantastique). Berlioz was attracted to the plots of the works of J. Byron - the symphony for viola and orchestra “Harold in Italy” (1834), the overture “The Corsair” (1844); W. Shakespeare - overture “King Lear” (1831), dramatic symphony “Romeo and Juliet” (1839), comic opera “Beatrice and Benedict” (1862, based on the plot “Much Ado About Nothing”); Goethe - dramatic legend (oratorio) “The Damnation of Faust” (1846, which freely interprets Goethe’s poem). Berlioz also owns the opera “Benvenuto Cellini” (post. 1838); 6 cantatas; orchestral overtures, in particular "Carnival of Rome" (1844); romances, etc. Collected works in 9 series (20 volumes) published in Leipzig (1900-1907). In the last years of his life, Berlioz increasingly leaned towards academicism and moral issues: the oratorio trilogy “The Childhood of Christ” (1854), the operatic duology “Troy” based on Virgil (“The Taking of Troy” and “Troy in Carthage”, 1855-1859).

Of his numerous works, the following deserve special attention: the symphony “Harold in Italy” (1834), “Requiem” (1837), the opera “Benvenuto Cellini” (1838), the symphony-cantata “Romeo and Juliet” (1839), “Funeral and Solemn symphony" (1840, at the opening of the July Column), the dramatic legend "The Death of Faust" (1846), the oratorio "The Childhood of Christ" (1854), "Te Deum" for two choirs (1856), the comic opera "Beatrice and Benedict" (1862) and the opera "The Trojans in Carthage" (1864).

The text for the last two operas, as well as for Faust, The Childhood of Christ and other works, was composed by Berlioz himself.

From literary works Berlioz's most outstanding works are: “Voyage musical en Allemagne et en Italie” (Paris, 1854), “Les Soirees de l'orchestre” (Paris, 1853; 2nd edition 1854), “Les grotesques de la musique” (Paris, 1859) , “A travers chant” (Paris, 1862), “Traite d'instrumentation” (Paris, 1844).

The reason for the contradictory reviews about Berlioz as a composer is that from the very beginning of his musical career he followed a completely new, completely independent path. He was closely associated with the new musical direction that was developing in Germany at that time, and when he visited Germany in 1844, he was much more appreciated there than in his homeland. In Russia, B. has long received his assessment. After his death, and especially after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, when a national, patriotic feeling awoke with particular force in France, Berlioz’s works gained great popularity among his compatriots.

Berlioz's importance in the field of art lies in his deep understanding of instruments and his masterful use of them in orchestration. His scores are full of new and bold orchestral effects. His treatise on instrumentation, translated into many languages, is widely used. After Berlioz's death, his “Memoires” (Paris, 1870) and “Correspondance inedite 1810-1868” (1878) appeared shortly before.

Berlioz was an outstanding conductor. Together with Wagner he laid the foundations new school conducting, made an important contribution to the development of musical critical thought.

www.c-cafe.ru

Biography

Hector (Héctor) Louis Berlioz (12/11/1803 - 03/08/1869) - French composer, conductor, music critic and writer. The son of a doctor, an atheist and philanthropist, who gave Berlioz an education in the spirit of the 18th century Enlightenment and elementary musical knowledge. Berlioz began composing at the age of 12 (chamber music, romances); the melody of the romance written in adolescence was later included as one of the main themes in the Symphony Fantastique (introduction theme). In 1823, he began composition studies with Lesueur, and in 1826 he entered the conservatory, where he also studied with A. Reich. Dissatisfied with the conservatory teaching system, he diligently studied the scores of Gluck, Beethoven, Weber, and became acquainted with musical instruments and their properties. Under the impression of the liberation movement in Greece, Berlioz composed a “heroic scene” in the spirit of Spontini, “The Greek Revolution” (1826), and began work on the opera “The Secret Judges” on the theme of saving an innocent person persecuted from the hands of the Inquisition (only the overture, which gained popularity, was preserved in its finished form ).

The end of the 1820s was a period of rapid ideological and creative maturation of the young musician. Berlioz visits art clubs, getting closer to representatives of a new, romantic direction. His attention is attracted by the liberation and national-romantic tendencies of British literature (Byron, Walter Scott, T. Moore). A large role in his personal and creative biography played her love for the English actress Henrietta Smithson, who later became the composer's wife. While still at the conservatory, Berlioz wrote his first significant works; among them is the "Fantastic Symphony" ("Episode from the Life of an Artist", 1830), the program of which is based on, in a highly romanticized form, the events of the composer's personal life (love for G. Smithson), the plot points of de Quincey's novel "The Englishman, the Opium Eater" and fantastic elements of Goethe's Faust. The symphony opened a new era in program symphonic music both in terms of themes and forms, methods of development (leitmotifs, the beginnings of monothematism, five-part structure), as well as a romantic orchestra unprecedented in its expressive qualities.

The revolution of 1830 captures the young musician. He arranges La Marseillaise for double choir and orchestra. In the same year, the composer received the Rome Prize for the cantata “The Last Night of Sardanapalus” and left for Italy. Returning to Paris at the end of 1839, Berlioz began vigorous activity as a composer, conductor, and music critic (his first critical appearances date back to 1823). Ignored by the government of the July Monarchy, which refused the composer official recognition and permanent job, Berlioz was forced to earn a living by the grueling work of a musical feuilletonist. In 1835, his work began in the largest organ, the Journal des Debats, where for almost 30 years (at the same time in the Musical Newspaper and other publications) he promoted the high values ​​of classical art and fought against vulgar tastes and philistinism. Berlioz's musical articles and short stories were subsequently published in the collections "Among Songs", "Music and Musicians", "Musical Grotesques", "Orchestral Evenings", etc. In the concert programs, which he increasingly gives the character of celebrations, "festivals", Berlioz , who dreamed of grandiose musical performances for a huge listening audience, includes, along with his own, works by Beethoven, Gluck, Meyerbeer, F. David, Glinka and others (up to Bortnyansky’s “Cherubimskaya”).

The period of the 1830-1840s is the pinnacle in the development of Berliozian art. The composer writes the symphony "Harold in Italy" (1834), in which he paints the image of Byron's Childe Harold, connecting him with his own Italian memories. The symphony was written for solo viola and orchestra. Harold's leitmotif is highlighted by the gloomy timbre of the alto solo - the beginning of the timbre characteristics later developed by the composer. Berlioz's Italian impressions were also reflected in the opera "Benvenuto Cellini" (post. 1838); The second overture to this opera, “The Roman Carnival,” subsequently gained rapid recognition.

In 1837, Berlioz created one of his greatest works, the Requiem. The dramatic interpretation of the theme, the scale of the concept, the mass character, the enormous emotionality of the music, the novelty of orchestral effects put Berlioz's Requiem in a special place among works of similar genres. Paganini's noble support makes it possible for Berlioz to devote himself to embodying the images of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet that have long worried him. In the “dramatic symphony” of the same name (1839), Berlioz uniquely combined the principles of program symphony, opera and oratorio. "Romeo and Juliet" marks a complete departure from classical norms; it reveals the outlines of a new, synthetic genre. The “Funeral-Triumphal Symphony” (1840) written in the same years for a huge brass band (if desired, a symphony orchestra and choir can be added to the finale), is dedicated to the memory of those who died in the July days of 1830, restoring the traditions of mourning ceremonies from the era of the revolution of 1789 and marks the beginning of a new stage in the creation of music for mass celebrations.

In 1842, Berlioz began a series of concert tours throughout Europe, where he quickly gained recognition as a composer and conductor. In 1846 he completed the “dramatic legend” “The Damnation of Faust” (staged as an opera in 1893), in which he synthesized the achievements of program symphony and romantic opera-oratorio. The lyrical episodes of the dramatic legend outline the path of future French lyric opera. The failure of the premiere of "The Damnation of Faust" in Paris led the composer to complete material collapse and forced him to seek salvation on a trip to Russia (1847), where he performed with great success in St. Petersburg and Moscow.

In 1868, Berlioz made a second trip to Russia. He is enthusiastically greeted by the public and Russian musicians - members of the " Mighty bunch", Stasov, Tchaikovsky (Balakirev helps him in preparing concerts).

Berlioz left behind memoirs in which he talks about his life until the mid-1860s. A classic work is his “Treatise on Instrumentation” and its appendix “Orchestra Conductor”.

Berlioz entered the history of music as the creator of program symphonism of the 19th century and a new orchestra with powerful expressive and picturesque capabilities. In his grandiose, vividly emotional symphonic and oratorio works, he addressed a huge audience. The influence of Berlioz's ideas on the entire subsequent development of musical art, on the formation of a number of national schools in the mid-19th century, was exceptionally great.

A. A. Khokhlovkina.

taina.aib.ru

Biography

Hector Berlioz is a French composer and conductor. Member of the Institute of France (1856). Creator of the romantic program symphony. Innovator in the field of musical form, harmony, instrumentation. Born December 11, 1803, La Côte-Saint-André, near Grenoble. Died on March 8, 1869, in Paris.

Hector Berlioz strove for the theatricalization of the symphonic genre, for the monumentality of the vocal-instrumental style, for the grotesque sharpening of images. “Fantastic Symphony” (1830), “Mourning and Triumphal Symphony” (1840), opera-dulogy “The Trojans” (1859), Requiem (1837), etc. Along with Richard Wagner, the creator of a new school of conducting. Treatise “The Orchestra Conductor” (1856). "Memoirs" (vol. 1-2, 1860).

Against my father's wishes

Hector was born into a doctor's family. As a child, he learned to play the flute and guitar (but not the piano), studied harmony using textbooks, composed romances and small chamber ensemble pieces, but did not receive a systematic primary musical education. In 1821, at the insistence of his father, he entered the Paris Medical School, but in 1824 he left it, deciding to devote himself entirely to music.

In 1826-1830, Hector Berlioz studied at the Paris Conservatory with J-F. Lesuera. In 1830, on the fourth attempt, he received the Prix de Rome - the most honorable conservatory award, which entitled him to a two-year stay in Italy (Berlioz submitted the cantata “The Death of Sardanapalus” to compete for the prize). Much of Berlioz’s work and fate was determined by his love for Shakespeare and the actress, performer of Shakespeare’s roles, Harriet Smithson, whom he, after a long and painful period of uncertainty in the relationship, married in 1833 (this marriage lasted until 1842).

Other sources of influence were the operas of K. W. Gluck, the symphonies of L. van Beethoven, “Faust” by J. W. Goethe, and the works of British romantic writers T. Moore, W. Scott and J. G. Byron. Even before graduating from the conservatory, Berlioz created one of his best and most original works - the Symphony Fantastique (1830). As in Berlioz’s subsequent purely instrumental opuses, the symphony implements an extra-musical programmatic concept, which is reflected in its subtitle: “Episodes from the life of an artist.” In all five movements of the symphony there is a motif (Berlioz himself called it an “obsession”) symbolizing the beloved hero; As the program script develops, this motif loses its ideal appearance, degenerating in the end into a tragic-grotesque caricature.

Thorns and roses

The fifteen months Berlioz spent in Italy (1831-32) enriched him with invaluable new impressions. But his work of this period is limited to an unsuccessful attempt to continue the “plot” of “Fantastic” in the vocal symphony “Return to Life” (in 1855 it was renamed “Lelio”), as well as two overtures - “King Lear” and “Rob Roy”. But the first decade after returning to Paris became the most productive in his biography. It was then that the program symphony after Byron “Harold in Italy” (with solo viola, 1834), the opera “Benvenuto Cellini” (1838), Requiem (“Great Mass for the Dead”, 1837), and the dramatic symphony “Romeo and Juliet” for soloists, choir and orchestra (words by E. Deschamps after Shakespeare, 1839), “Mourning and Triumphal Symphony” for brass band (with choir and strings if desired, 1840), vocal-symphonic cycle “Summer Nights” (words by T. Gautier, 1841). However, the music of Hector Berlioz turned out to be inconsonant with the tastes of the contemporary French public. She was found strange, “wrong”, violating norms good taste; The premiere of Benvenuto Cellini in 1838 ended in resounding failure. To ensure his livelihood, Berlioz was forced to take up journalism; from 1834 he wrote mainly for the Gazette musicale and the Journal des debates.

Belated recognition

Soon the streak of failures in Paris gave way to a period of success abroad. In 1842-63, Hector Berlioz toured extensively in Germany, Austria, England, Russia and other countries as a conductor and performer of his own compositions. Everywhere he was accepted as one of the leaders of the “progressive” movement. modern music. He struck up friendships with Liszt and Wagner. In 1847 and 1867-68, Berlioz made two long trips to Russia, during which he conducted his works in Moscow and St. Petersburg and met many Russian musicians. Berlioz's performances made a huge impression on the Russian public; V. Stasov’s musical and aesthetic views and the creative principles of the “Mighty Handful” were formed under the strong influence of his work. This period includes the dramatic legend “The Damnation of Faust” for soloists, chorus and orchestra (after Goethe, 1846), Te Deum for soloists, three choruses, orchestra and organ (1849), the oratorio “The Childhood of Christ” (1854), and the operatic dilogy “ The Trojans" ("The Capture of Troy" and "The Trojans in Carthage", 1858, the 2nd part was staged in 1863, both parts - in 1890), as well as the main literary works, including the famous "Memoirs" (published posthumously, 1870) .

Belated recognition came to Berlioz in his homeland; in 1856 he became a member of the Institute of France. Last years the composer's life was not happy; Added to the difficult circumstances of his personal life was a feeling of spiritual alienation from the new trends in French and European music. After the opera “Beatrice and Benedict” (based on Shakespeare’s comedy “Much Ado About Nothing”, 1862), Hector Berlioz wrote nothing.

More than a romantic artist

An idealist with a rich and whimsical imagination, prone to sudden emotional swings and escaping disappointments with the help of irony, Hector Berlioz personified the type of romantic artist. As for other romantic natures, the framework of “pure”, absolute music was narrow for him; therefore, he turned to the help of theater, literature, poetry, and religious symbols. His work richly represents mixed genres: a program symphony-concert (“Harold in Italy”), a symphony-oratorio with elements symphonic poem(“Romeo and Juliet”), philosophical oratorio-opera (“The Damnation of Faust”), theatrical forms of church music (Requiem, Te Deum). Berlioz's style is especially characterized by wide-breathing melodies, often endowed with oratorical pathos, sometimes slightly “chromatized,” consisting of phrases of unequal duration and accompanied by expressive, although not too bold, harmonies. Free (not imitative) counterpoint dominates.

Hector Berlioz transformed the art of orchestral writing: he was the first to use many unusual timbres and combinations of timbres, introduced new touches in the strings, etc. He summarized his experience in this area in the “Great Treatise on Modern Instrumentation” (1844), which still serves an indispensable tool. However, in some other important respects, Berlioz's compositional technique - just like that of his beloved Gluck - was limited. The development of his themes often comes down to their repeated simple or modified repetition. Its forms are characterized by a certain looseness, resulting from the abundance of connecting episodes that are not filled with thematic content. His monumental concepts are often “fashioned” from rather modest in quality, almost banal melodic material (bearing in mind this feature of Berlioz’s music, G. Heine called him “a sparrow the size of an eagle”).

Be that as it may, using the means at his disposal, Hector Berlioz managed to create a unique art world, which combines simplicity and monumentality, unstoppable energy pressure and sublime lyrics.

(L. O. Akopyan)

vokrugsveta.ru

Biography

Born on December 10, 1803 in the small town of Côte-Saint-André in southeastern France in the family of a doctor. During his childhood, he was influenced on the one hand by his mother, a devout Catholic, and on the other by his father, a lover of philosophy, literature and history. Berlioz did not receive a musical education, but he knew how to play the guitar, flute, and composed romances and chamber ensembles. Later he became interested in peasant folk song and literature. The first vivid musical impressions were associated with church music. Berlioz's father contributed in every possible way musical development son, although he did not consider this activity serious enough.

In the spring of 1821, Hector Belioz went to Paris and entered the medical faculty. While studying medicine (1821 - 1824), he also found time to enjoy music. He was greatly impressed by the production of the opera “Iphigenia in Tauris” by K.V. Gluck.

In 1826-1830, Berlioz studied at the conservatory with J.F. Lesueur and A. Reich. Most of the professors, led by director L. Cherubini, recognized young man and was quite hostile towards him. In 1830, Berlioz was awarded the Rome Prize for the cantata “Sardanapalus” (1830, which gave the composer the right to live in Italy for several years). By the end of the conservatory, he wrote the Symphony Fantastique, which was first performed on December 5, 1830 and was a success.

His stay in Italy (1831-1832) affected the composer’s further work. Upon returning to Paris, Berlioz took up composing, conducting and music-critical activities. The 30-40s are the period of greatest creative activity. Among the works of these years: the symphony "Harold in Italy" (1834), the opera "Benvenuto Cellini" (1837), Requiem (1837), the dramatic symphony "Romeo and Juliet" (1839), "Mourning and Triumphal Symphony" (1840, written to the solemn ceremony in memory of the victims of the July Revolution of 1830), the dramatic legend “The Damnation of Faust” (1846).

Berlioz's art did not resonate with the public. The opera "Benvenuto Cellini", staged in 1838 in Paris at the Grand Opera, was a failure. The indifference of the audience to the concert performance of The Damnation of Faust, organized by the composer in 1846 with his own money, ruined the composer, and he had to tour as a conductor.

In 1847, Berlioz went to Russia on the advice of Balzac. His performances as a conductor in St. Petersburg and Moscow were accompanied by standing ovations, and the financial results of the trip exceeded expectations. “And you are my savior, Russia!” - Berlioz wrote afterwards.

The main features of Berlioz's style had already developed in the Symphony Fantastique - the first romantic program symphony, which became a manifesto French romanticism in music.

Berlioz introduced a lot of new things into voice production, harmony and rhythm. He made discoveries in the field of orchestration: he developed the principle of timbre dramaturgy, used rarely used instruments, unique-sounding registers, and unusual combinations of timbres. Expressive possibilities Berlioz dedicated a treatise on instrumentation (1843) to the orchestra.

Berlioz as a conductor possessed great artistry. His execution was distinguished by careful finishing of details and their subordination to the embodiment of the holistic artistic design. Along with Richard Wagner, he laid the foundations modern school conducting. His treatise “The Orchestra Conductor” (1856) is dedicated to the art of conducting.

Throughout his creative career, Berlioz published as a music critic (1823 - 1864).