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Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique - Le roi Lear

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

Classical - Released June 1, 2010 | PentaTone

Hi-Res Booklet
Even though Hector Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique is one of the most familiar classical works, performances are often surprising for the variety of sonorities that can still be found in it and for the exciting ways it can be interpreted. Berlioz was the Romantic showman par excellence, and he made this piece a showcase for what the modern orchestra could do, from conventional playing to special innovative effects. These include the famous timpani chords at the end of the "Scène aux champs," the grotesque brass pedal tones in the "Marche au supplice," and the eerie use of col legno battuto in the "Songe d'une nuit de sabbat," among many others. Of course, the novel aspects of Berlioz's orchestration come off best in live performance, but the next best thing is this hybrid super-audio CD from PentaTone that captures Symphonie fantastique in all its hallucinatory strangeness and vividness. Marek Janowski and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra present the symphony and the King Lear Overture with exquisite polish, and the marvelous audio production practically gets inside the ensemble and allows each part to have its distinctive -- and sometimes disturbing -- place in the mix. Beyond the fabulous sound, this is also an incredibly gripping interpretation because Janowski conveys all the passion and impulsiveness of the drug-addled artist in the work's program. Indeed, the music is as hot-headed and deranged as the composer intended, and listeners will feel compelled to listen to the whole SACD in one sitting, so riveting is this live performance for its high energy and seemingly endless array of skillfully crafted sounds. Highly recommended.© TiVo
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Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique; Overture Les francs-juges

Sir Georg Solti

Classical - Released December 8, 2017 | Decca Music Group Ltd.

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Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique

Charles Dutoit

Classical - Released January 1, 1985 | Decca Music Group Ltd.

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Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique

Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO)

Classical - Released May 5, 2003 | Deutsche Grammophon (DG)

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Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique & Fantaisie sur la Tempête de Shakespeare

Sir Andrew Davis

Symphonies - Released July 1, 2019 | Chandos

Hi-Res Booklet
Sir Andrew Davis was the music director of the Toronto Symphony from 1975 to 1988, and he has maintained strong ties with the group displayed here, even though the players in the main are not the ones he conducted back then. You might not think the world needs another reading of the Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14, but Davis' ease with the orchestra enables him to pull off a number of unusual orchestral effects. The real find here is the Fantaisie sur La Tempète de Shakespeare (Fantasy on Shakespeare's The Tempest), which is a symphonic poem movement, not incidental music. It is the last movement of Lélio, which was the immediate successor to the Symphonie Fantastique but is much less often performed. It is a charming collection of delicate orchestral displays complete with a choir singing words from The Tempest, or something like them, in Italian (Berlioz, who had just won the Prix de Rome, was in an Italian phase). The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, which has worked often with both Davis and the Toronto Symphony, achieves special grace here, and this little performance is worth the price of admission. The Symphonie Fantastique itself is more straightforward but has distinctive touches, including bell strokes in the "Dies irae" that will make you sit up and take notice, if not severely stress your expensive speakers. The Torontonians generally play well throughout, although the return of the idée fixe in the waltz movement (sample this) comes off more as an intrusion than as the desired fleeting thought. A fine product of Sir Andrew's old age.© TiVo
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Berlioz : Symphonie fantastique

Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique

Classical - Released January 1, 1993 | Decca Music Group Ltd.

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Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique Op.14; La Damnation de Faust Op.24

Berliner Philharmoniker

Classical - Released January 1, 1999 | Deutsche Grammophon (DG)

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Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique Op.14

Orchestre Lamoureux

Classical - Released January 1, 1961 | Deutsche Grammophon (DG)

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Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14, H 48

Lorin Maazel

Classical - Released January 1, 1982 | Telarc

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Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique; Cherubini: Anacreon Overture; Auber: La muette de Portici Overture

Orchestre Lamoureux

Classical - Released January 1, 1961 | Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd.

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Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14

Herbert Kegel

Symphonic Music - Released January 22, 1986 | Eterna

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Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique

Hector Berlioz

Symphonic Music - Released July 4, 2013 | Lodia Music International

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Berlioz : Symphonie fantastique (Live)

Les Siècles

Classical - Released October 25, 2019 | harmonia mundi

Hi-Res Booklet Distinctions 5 de Diapason
The large collection of antique instruments at Les Siècles' command makes its recordings more than just speculative period exercises, but something approaching musical time travel. Led since 2003 by its founder, François-Xavier Roth, this singular French orchestra has given thrilling historically-informed recreations of the repertoire of the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries on vintage instruments that were available to the musicians of the time, crafted by hand, and possessing the unique sonorities and tunings of different regions. For this 2019 album from Harmonia Mundi, Roth and his musicians play Hector Berlioz's hallucinatory Symphonie fantastique and the dramatic overture Les Francs-Juges with marvelous orchestral colors and a striking textural clarity that almost makes their distinctive characteristics seem especially highlighted. However, this recording isn't meant to be a sonic showcase for audiophiles, because the drama, musicality, and visceral excitement of the performances soon override the novelty of instrumentation, and the overall effect of the presentation is a startling reassessment and a refreshing change from the weightier Berlioz of a Thomas Beecham or a Colin Davis. No one could write for brass more blazingly than Berlioz, and his skillful handling of the woodwinds is even more apparent when heard with early Romantic timbres. The ultimate pleasure of this disc, though, is found in the cohesion, agility, and passion of the group's playing, and Roth's confident leadership comes through in his precision and alert attention to details. Highly recommended. © TiVo
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Hector Berlioz : Symphonie fantastique (Live)

Los Angeles Philharmonic

Classical - Released May 20, 2008 | Deutsche Grammophon (DG)

Hi-Res Booklet
An international sensation and instant star in Deutsche Grammophon's stable while only in his twenties, Gustavo Dudamel won kudos worldwide for his extraordinary musicality, wide expressive range, astute technical mastery, and acute perception of what works in a score, and he has brought great vitality and excitement to his performances of the Romantic symphonic repertoire. His 2007 release of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 5 with the Simón Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela brought critical praise, and his live follow-up with Hector Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique with the Los Angeles Philharmonic is sure to do the same. What both recordings reveal is Dudamel's amazing ability to reshape whole passages of overly familiar music into fluid and seemingly spontaneous renderings that sound almost like re-creations and make listeners really think about what they're hearing. You may not always agree with Dudamel's choices, and his handling of the music may at times seem a bit too calculated, but once you are caught up in a performance, you are compelled to pay attention to everything this conductor does. Since the Symphonie fantastique is one of the most famous warhorses ever, it is always up to conductors to make something new of it, though few think it through as clearly or manage it as creatively as Dudamel, who makes the scenes of this programmatic symphony really feel like vignettes in an especially vivid film. He also finds ways to make sense of Berlioz's quirky rhythms, disjointed figurations, disorienting counterpoint, and sudden "scene changes," so that even the first-time listener can follow the piece's trajectory and make the necessary musical connections to the hallucinatory narrative. But beyond the specific touches that make this performance extraordinary, one has to appreciate Dudamel's artistic audacity and brilliance with the orchestra, which is completely inspired and utterly willing to play its collective heart out in this electrifying performance. Deutsche Grammophon's sound is spectacular from start to finish, and the enthusiastic ovation at the end of this recording is totally warranted.© TiVo
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Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14 & Berlioz takes a Trip

Leonard Bernstein

Classical - Released March 9, 2018 | Sony Classical

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Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique

Varujan Kojian

Classical - Released January 1, 1982 | Reference Recordings CD

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Berlioz : Symphonie fantastique - Lélio (Excerpts)

Michael Tilson Thomas

Classical - Released March 3, 1998 | RCA Red Seal

Distinctions Choc du Monde de la Musique - 10 de Répertoire - 4F de Télérama
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Symphonie fantastique

Orchestre National De Lyon

Classical - Released August 27, 2012 | Naxos

Hi-Res Booklet
In a year that has already seen two extraordinary recordings of Hector Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique, Leonard Slatkin's 2012 release on Naxos faces serious competition indeed. One might think that Robin Ticciati's excellent near-period style rendition with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra or Jean-Philippe Tremblay's authentic instruments version with the Orchestre de la Francophonie would simply crowd out any other contenders, notwithstanding the myriad reissues that appear each year. Yet Slatkin's reading with the Orchestra National de Lyon is a respectable mainstream recording that hearkens back to the no-frills style of Colin Davis. Fans of Davis' 1974 recording with the Concertgebouw Orchestra will recognize a similar approach in Slatkin's presentation, which is particularly close in the tempos, pacing, and homogenizing of the orchestra, which plays modern instruments. Whereas Ticciati and Tremblay seek the raw and startling sonorities of an early 19th century orchestra, Slatkin makes no attempt to re-create the style of the period, but works within the modern tradition of playing this work. This is a solid performance that is as conventional as Davis' recording was, and just as secure in interpretation and execution. Whether or not this performance offers enough impact to compete with the more historically informed recordings, it is a reliable Symphonie fantastique that holds its own. Collectors might want to snap up this CD for the bonus track, an alternate version of "Un bal," which features the seldom-played cornet obbigato.© TiVo