Lovely classics

Berlioz’s famous piece. Popular classical music.

Representative, Elysion Philharmonic Orchestrasai-kisaragi
Heisei College of Music, Composition Course. Studied composition and conducting under Keizo Ideta, piano under Chinami Kira, and arts management under Takuma Konishi. With a focus on community and music, I work to revitalize my hometown of Saga Prefecture. While performing as a double bassist with wind ensembles and orchestras across Kyushu, I participated on double bass in the “Orchestra Without Borders” orchestra camp of the professional game and anime music ensemble Eminence Orchestra, held in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture in September 2012. During CAPCOM’s Kyushu Tour in 2016, I not only performed as an orchestra member but also served on the production staff. I currently serve as the managing representative for the game and anime performance groups Elysion Philharmonic Orchestra (Saga Prefecture) and Fukuoka Game Music Wind Orchestra (Fukuoka Prefecture), and handle conducting, arranging, and public relations.

Louis-Hector Berlioz, a master of Romanticism whose portrait once appeared on the French 10-franc note.

Among the works Berlioz created—led by the Symphonie fantastique—are many pieces inspired by literary masterpieces.

He was also a composer who anticipated the direction of Romantic music through large-scale expansions of instrumentation and a richly colorful orchestral technique.

This time, I’ve listed the works that became the starting point of Berlioz’s artistry, dividing them by movement.

I hope you’ll give them a listen.

Masterpieces by Berlioz: Popular Classical Music (41–50)

Symphonie fantastiqueHector Berlioz

Symphonie fantastique by Hector Berlioz

Symphonie fantastiqueHector Berlioz

It’s Berlioz’s first symphony.

It seems to depict the despair of unrequited love.

It begins with an opening that feels bright yet somehow tinged with heartbreak.

The music gradually builds to a climax that suggests a light touch of madness.

The mood shifts frequently, making it a piece that never grows dull to listen to.

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem

In conclusion

We have featured Hector Berlioz, a composer of French Romantic music. He completed his representative work, the Symphonie fantastique, at the young age of 26 and left many other outstanding pieces. Berlioz was a composer marked by passionate love and many misfortunes: he fell in love with Harriet Smithson, an actress from an English Shakespearean troupe; later met the pianist Marie Moke; went through breakups; composed and completed the Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale; and, despite leading 200 military band musicians at its premiere on July 28, was expelled from the theater—one of many hardships he faced. When you listen to his works while knowing the composer’s background, your impressions may change. We hope you will continue not only with famous pieces but also to delve into composers and their works in greater detail as you listen.