Berlioz: Orchestral Works

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Explore the complete catalog of Orchestral compositions by Berlioz. This curated list includes composition years, historical Wikipedia context, and interactive audio to add specific tracks directly to your listening queue.

Title Year Actions
Dance of the Spirits

Orfeo ed Euridice (Italian: [orˈfɛːo ed euriˈdiːtʃe]; French: Orphée et Eurydice; English: Orpheus and Eurydice) is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck, based on the myth of Orpheus and set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the azione teatrale, meaning an opera on a mythological subject with choruses and dancing. The piece was first performed at the Burgtheater in Vienna on 5 October 1762, in the presence of Empress Maria Theresa. Orfeo ed Euridice is the first of Gluck's "reform" operas, in which he attempted to replace the abstruse plots and overly complex music of opera seria with a "noble simplicity" in both the music and the drama. The opera is the most popular of Gluck's works, and was one of the most influential on subsequent German operas. Variations on its plot—the underground rescue mission in which the hero must control, or conceal, his emotions—can be found in Mozart's The Magic Flute, Beethoven's Fidelio, and Wagner's Das Rheingold. Though originally set to an Italian libretto, Orfeo ed Euridice owes much to the genre of French opera, particularly in its use of accompanied recitative and a general absence of vocal virtuosity. Indeed, twelve years after the 1762 premiere, Gluck re-adapted the opera to suit the tastes of a Parisian audience at the Académie Royale de Musique with a libretto by Pierre-Louis Moline. This reworking was given the title Orphée et Eurydice, and several alterations were made in vocal casting and orchestration to suit French tastes.

Grande ouverture des Francs-Juges, H.23d
Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale, op. 15

Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale (English: Grand Funeral and Triumphal Symphony), Op. 15, is the fourth and last symphony by the French composer Hector Berlioz, first performed on 28 July 1840 in Paris. It is one of the earliest examples of a symphony composed for military band.

Harold en Italie, H.68, op. 16

The French romantic composer Hector Berlioz produced significant musical and literary works. Berlioz composed mainly in the genres of opera, symphonies, choral pieces and songs. As well as these, Berlioz also produced several works that fit into hybrid genres, such as the "dramatic symphony" Roméo et Juliette and Harold in Italy, a symphony with a large solo part for viola. Berlioz's compositions are listed both by genre and by the catalogue developed by the musicologist D. Kern Holoman. Opus numbers were assigned to compositions when they published. However, they were only given to a fraction of Berlioz's work and are not in chronological order. Berlioz's writings include memoirs, technical studies and music criticism.

Le carnaval romain, op. 9

French composer Hector Berlioz wrote a number of "overtures", many of which have become popular concert works. They include true overtures, intended to introduce operas, but also independent concert overtures that are in effect the first orchestral tone poems.

Le corsaire, op. 21

French composer Hector Berlioz wrote a number of "overtures", many of which have become popular concert works. They include true overtures, intended to introduce operas, but also independent concert overtures that are in effect the first orchestral tone poems.

Le roi Lear, H.53, op. 4

The French romantic composer Hector Berlioz produced significant musical and literary works. Berlioz composed mainly in the genres of opera, symphonies, choral pieces and songs. As well as these, Berlioz also produced several works that fit into hybrid genres, such as the "dramatic symphony" Roméo et Juliette and Harold in Italy, a symphony with a large solo part for viola. Berlioz's compositions are listed both by genre and by the catalogue developed by the musicologist D. Kern Holoman. Opus numbers were assigned to compositions when they published. However, they were only given to a fraction of Berlioz's work and are not in chronological order. Berlioz's writings include memoirs, technical studies and music criticism.

Marche de Rákóczy, H.109

Hungarian Romantic composer Franz Liszt (1811–1886) was especially prolific, composing more than 700 works. A virtuoso pianist himself, much of his output is dedicated to solo works for the instrument and is particularly technically demanding. The primary cataloguing system for his compositions was developed by Humphrey Searle; it has been thoroughly revamped by Michael Short and Leslie Howard.

Rêverie et caprice, for violin and orchestra, H.88, op. 8

The French romantic composer Hector Berlioz produced significant musical and literary works. Berlioz composed mainly in the genres of opera, symphonies, choral pieces and songs. As well as these, Berlioz also produced several works that fit into hybrid genres, such as the "dramatic symphony" Roméo et Juliette and Harold in Italy, a symphony with a large solo part for viola. Berlioz's compositions are listed both by genre and by the catalogue developed by the musicologist D. Kern Holoman. Opus numbers were assigned to compositions when they published. However, they were only given to a fraction of Berlioz's work and are not in chronological order. Berlioz's writings include memoirs, technical studies and music criticism.

Rob Roy Overture, H.54

The French romantic composer Hector Berlioz produced significant musical and literary works. Berlioz composed mainly in the genres of opera, symphonies, choral pieces and songs. As well as these, Berlioz also produced several works that fit into hybrid genres, such as the "dramatic symphony" Roméo et Juliette and Harold in Italy, a symphony with a large solo part for viola. Berlioz's compositions are listed both by genre and by the catalogue developed by the musicologist D. Kern Holoman. Opus numbers were assigned to compositions when they published. However, they were only given to a fraction of Berlioz's work and are not in chronological order. Berlioz's writings include memoirs, technical studies and music criticism.

Roméo et Juliette, for alto, tenor, bass, chorus and orchestra, H.79, op. 17
Symphonie fantastique: Épisode de la vie d'une artiste, op. 14

Symphonie fantastique: Épisode de la vie d'un artiste … en cinq parties (Fantastic Symphony: Episode in the Life of an Artist … in Five Sections) Op. 14, is a programmatic symphony written by Hector Berlioz in 1830. The first performance was at the Paris Conservatoire on 5 December 1830. Berlioz wrote semi-autobiographical programme notes for the piece that allude to the romantic sufferings of a gifted artist who has poisoned himself with opium because of his unrequited love for a beautiful and fascinating woman (in real life, the Shakespearean actress Harriet Smithson, who in 1833 became the composer's wife). The composer, who revered Beethoven, followed the latter's unusual addition in the Pastoral Symphony of a fifth movement to the normal four of a classical symphony. The artist's reveries take him to a ball and to a pastoral scene in a field, which is interrupted by a hallucinatory march to the scaffold, leading to a grotesque satanic dance (Witches' Sabbath). Within each episode, the artist's passion is represented by a recurring theme called the idée fixe. The symphony has long been a favourite with audiences and conductors. In 1831 Berlioz wrote a sequel, Lélio, for actor, soloists, chorus, piano and orchestra. Franz Liszt made a piano transcription of the score that was first recorded by Idil Biret in 1979.

Waverly, H.26, op. 1

The Clavier-Übung III, sometimes referred to as the German Organ Mass, is a collection of compositions for organ by Johann Sebastian Bach, started in 1735–36 and published in 1739. It is considered Bach's most significant and extensive work for organ, containing some of his most musically complex and technically demanding compositions for that instrument. In its use of modal forms, motet-style and canons, it looks back to the religious music of masters of the stile antico, such as Frescobaldi, Palestrina, Lotti and Caldara. At the same time, Bach was forward-looking, incorporating and distilling modern baroque musical forms, such as the French-style chorale. The work has the form of an Organ Mass: between its opening and closing movements—the prelude and "St Anne" fugue in E♭ major, BWV 552—are 21 chorale preludes, BWV 669–689, setting two parts of the Lutheran Mass and six catechism chorales, followed by four duets, BWV 802–805. The chorale preludes range from compositions for single keyboard to a six-part fugal prelude with two parts in the pedal. The purpose of the collection was fourfold: an idealized organ programme, taking as its starting point the organ recitals given by Bach himself in Leipzig; a practical translation of Lutheran doctrine into musical terms for devotional use in the church or the home; a compendium of organ music in all possible styles and idioms, both ancient and modern, and properly internationalised; and as a didactic work presenting examples of all possible forms of contrapuntal composition, going far beyond previous treatises on musical theory.