Berlioz’ 220th Birth Anniversary
Monday, December 11
Stingray Classica celebrates the music of the French composer Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) on the occasion of his 220th birth anniversary. On December 11 at 14:00 CET, Stingray Classica presents a captivating documentary about the composer’s masterpiece: the Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14. Inspired on the composer’s unrequited love for Irish actress Harriet Smithson, the five-movement piece portrays the dreams of a young artist who has taken an overdose of opium in the aftermath of a failed love affair. Berlioz used one melody in each movement of the work representing the artist’s beloved, an ‘idée fixe’ (fixed idea or obsession). Following the documentary, the Royal Flemish Philharmonic under the baton of Dutch maestro Jaap van Zweden perform an exciting rendition of the piece. At 21:00 CET, Sir Simon Rattle leads the London Symphony Orchestra, a seven-part chorus, a children’s chorus, and four vocal soloists, in an impressive performance of Berlioz’s tempestuous 1846 oratorio La damnation de Faust, Op. 24. Berlioz was inspired by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s legendary tale of Faust. At once a tragedy and a dark comedy, with a central character both wise and despicable, the righteous scholar Faust allows himself to be corrupted by the devil, dragging the innocent around him into desperation and death.
Discovering Masterpieces - Symphonie fantastique
Monday, December 11 | 14:00
Watch the series ‘Discovering Masterpieces’, your audio-visual concert guide to the great masterpieces of classical music. The series brings you 20 half-hour documentaries on 20 classical masterpieces: acclaimed experts, famous soloists and outstanding conductors take you on a journey back to the time and place of composition. In today’s documentary, Hector Berlioz’ ‘Symphonie Fantastique’. This ‘Fantastic Symphony’ is widely regarded as one of the most important and representative pieces of the early Romantic period. Leonard Bernstein once called it “the first musical expedition into psychedelia” because of its hallucinatory and dream-like nature. The German musicologist Wulf Konold describes the idea behind and the realization of this fascinating work.
Martinu & Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14
Monday, December 11 | 14:30
The Royal Flemish Philharmonic ‘deFilharmonie’ specializes in the historically informed performance of various classical music styles. deFilharmonie’s unique character is shaped by several conductors, such as the Dutch conductor Edo de Waart and the Flemish conductor Philippe Herreweghe. Given his specific background and experience, Herreweghe focuses on the music of the Romantic era and before. The orchestra holds an unusual position in the Flemish music landscape due to its unique nation- and worldwide concert series. Concerts at the Musikverein in Vienna, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam have drawn crowds. This concert was performed at Antwerp’s Queen Elisabeth Hall under the baton of the Dutch conductor Jaap van Zweden. Hector Berlioz’s ‘Symphonie Fantastique’ is among the compositions played.
Berlioz - The Damnation of Faust
Monday, December 11 | 21:00
Sir Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra mark 150 years since the death of Hector Berlioz with his tempestuous oratorio, La damnation de Faust. La damnation de Faust is a work born of the composer’s obsession with Goethe’s legendary tale. Once a righteous scholar, Faust allows himself to be corrupted by the devil, and drags the innocent around him into desperation and death. It’s a fable that defies definition – both a tragedy and dark comedy, with a central character both wise and despicable, and a play and epic poem in one.
