Symphonie fantastique
”Episode from an Artist’s Life” – Ryan Bancroft conducts Hector Berlioz’s fantastical symphonic narrative.
Play premiere
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Tuesday 5 May 2026 15.00
About the video
- Published online 5 May 2026.
- Filmed 18 and 21 March 2026.
- The video is approximately 50 minutes.
Hector Berlioz was the son of a doctor from Isère in south-eastern France; against his father’s wishes he abandoned his medical studies and became a composer in Paris. He was 27 when he composed Symphonie fantastique, a work that marked his breakthrough and has fascinated audiences ever since with its imagination and innovative orchestration.
The symphony unfolds in five movements and follows an underlying narrative: the dreams of an unhappy young artist after a failed suicide attempt. In these dreams his betrayed love appears in the form of an idée fixe, a recurring melodic idea that binds the work together.
The fifth and final movement is titled ‘Dream of a Witches’ Sabbath’: the artist witnesses his own funeral, surrounded by a grotesque gathering of devils and monsters.
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The music
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Hector Berlioz Symphonie fantastique
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Participants
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Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
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Ryan Bancroft conductor
