Symphonie Fantastique

Sir Simon Rattle commands a cast of fantastical characters in a double bill of symphonies. Berlioz’s powerful, poetic music sets visions whirling of wandering poets, enchanting women, shepherds, an execution procession and witches.

Both Symphonie fantastique (1830) and Harold in Italy (1842) trace a musical journey from reverie to wild finale.The initial suggestion to write a work for solo viola came from the great violinist Paganini. Inspired by Byron’s 1812 poem Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, Berlioz created “a series of orchestral scenes” in which the solo viola plays a “melancholic dreamer”.

Symphonie fantastique was Berlioz’s first real success making him, not unlike Byron, an overnight sensation. Whilst his own unrequited love for an Irish actress made for a gratifyingly debauched programme, the piece also owes its enduring reputation to Berlioz’s radical handling of musical ideas and instrumental forces.

And, dearest gentle reader, happily our composer did make his match with his actress. Eventually.

"I thought what would I miss the most with those instruments now and it was those pieces... what a great thing to have these two extraordinary symphonies by Berlioz together. It's going to be a blast!" - Sir Simon Rattle

Sir Simon Rattle, one of our longstanding Principal Artists since his debut with us conducting Mozart’s Idomeneo in 1987, joins us in celebrating 40 years. ‘It was an unforgettable time’, Rattle says, ‘In many ways it changed my life. We really could help each other: I learnt an enormous amount from them, and they needed someone who could make them into an orchestra.’

Timothy Ridout, who in 2016 became the first British viola player to win the prestigious Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition, takes the leading role in Berlioz’s Harold in Italy.