Symphony Closer: Berlioz’s Fantastic Concert with Conductor Aivi Greter

This morning we are in touch with the conductor Aivi Greter by phone: we are talking about the upcoming concert “Symphony closer. Berlioz’s “Fantastic”” tomorrow evening at 7 p.m. in the “Lielais dzintars” concert hall.

“Fantastic Symphony” is a programmatic symphony written in 1830 by the French composer Hector Berlioz and an important piece of early romanticism. The first performance of this symphony took place at the Paris Conservatory on December 5, 1830, while in 1833, Francis Liszt made a piano arrangement of this symphony.

The symphony tells the story of an artist who is gifted with a lively imagination and who fell into despair due to hopeless, unrequited love and tried to commit suicide by poisoning himself with opium. Berlioz provided his own preface and notes for each movement of the symphony, and the notes show how Berlioz toned down the programmatic aspect of the work later in his life.

Leonard Bernstein described the symphony as the first musical expedition into psychedelia because of its hallucinatory and dreamlike nature, and because

history suggests that Berlioz composed at least part of it under the influence of opium. According to Bernstein, “Berlioz tells it like it is. You go on a trip and find yourself screaming at your own funeral.”

The concert series “Symfonija TUVĀK” created by the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra was created to introduce the listeners to the cornerstones of the world symphonic repertoire – beautiful, classical symphonies that everyone should know.

The concert and talk “Symphony CLOSER. Berlioz’s “Fantastic”” will begin with the introduction of music reviewer Orest Silabriežs, which will reveal the context of the time when the symphony was created and the details of the masterpiece’s construction. After the concert, those present will be invited to an informal conversation with the conductor Aivi Greter.

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