The Cambridge Companion to Berlioz

Provides a comprehensive view of Berlioz the man, the composer, the critic and the writer.

Peter Bloom (Edited by)

9780521596381, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 24 August 2000

326 pages, 8 b/w illus. 25 music examples
24.6 x 17.5 x 2 cm, 0.587 kg

Still chiefly known as the extravagant composer of the Symphonie fantastique, Berlioz was an artist caught in the crossfire between the academic classicism of the French musical establishment and the romantic modernism of the Parisian musical scene. He was a thinker in an age that invented both the religion of art and the notion of the 'genius' who preached and practised it. This Companion contains essays by eminent scholars on Berlioz's place in nineteenth-century French cultural life, on his principal compositions (symphonies, overtures, operas, sacred works, songs), on his major writings (a delightful volume of memoires, a number of short stories, large quantities of music criticism, an orchestration treatise), on his direct and indirect encounters with other famous musicians (Gluck, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner), and on his legacy in France. The volume is framed by a detailed chronology of his life and a usefully annotated bibliography.

Chronology
Introduction: Berlioz on the eve of the bicentenary Peter Bloom
Part I. Perspectives: 1. Berlioz as man and thinker Jacques Barzun
2. The musical environment in France Janet Johnson
Part II. Principal Compositions: 3. Genre in Berlioz Julian Rushton
4. The symphonies Jeffrey Langford
5. The concert overtures Diana Bickley
6. The operas and the dramatic legend James Haar
7. The religious works Ralph Locke
8. The songs Annegret Fauser
Part III. Major Writings: 9. The Mémoires Pierre Citron
10. The short stories Katherine Kolb
11. The criticism Katharine Ellis
12. The Grand traité d'instrumentation Joël-Marie Fauquet
Part IV. Execution: 13. Performing Berlioz D. Kern Holoman
Part V. Critical Encounters: 14. Berlioz and Gluck Joël-Marie Fauquet
15. Berlioz and Mozart Hugh Macdonald
16. Berlioz and Beethoven David Cairns
17. Berlioz and Wagner Peter Bloom
Part VI. Renown: 18. Berlioz's impact in France Lesley Wright
Bibliography Jeffrey Langford.

Subject Areas: Individual composers & musicians, specific bands & groups [AVH]