These selections were digitally restored by Graham Newton in 2003.

Way ahead of his time, misunderstood, and a rebel. It is difficult to believe, as we hail Beethoven's achievements, that the great German composer had only been dead three years when Berlioz wrote the erotic Symphonie Fantastique. It was not progress, it was a quantum leap forward for music. Yet he was often shunned, the size and scope of such operas as The Trojans totally alien to those who were still trying to come to terms with the comparative conservatism of Beethoven's Fidelio. Just imagine Brahms was not yet born! This disc is the ideal way to appreciate just how great and significant was his music. From the boisterous Roman Carnival Overture, to the chilling March to the Scaffold, here is the very best of Berlioz. It is presented in outstanding performances, many from the partial cycle of Berlioz made for Naxos by the virtuoso orchestra from San Diego. And it even contains a novelty to titillate those who think they know a lot about Berlioz, with the R�verie et Caprice, a work of stunning beauty for violin and orchestra.

The re-mastering and re-release on SACD bears witness to a perfect blend of the past and present, just as Hector Berlioz combined it in La damnation de Faust. He told the story in a fascinatingly modern manner, so modern that we are able to translate for our ears the extreme paradoxes of drinking song and fugue, rides to hell and heavenly apotheosis, prayer and march, into colourful, dramatic images and let our imaginations run wild.

Recorded with a solid team of performers such as Edith Mathis (soprano), Stuart Burrows (tenor), Donald McIntyre(bass), Thomas Paul (bass), Judith Dickinson (solo in Dans le ciel), Tanglewood Festival Chorus, Boston Boy Choir, together with Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Seiji Ozawa, this recording lets us relish in their prime performance of orchestral playing and singing.

Robin Ticciati’s recording debut, Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique, received rave reviews: it was named Critics’ Choice ‘Sound of 2012’ (The Independent), ‘Classical CD of the Week’ (The Sunday Times), ‘Disc of the Week’ (BBC Radio 3 ‘Record Review’) and was #3 in The Sunday Times’ Best Classical Albums of 2012 list. Ticciati brings out the deep colours and emotions of this composition while balancing the orchestra and keeping the pace to create an impressive and dynamic sound throughout, showing similar flair to that of his teacher the great Berliozian Sir Colin Davis. The works of Berlioz have featured prominently in Ticciati’s programmes with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra since he was appointed Principal Conductor in 2009 earning critical acclaim. With this recording Ticciati succeeds in his aim to offer audiences ‘a thought-provoking and new way of listening to the piece’. With a performance of this calibre it is easy to see why Symphonie Fantastique continues to be one of the most popular early Romantic compositions with today’s audiences.

Berlioz Rottrerdam PO/Nezet-Seguin,Antonacci Symphonie fantastique; Cleopatre

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

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Marek Janowski's Symphonie fantastique doesn't have the frenetic excitement that a conductor like Munch brought to the work; rather, he is more of a modern-day Markevitch, analytical and pellucidly clear, but never clinical, and never at the expense of the music's character or emotional intensity. The first movement seldom has sounded so cogent, a function of the unusual fluidity that Janowski achieves by effortlessly natural phrasing and accentuation. Berlioz's second-movement ball floats by as if in a dream, which of course is exactly the point. The Scene in the Country is pure poetry, the distant thunder at the end scrupulously pictorial and vivid.

Janowski takes great care not to let the brass blare when playing forte in the March to the Scaffold, saving the real noise for the fortissimos. Simon Rattle attempted much the same thing but falls flat where Janowski succeeds brilliantly--not just because the Pittsburgh brass plays better, but because Janowski uses the lower volume in the melody to play up the grotesque accompaniments--the pedal tones in the trombones, and those insane bassoons. It's wonderful, as is a finale that, like the first movement, hangs together splendidly and rises to a thrilling climax without missing a single burp, screech, or nasty belch.

The King Lear Overture makes a substantial bonus, equally well done. Listen to those cellos and basses as they really dig into their parts! Superb sound in all formats, regular stereo and multichannel, completes this marvelous package.

– David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com


Does the world need another recording of the Symphonie fantastique ? Many a Fanfare review has an opening line of this sort, but rarely does it apply more than here. I wish I could give this review proper attention by making detailed comparisons to at least a few of the many dozens of available recordings, but this is a standard-length review, not a dissertation. The attraction this piece holds for listeners will always draw us, and if nothing else, it is a superb test of the mettle of any orchestra and conductor. If you need to catch up on the status of an orchestra and its current leadership, there is no better single measuring stick.


This is a also a good choice if you want a modern version that sports state-of-the-art sonics (this is one of at least six SACD versions), high-gloss virtuosity, and intelligently brisk but unfrenetic pacing; you could do no better than this engrossing reading from Marek Janowski and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. The conductor has not always received the highest commendations in Fanfare , but I would remind readers that most of those mediocre reviews involve orchestras far less skilled than the PSO. Pittsburgh wasn’t recording much for a while, and those who take the time to hear what they have missed will be impressed.


One of the many admirable traits Janowski brings to the score is his ability to wisely pace the seemingly infinite dynamic profiles with which Berlioz peppers the score, not only in the usual pppp to ffff, but their use in the myriad combinations of instruments. There are many passages that have traditionally tempted brass sections to strike with maximum force in every climatic section in the symphony, but Janowski holds some decibels in reserve, and the final low brass outbursts gain immeasurably from this prior restraint.


This is not a revelatory interpretation (is this even necessary or possible for a work that breaks all the rules of its day and has been scrutinized within an inch of its life?), nor does it move with an intense dramatic thrust underlined by other conductors (Munch most notably). But it is highly detailed, with great attention paid to the sharp corners in tempo and the severe dynamic contrasts the composer requests. I wouldn’t deign to persuade anyone to swap this for their favorite Munch or Davis version (the emotional attachments are too strong for this to happen even if a demonstrable superiority is shown), but this one belongs on the shelf of any lover of this history-making score. A point should be made that this is not a live recording, a growing phenomenon among American orchestras as a blatant attempt to save pennies. Many critics favor this trend, believing any loss of exactitude is overcome by a sense of spontaneity. Nice theory, but I don’t buy it. The spit and polish heard here is not something you will hear from a live recording, even by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.


Le Roi Lear is not nearly as well known or recorded, of course, but it is hard to imagine a more vivid and picturesque reading. Low strings sound full and rich in the opening, and upper strings play their pizzicato accompaniments to the wind solos with uncanny delicacy and unanimity. A similar passage occurs much later, when the maestro brings the upper strings way down in volume to make way for the principal material in the middle and lower strings.


In the short time this recording has been released, it has generated no small buzz on the Net, and no doubt this will continue. This disc will provide hours of listening pleasure, and if you have a small stack of discs you use for testing audio equipment, I would consider making this an addition.


FANFARE: Michael Cameron

Hector Berlioz remains to this day the arch Romantic composer. His imagination knew no bounds and through his often-extreme visions, he revolutionized the way composers would approach the orchestra in the future. Spooky, wild, tender and utterly without inhibition perfectly describes the "Symphonie fantastique". But even some of his overtures are not for the faint-of-heart, especially when two masterful conductors at the helms of two of Europe's finest orchestras give these colorful scores full rein. Unquestionably, Berlioz at his best! - Hänssler Classic

Liszt: Berlioz - Symphonie fantastique: Episode de la vie d'

Robin Ticciat's deserved reputation as one fo the great Berliozian's of our age is evident on this recording, his second, with the award-winning Swedish Radio Symphony. Romeo et Juliette was considered a pinnacle of French Romanticism and a brilliant example of Berlioz's orchestral mastery. The piece is one of the most original conceptions of the 19th century - deftly poised between symphony and stage drama. Robin Ticciati fully communicates the range of Berlioz's imagination; he brings an innate understanding of the romanticism of the music and succeeds in delivering a performance that is brimming with color.

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REVIEW:

The sound pictures are precise and subtle. Katija Dragojevic is a gorgeously warm mezzo, and Alastair Miles a stentorian bass in the final Serment de réconciliation.

– Guardian (UK)

BERLIOZ: Romeo et Juliette / Les Troyens a Carthage

BERLIOZ Requiem • Dimitri Mitropoulos, cond; Nicolai Gedda (ten); Cologne RO & Ch • ICA 5075 (82:22) Live: Cologne 8/26/1956


Having been, for the most part (all but the “March to the Scaffold” and “Dream of a Witches’ Sabbath”), been impressed by Dimitri Mitropoulos’s studio recording of Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique with the New York Philharmonic, I was very curious to hear what the famed Greek conductor did with the Requiem. I hadn’t known that there was an alternative performance conducted by Mitropoulos from July 15, 1956, with tenor Leopold Simoneau and the Vienna Philharmonic, nor have I heard that performance (available on Orfeo d’Or 457971), but in listening to this Cologne performance from August all I could think was how absolutely wonderful it is from start to finish.


Granted, the Cologne Radio Choir is no match for Roger Norrington’s exquisitely blended forces in his recording for Hänssler (which I dubbed a Classical Hall of Fame item in the last issue), but in the 1950s there were few choruses that good … Bayreuth, perhaps, and Wilhelm Pitz’s magnificent Philharmonia Chorus, but not many others. Within the scope of radio choirs of that era, the Cologne singers acquit themselves very well. But even more impressive is the sound of the orchestra, the incredible wealth of textural detail that Mitropoulos is able to draw from it, and more importantly, how well it is recorded. For a 1956 mono radio broadcast, the sound on this disc is phenomenal—easily on par with the absolute best high-fidelity products issued by RCA, EMI, and even Decca-London. Just to give you the most crucial example, there is actually some depth to the sound when the four brass choirs enter in the Dies irae , in fact, more depth to the sound than Seiji Ozawa’s digital recording with the Boston Symphony on RCA-BMG.


But even better than the sound is the musical treatment of the score. As much as I like Norrington’s leisurely pacing, which matches so well the depth of sound he is able to elicit from his orchestra, Mitropoulos gives us what I would characterize as the true Berlioz style. This performance is only five minutes shorter than Norrington’s, but it sounds much faster because Mitropoulos never lets the momentum sag. He is continually nudging the beat forward, even in the quietest and slowest passages in the score, with the result that the listener hears much more of the work’s structure without sacrificing quality of emotion or depth of feeling. It’s like listening to Charles Munch’s Symphonie fantastique, Colin Davis’s early recording of Romeo et Juliette, and either the Toscanini or Fischer-Dieskau recordings of Harold in Italy. It’s that good, and it’s in the same style. It’s also astonishing how much hall ambience, and more importantly depth of sound, is captured here considering that this was recorded not in a church or concert hall, but in Studio 1 of the Cologne radio station. Taking all of that into consideration, the sonic results almost beggar belief.


It would take far more room that I have to describe all the stunning moments in this performance, but allow me to pinpoint one: the way Mitropoulos pulls back on the syncopated wind and string figures at the beginning of the Lacrimosa . This has a tautness, and almost a swagger, in the rhythm that I’ve not heard achieved by any other conductor in this work. Another interesting aspect of this performance is to compare its timings to the other Mitropoulos version as well as Norrington. As previously mentioned, this Cologne performance runs only five minutes shorter than the Norrington, but the Vienna version runs three minutes faster than this. Without having heard it, then, I would have to say that I think I’d prefer this recording anyway. I really don’t like my Berlioz Requiem rushed that much, which is another reason I don’t care for the Ozawa recording.


There is but one movement where more space is required, and that is the Sanctus. It is gorgeously sung by Nicolai Gedda in his best early voice—in stereo recordings, only Stuart Burrows is as good and only Leopold Simoneau and Toby Spence come close—but the tenor is up front and center in the soundspace, not recessed in the back as he is supposed to be. It’s a small flaw but a telling one.


Could this, then, be a first-choice Requiem? Yes, but only if you don’t mind monophonic sound and the up-front recording of the tenor soloist. If you do, Norrington is clearly your best choice, and as I said last issue, there are few better than his performance, but this is one of those few. Another small miracle is the fact that ICA has managed to cram 82 and a half minutes of music on one CD.


FANFARE: Lynn René Bayley

BERLIOZ: Overtures

This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD

Hector Berlioz
LES TROYENS

Énée – Lance Ryan
Chorèbe – Gabriele Viviani
Panthée – Giorgio Giuseppini
Narbal – Stephen Milling
Iopas – Eric Cutler
Ascagne – Oksana Shilova
Cassandre – Elisabete Matos
Didon – Daniele Barcellona
Anna – Zlata Bulycheva

Valencia Regional Government Choir (Cor de la Generalitat Valenciana)
Valencian Community Orchestra (Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana)
Valery Gergiev, conductor

La Fura dels Baus, staging
Carlus Padrissa, stage director
Ronald Olbeter, stage designer
Peter van Praet, lighting designer
Chu Uroz, costume designer

Recorded live from the Palau de les Arts “Reina Sofia”, Valencia, Spain, 2009.

Bonus:
- The making of Les Troyens

Picture format: 1080p High Definition
Sound format: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: French, English, German, Spanish, Chinese, Korean
Booklet notes: English, German, French
Running time: 240 mins (opera) + 21 mins (documentary)
No. of Discs: 2

"Ancient myth meets Star Wars, and the eye is constantly engaged with images ranging from space-age technology to details of soccer uniforms." The New York Times

"This is a worthy and compelling, glittering version of a sublime work." International Herald Tribune

Harold in Italy was commissioned from Berlioz by the virtuoso violinist Paganini, who wanted something to show off his fine new viola. Actually, that’s not quite true; Paganini thought he was paying for a flashy concerto, but what he got was a symphonic poem. The viola plays the part of Byron’s Childe Harold, while Berlioz relives his own happy memories of travelling the wilds of Italy, meeting the locals in the mountains, encountering priests, brigands, and travelling musicians. Paganini was disappointed, and never played it… and despite an enthusiasm for most Berlioz, I’ve tended to agree with Paganini, and never quite hit it off with Harold. Until now.

Why the change of heart? Well, let’s look at the forces: Mark Minkowski’s ensemble Les Musiciens du Louvre-Grenoble on period instruments, and for a band that began with the baroque, this is serious mission-creep, and their approach changes things in all kinds of subtle ways. Antoine Tamestit is the viola soloist, and from his gentle, folk-like first entry, and the breathless hush with which it’s echoed, there’s genuine intimacy, and the most delicate accompaniment. The plangent melancholy of the solo viola’s upper reaches contrasts beautifully with its woody depths; there’s the piquant edge of the winds, the purposeful gleam of brass; darker colours and lighter textures than a modern orchestra, and a subtle rebalancing of dynamics – so much seems like chamber music. Minkowski finds a lightning-fast response to Berlioz’s sudden outbursts, easily flowing tempos, and scurrying strings and razor-sharp attack in the Brigands’ Orgy – and everything worked out with Paganini, who was dazzled by the score when he finally heard it.

The same sense of seductive intimacy pervades Berlioz’s song cycle Summer Nights, and while mezzo Anne Sofie von Otter may not have quite the purity of tone which graced her previous recording, she seems to emerge from inside these songs, and the deliciously moulded accompaniments support her with grace and rare sensitivity. The transparency and detail are a tribute to the recording as well as the playing, the booklet is luxuriously appointed with evocative landscapes, and there’s a nice bonus: Otter and Tamestit together at the end for Marguerite’s song of the King of Thule from Berlioz’s The Damnation of Faust. I’ll be damned: at last an account of Berlioz’s Harold I want to keep.

-- Andrew McGregor, BBC Music [1/27/2012]

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Several of Berlioz’s works have been recorded using period instruments, among them the Symphonie Fantastique and the Grande Messe des Morts. However, I can’t readily recall many period performances of Harold en Italie. Sir John Eliot Gardiner made a very fine recording with his Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique and violist Gérard Caussé for Philips but that was way back in 1994 and I’m not sure that it’s currently available. So Marc Minkowski and Les Musiciens du Louvre-Grenoble seem to have the field pretty much to themselves.
 
I’m happy to be able to report to anyone wanting a version of this work on period instruments that this new recording should more than meet their needs. Minkowski conducts with flair and his orchestra is excellent. Berlioz was one of music’s most innovative orchestrators and period instruments can bring out the tangy, original colours of his scoring exceptionally well. It’s a joy to hear the orchestral score in a performance of this quality; and that’s an observation that applies to the other music on the disc as well.
 
Right from the start of Harold the grainy strings and slightly rasping brass are a delight. When the solo viola enters (track 1, 2:59) the husky tone is beautifully set against the pastel shades of the accompaniment, chiefly the gently rippling harp and cooing clarinets. Hereabouts, Antoine Tamestit, a splendid soloist, conveys the melancholy air of Harold very well indeed. Later in the movement Minkowski whips up the music excitingly. Though I’m a great Berlioz fan I have to admit that the second movement doesn’t seem to me to be one of his most interesting movements. Moreover, the viola part is so uneventful that it’s not hard to see why Paganini, having commissioned the work, wasn’t interested in playing it – though, to his great credit he not only expressed admiration for the piece when he heard it performed but also paid Berlioz the agreed fee.
 
In the third movement Minkowski ensures that the music lilts most persuasively. There’s an excellent and entirely appropriate rustic feel in this performance. There’s tremendous drive and spirit in the finale. Minkowski and his orchestra dispatch the Orgy of Brigands with gusto and élan. Here, as elsewhere in the score, the primary colours of Berlioz’s score are brought to life vividly. I think it helps that the recording is quite close – though by no means oppressively so – and this, plus the transparency of the period instruments, means that a welcome amount of detail registers.
 
Les Nuits d’Été is equally successful. Anne Sofie von Otter is a singer I admire very much though sometimes she can seem a little cool. That’s not the case here. For example, she offers some ardent singing in ‘Sur les lagunes’. This is a darkly passionate setting and Miss von Otter really communicates expressive grief. By contrast, in the opening song, ‘Villanelle’, we hear her at her most engaging in a light, eager rendition of the song. In ‘Absence’ her control in the refrain ‘Reviens, reviens, ma bien-aimée’ is wonderful – as is that of the supporting players. She and Minkowski combine to invest ‘L’Île inconnue’ with a surge of buoyant energy. This delightful, happy reading is a fine end to an excellent account of the cycle. Once again the orchestra more than plays its part in the success of the performance. The lively tempo and alert playing in ‘Villanelle’ is a delight – especially the chattering woodwinds. At the start of ‘Le Spectre de la rose’ the grainy strings under the unison flute and clarinet provide a lovely mixture of timbres, supporting the singer’s poised delivery of a beautiful, sustaine d line. The nutty orchestral timbres are an important feature in ‘Sur les lagunes’.
 
Finally, to complete our pleasure, Miss von Otter and Antoine Tamestit come together to give a fine performance of ‘Le Roi de Thulé’. Here the plangent viola tone is a perfect foil for von Otter’s gently wistful singing.
 
This is a very fine disc and also a fascinating one which I urge all Berlioz admirers to hear. Not only are the performances extremely good but also the production values are high. This applies to the recorded sound, which, as I’ve already indicated, is good. Even more does it apply to the sumptuous booklet which is beautifully illustrated. The booklet also includes, in addition to a useful note, an extract from Berlioz’s Memoirs concerning Harold en Italie.
 
This is one of the most stimulating Berlioz releases that I’ve heard in recent years.
 
-- John Quinn, MusicWeb International

Robin Ticciati cements his reputation as an outstanding Berliozian this recording, ‘Berlioz: Les nuits d'été', which includes excerpts from Roméo & Juliette and La mort de Cléopâtre.

‘The clarity, coordination and spectrum of colour in the orchestra are spot-on for Berlioz.' -- Gramophone

‘Robin Ticciati, has lost no time in presenting his credentials as an outstanding Berliozian.' -- The Sunday Times