Hector Berlioz: biography, interesting facts, work

Hector Berlioz

Hot July 1867 in the library of the Paris Conservatory flooded the furnace. After several weeks of seclusion, Hector Berlioz, tired and sick, came to burn all his memory of himself - sketches of unfinished essays, articles, correspondence. Having lost everything in earthly life, he wants to wipe out even the memory of his unique, romance-like fate - with all-consuming passions and dizzying love intrigues, rare take-offs and frequent falls, the struggle for the right to be heard and a tragic finale.

A brief biography of Hector Berlioz and many interesting facts about the composer can be found on our page.

Brief Biography of Berlioz

Hector Berlioz was born on December 11, 1803 in the east of France in the town of La Cote-Saint-Andre. He was the first child in the family of a local doctor who comprehensively developed his son, instilling an interest in him, including music.

As a child, Hector mastered the flute and guitar, it was then that his first romances were composed. According to the biography of Berlioz in 1821, he went to Paris to study, but not at all at the conservatory, but at the Medical School, since his father saw in his son a continuer of the medical dynasty. However, medical research aroused student Berlioz not interest, but disgust. He found an outlet in the Paris Opera, where he was inspired by the talents of Gluck and Spontini. He began to study the scores of his beloved operas, wrote an article in a journal, and again took up writing. Since 1823, the young man takes private lessons in composition, is engaged in self-education.

In 1824, Hector leaves Medical School to fully engage in music. The parents took this step extremely negatively, the father significantly reduced its content, and the young author of the publicly performed “Solemn Mass” was forced to earn his living by singing in the choir.

In 1826, Berlioz entered the Paris Conservatoire, which he graduated in the year of his absolute triumph with the Fantastic Symphony. At the same time, the prestigious Roman Prize was received, at the expense of which he went to study in Italy. Return to Paris in 1833 was marked by a wedding with actress Harriett Smithson. The whole Berlioz family was opposed to this marriage, with the exception of his younger sister, Adele. A year later, the son of Louis was born, named after the father of the composer.

Despite being active in composing and conducting, journalism and music criticism brought the main income to Berlioz. For the sake of earnings, he took the post of deputy, and then the librarian of the Paris Conservatoire. Two touring tours in Russia - in 1847 and 1867-68, became a real salvation from bankruptcy. The first of them took place not without the participation of M.I. Glinka, with whom Berlioz met in Rome.

The union with the eccentric Irish Smithson lasted 11 years, and in 1854 Harriett passed away. In the same year, Berlioz marries the singer Marie-Genevieve Martin, or Marcio, as she was called on the stage with which the composer had a long-term relationship. At the end of the life of Berlioz, some losses were pursued - in 1860 the younger sister Adele died, in 1862 - the spouse, in 1864 - the last beloved, Amelie, died at the age of 26, and in 1867 Berlioz lost his only son. After this loss, the elderly maestro could not recover. He goes on tour to Russia for three months, where the first attacks occur with him. March 8, 1869, he dies in his Paris apartment.

Interesting facts about Hector Berlioz

• Berlioz - the first composer of the French national school. All his predecessors, who wrote operas in French, were either Germans or Italians.
• "Malvenuto Cellini" - so, in the literal translation of "Unwanted Cellini", the wits dubbed Berlioz's first opera, which suffered a deafening fiasco at the premiere. The overture was warmly received by the public, but almost every next opera number was forgotten.
• Contemporaries of Berlioz were frightened not only by the colossal scale of The Trojans, they were touched by the very essence of the work, which did not comply with the conditions of French opera. They were presented a grandiose antique story in a classic style, which has nothing to do with the usual superficial entertainment.
• The composer's son, Louis Berlioz, was the captain of the merchant ship. During his stay in Cuba, he fell ill with yellow fever, from which he died on June 5, 1867. The news of his death his father received only at the end of the month.

• One day, Berlioz received the music of his new symphony, the composition of which he had to give up, guided by the fact that otherwise he would have to stop writing articles, spend money on correspondence of notes and the premiere, because of which both of his families would have nothing to live.
• From the biography of Berlioz, we learn that for the sake of Russian tours in 1867, the composer rejected Steinway’s offer to perform in New York for a fee of $ 100,000.

Don Juan Berlioz List

The composer's first and last love was Estella Dyubof (in Fornier's marriage). The young people met when Hector was only 12, and his beloved was 17. This is the all-consuming, but unanswered feeling that the composer will carry throughout his life. In 1848, he, in obedience to the urge after visiting the places of his childhood, sent Estella a touching letter expressing his best feelings. He did not receive a reply to this letter - the beloved had been married for a long time. But fate decreed that they met again at the end of their lives. Berlioz came to her house on September 23, 1864, almost 40 years after their last meeting. There was an active correspondence between them, but he never did the offer to Fornier's widow, realizing that she would never accept it.

Passion for Harriet Smithson was born in the soul of the composer, when he saw her in the roles of Juliet and Ophelia in Shakespeare's plays. Hector threw her letters, waited at the exit of the theater, even moved to the house opposite her hotel. In the months of love fever, he wrote The Fantastic Symphony, dedicating it to his star. When the premiere took place, he sent her tickets to the box for one of the performances. His expectations were met - Harriet came. Only after that he asks her permission to introduce herself. The intercourse that ensued only inflamed the feelings of the composer, he made an offer to his passion. Louis Berlioz forbids marrying his son, and his mother curses him altogether. The relationship between lovers develop rapidly - from love to hate. Nevertheless, they marry more like a stormy sea than a safe haven due to the jealousy of Harriet, her illness, and her poorly completed artistic career. The couple separated in 1844, but Berlioz was courting a seriously ill paralyzed wife, paying for all doctors and nurses until her very death 8 years later.

The furious passion for Ophelia, who had left for London, was somewhat dulled when, in 1830, Hector met Camilla Mok, sizzled in love and decided to marry at once. Receiving the Rome Prize and the success of the Fantastic Symphony allowed Camilla's mother to agree to the engagement. However, a few months after leaving to study in Rome, Hector received a letter from Madame Mock, informing her that her daughter was marrying a wealthy manufacturer. A triple murder plan was born in his head, and he went to Paris, ready to carry it out, but lost interest on the way.

Being a married but not too happy man, Hector meets a young singer Maria Recio, who in 1841 became his mistress. Since 1842, Marie accompanies him in all foreign touring tours. After breaking up with his wife, he moved to live with Recio, and in 1852, only six months after Harriet's death, married her. He writes to his son that he was obliged to do just that after 11 years of marriage. In marriage, they lived 10 years, until Marie died from a heart attack.

Berlioz's second wife was buried in the Montmartre cemetery, and there a short time after the funeral, the 59-year-old composer met the 24-year-old Ameli. Relationship lasted a little more than six months and ended on the initiative of the girl, than Berlioz was greatly saddened. Another year will pass, and Amelie will also find eternal peace in Montmartre, dying of illness.

Creativity Hector Berlioz

Even before entering the Conservatory, Berlioz wrote a cantata "Greek revolution", outline for opera"Secret judges"and"Solemn mass". The first significant composition, which has received world fame, was"Fantastic Symphony"created on a wave of passion for the inaccessible Harriet Smithson. The symphony had a semantic content that was clearly expressed in music and opened the era of program works. In the same 1830, Berlioz managed to become a Rome Prize Fellow with a cantata"Death of sardanapala".

The works of the period of study in the French Academy - a few songs, overtures "King Lear"and"Rob Roy"On his return to Paris, Berlioz writes a second symphony program."Harold in Italy", in which he expressed his impressions of a trip to Rome. A piece by an unusually rare choice of a solo instrument - alto, and created at the request of Niccolò Paganini. The famous violinist was never able to perform it, moreover, the first part shown by Berlioz did not impress him at all. But having heard the finished symphony later, he was completely fascinated by it. The premiere took place in the Paris Conservatoire in 1834. In 1837, Berlioz presented to the public Requiemdedicated to the memory of the victims of the July revolution, of which he himself was a participant. This unusual composition organically combines the melody of revolutionary marches and spiritual chants. It requires an ambitious cast of performers, including an extended orchestra and 200 choir members.

The 30s are symphonic years in the life of the maestro. His last two symphonies appear at the same time. In 1839 - "Romeo and Juliet"in 1940 -"Solemn mourning symphony"Both of them reflect the interest of their creator to large theatrical forms, which will result in truly large-scale works on the opera stage. One of the first was"Benvenuto Cellini", which premiered in 1838. This opera actually had to be written twice - in 1834 it was rejected by the Directorate of the Opera Comic Theater. In the revised version, she saw the scene, but was not accepted by the public and was no longer staged until 1851, Liszt, anxious about the work of his friend, did not convince Berlioz to make another change to the play in Weimar. This edition has become the most popular directors.

In 1841, Berlioz takes the libretto by E. Scribe "The Bloody Nun" and for several years writes scenes for a future opera. For various reasons, the composition is progressing poorly, and almost 6 years later Scrib asks for the libretto to be returned, since another composer, S. Gounod, became interested in them. Attempts to make ends meet by making money on music criticism do not leave Berlioz time to work. In the first half of the 40s appears Romance for violin and orchestra "Reverie et caprice"overture "Roman carnival", Anthem of France, March to the last scene of "Hamlet", "3 pieces for organ Alexander". The main work of Berlioz of those years -"Treatise on Orchestration and Orchestration", published in 1844 and still a compulsory book for all composers. The book truly revolutionized the orchestra technique. In the second edition of 1855 a new chapter was added" Orchestra Conductor - Theory of His Art ".

Opera "Faust Condemnation"was written for the year on the basis of the music of the earlier work" Eight Scenes from "Faust". The premiere at Opera Comic took place on December 6, 1846. And on December 20, the last performance was given. The failure was crushing not only for the author's vanity, but also for his financial situation, driving Berlioz even more into debt. Fortunately, Russian tours were ahead of him, which corrected both the first and the second. Nowhere in the world have maestros taken in the same way as in St. Petersburg and Moscow. Never has the performance fee been so significant.

In 1848, Berlioz begins to write his "Memoirs". There was enough material for them, many notes about trips and impressions were already written and published by him in the press." Memoirs "became a book of his life, he finished them in 1865, they came out in print in limited edition. Mass edition was made in 1870, after the death of the author. At the turn of the 1850s, the composer gave his interpretation of sacred music. In 1849, he wrote Te deum, in 1854 - the oratorio "Christ Childhood". The oratorio grew in parts from different sketches. It became one of the few works of the composer, which was accompanied by success from the first performance. In subsequent years, the composer performed it in concerts throughout France and abroad.

In 1856, Berlioz proceeds to create a key work of his career - the opera "Trojans"The libretto he writes himself on the basis of the book Aeneid Virgil, well known to him from childhood. The work was completed in record time - in two years. The author's idea was to create a great French opera, a grand opera. The result was a two-part an essay with a total duration of more than 5 hours. The Paris Opera for five years rejected The Trojans, and when in 1863 the Theater Lirik agreed to only the second part, The Trojans in Carthage, also with numerous bills, Berlioz surrendered at the mercy of fate. Opera generally fell to The show was to its liking and stood 21 performances. Neither the first part of the Fall of Troy, nor even the whole opera the maestro ever saw on stage. The world premiere of the full-fledged Trojans took place in 1906, and the Parisian premiere was only in 2003.

A little more fortunate fate awaited his opera "Beatrice and Benedict"based on Shakespeare's plot" Much Ado About Nothing. "Finished in 1862, it was immediately shown in Baden-Baden. In France, it was only installed in 1880.

The music of Berlioz in the cinema

For the first time, the image of the great Frenchman was attracted by cinema in 1942, when the film "Fantastic Symphony" was made based on the biography of Berlioz and the love story of Hector and Harriet Smithson. The role of the composer played an outstanding actor Jean-Louis Barrot.

The large-scale 6-series biopic Life of Berlioz was created in 1983 by an international team of filmmakers. Most of the screen time in the film is given to the music of Berlioz, mostly symphonic and choral. The composer’s personal relationship with his parents, sisters, friends and numerous lovers was also in the focus of attention. The script used direct quotes from "Memoirs" and letters to the maestro and his entourage. The title role was played by French actor Daniel Mezgisch.

Selected films of Berlioz’s music:

Hector Berlioz wrote great music, but, probably, even more outstanding - he never left his pen. Fortunately for posterity, his talent was stronger than the sad circumstances of fate, giving strength to resist the material, to create the eternal.