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Autobiography of Hector Berlioz - 2 Volume Set
The Memoirs of Hector Berlioz
has long been considered to be among the best of musical autobiographies.
Like his massive compositions, Berlioz (1803-69) was colorful, eloquent, larger than life. His book is both an account of his important place in the rise of the Romantic movement and a personal testament. He tells the story of his liaison with Harriet Smithson, and his ev ...more
Like his massive compositions, Berlioz (1803-69) was colorful, eloquent, larger than life. His book is both an account of his important place in the rise of the Romantic movement and a personal testament. He tells the story of his liaison with Harriet Smithson, and his ev ...more
Paperback
,
780 pages
Published
May 5th 2011
by Cambridge University Press
(first published 1870)
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Community Reviews
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I had a roommate in college who insisted, to the annoyance of his theory professor, the “three B’s” were Bach, Beethoven and Berlioz. Okay boys and girls . . . we all know that third one should be Brahms. But David ate drank and (I think) made love to Berlioz. He was constantly humming themes and snippets of melodies—his favorites: the Symphony Fantastic and Harold in Italy. I, of course, was into the sturm und drang German school of Wagner, Bruckner and Mahler and therefore had no time for the
...more
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Convinced me I didn't want to go to medical school.
Esta edición contiene 25 capítulos (X,XI, XIV, XVIII, XIX, XX, XXI, XXII, XXV, XXVI, XXVII, XXVIII, XXiX, XXX, XXXIII, XXVI, XLIV, XLV, XLVI, XLIX, LI, LII, LVI, LVII, LIX y el post-scriptum), lo que representa aproximadamente un tercio del total de las memorias del gran compositor orquestal francés.
Este extracto contiene, entre otros. la historia de su enamoramiento y posterior matrimonio con la actriz británica Harriet Smithson y un vívido retrato de la escena musical francesa de su época, con ...more
Este extracto contiene, entre otros. la historia de su enamoramiento y posterior matrimonio con la actriz británica Harriet Smithson y un vívido retrato de la escena musical francesa de su época, con ...more
Berlioz compiled and wrote this book in the 1850s and 1860s before his final decline and death. Some of it he wrote fresh, but the bulk of it is assembled from memoirs and letters he wrote earlier in his life.
Berlioz is not a composer I am overly familiar with, but I got this book for 50 cents at a tag sale, which I figured was a good deal. Berlioz was thoroughly a product of nineteenth century romanticism, at least as far as his personality goes. He was prone to excessive emotion and sentimenta ...more
Berlioz is not a composer I am overly familiar with, but I got this book for 50 cents at a tag sale, which I figured was a good deal. Berlioz was thoroughly a product of nineteenth century romanticism, at least as far as his personality goes. He was prone to excessive emotion and sentimenta ...more
Not many composers were also great writers. Berlioz was. In fact, when he was appointed to a judging panel in a composition prize in the 1860s, some complained that he was a critic, and knew nothing about composition, such was his reputation.
There are no great technicalities that non-musicians will struggle with. It's all good, plain prose of the most personal kind, at times heart-wrenching, at times hilarious. If you know any of his music, you will delight in the deeply engrained romanticism of ...more
There are no great technicalities that non-musicians will struggle with. It's all good, plain prose of the most personal kind, at times heart-wrenching, at times hilarious. If you know any of his music, you will delight in the deeply engrained romanticism of ...more
Hector Berlioz (1803-69) describes how he rescued a performance of his “Requiem” when at a crucial moment between “Dies Irae” and “Tuba Mirum” the conductor—perhaps purposely to sabotage—laid down his baton and took out his snuff box whereupon Berlioz—who was next to him—sprung up and conducted the work to the end.
do yourself a favor and encounter this lovable, lovable man in his own words!
Berlioz, Berlioz, Berlioz!
To describe him or his music in any way short of direct quotation is inevitably misrepresentation. But, in homage to his own tendencies, I will now write lengthily upon that I have just declared I cannot write upon. Though he complains incessantly about writing (especially at the end of his life vis à vis the feuilletons he was obligated to crank out), his prose is, like his music, the most colorful, phantasmagorical, and peculiar you’ll ever read. Perhaps it is easily ...more
To describe him or his music in any way short of direct quotation is inevitably misrepresentation. But, in homage to his own tendencies, I will now write lengthily upon that I have just declared I cannot write upon. Though he complains incessantly about writing (especially at the end of his life vis à vis the feuilletons he was obligated to crank out), his prose is, like his music, the most colorful, phantasmagorical, and peculiar you’ll ever read. Perhaps it is easily ...more
Aug 14, 2010
Evan
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
music-non-reference
,
celebrity-famous-bio
,
epic
,
history-euro
,
classical-music
,
_lfpl-library
,
books-i-bailed-on-but-may-retry
,
italia
,
heroes
OK, it happens. I reluctantly had to abandon this for retry some other day. I got tired of constantly renewing it at the library. I started on this thickish memoir of the great French composer like gangbusters in spring before personal distractions and swifter-to-read books took precedence. Berlioz tells his story with great wit and flavor, but the book is very long -- many words crammed onto the pages -- and the amount of detail is a bit daunting. Some of the more dramatic incidents of his life
...more
Berlioz' mémoires zijn een verzameling (jeugd)herinneringen en brieven die bijna zijn gehele leven beschrijven. Berlioz schrijft vol verrukking, dan vol verveling en ergernis, soms met jolige humor, dan weer met bijtend sarcasme, maar altijd meeslepend en met een door-en-door romantische ziel.
Zo zijn zijn mémoires niet alleen een inkijkje in de muzikale wereld van de eerste helft van de 19e eeuw, maar ook een literair product ervan. De romantiek druipt net zozeer van zijn proza af als bijv. van ...more
Zo zijn zijn mémoires niet alleen een inkijkje in de muzikale wereld van de eerste helft van de 19e eeuw, maar ook een literair product ervan. De romantiek druipt net zozeer van zijn proza af als bijv. van ...more
Jan 22, 2014
Angelique
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
books-read-in-2013
I loved this, besides being a tad too long in bits, was actually quite entertaining. And this a-hole was always setting his compositions and written works on fire, so it's astonishing that he managed to have this. It's a must read for anyone who likes classical music, as he was writing during the time as so many famous classical musicians. He even stopped Liszt from getting in a duel from a 2 yard range after Liszt drank too much champagne. Berlioz was such a character! Oh, Berlioz!
"There is something fascinating about people in the grip of a passion: their unquestioning belief that the whole world is engrossed in it too, and the touching faith with which they act on that intention."
"Then I wrapped up the score of the symphony, addressed it to Habeneck, and threw it into a valise with a few clothes; ceremoniously loaded a pair of double-barreled pistols which I had with me; examined and replaced in my pocket two small bottles of those invaluable cordials, laudanum and stry ...more
"Then I wrapped up the score of the symphony, addressed it to Habeneck, and threw it into a valise with a few clothes; ceremoniously loaded a pair of double-barreled pistols which I had with me; examined and replaced in my pocket two small bottles of those invaluable cordials, laudanum and stry ...more
Great read for musicians!
Apr 14, 2008
Karen
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Karen by:
Phillip
Ok, so I was reading this to impress a friend who is absolutely gaga over the music and life of M. Berlioz. The humor, bitterness, and raw passion with which Berlioz writes makes the book an exciting read--though it can also get to be too much. This is a man who takes drama to a whole new level. I don't know why, now, I stopped reading the book. I guess my motive for reading wasn't enough to sustain me; and other, more tempting, books came along.
Wonder if with that hair he was aware of this sort of mad lover air he has? Someone had to have been like "Berlioz, it's time for a haircut" at some point. He comes off as having almost no self-awareness and I can't figure out if it's a cultivated revolt against styling and if he loves these women, his adoration has the air of someone who breathes with an extremely fine sense of irony...
Mostly disappointing. Little about his creative process.
Alot about his personal life and way to melodramatic!!
Got about half way though and gave it up.
Alot about his personal life and way to melodramatic!!
Got about half way though and gave it up.
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Hector Berlioz (December 11, 1803 – March 8, 1869) was a French Romantic composer, conductor, music critic and author, best known for his compositions
Symphonie fantastique
and
Grande messe des morts
(Requiem). Berlioz made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his
Treatise on Instrumentation
(1844). He specified huge orchestral forces for some of his works; as a conductor, he per
...more
More about Hector Berlioz...
“Life when one first arrives is a continual mortification as one's romantic illusions are successively shattered and the musical treasure-house of one's imagination crumbles before the hopelessness of the reality. Every day fresh experiences bring fresh disappointments.”
—
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“The Prince stood beside the timpanist to count his rests for him and see that he came in in the right place. I suppressed all the trumpet passages which were clearly beyond the players' grasp. The solitary trombone was left to his own devices; but as he wisely confined himself to the notes with which he was thoroughly familiar, such as A flat, D and F, and was careful to avoid all others, his success in the role was almost entirely a silent one.”
—
1 likes
More quotes…
