Description
Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique & Harold en Italie (FANTASTIC SYMPHONY - HAROLD IN ITALY)/ Eschenbach, Orchestre de Paris / Recording: Salle Pleyel (Paris) / DVD
Format: NTSC
Run time: 103 Minutes
UPC: 3760115300163
- Aspect Ratio : 1.78:1
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : Yes
- MPAA rating : NR (Not Rated)
- Product Dimensions : 7.75 x 5.75 x 0.5 inches; 3.2 Ounces
- Media Format : Multiple Formats, Color, NTSC, Classical
- Run time : 1 hour and 43 minutes
- Release date : November 14, 2006
- Actors : Berlioz, Zimmermann, Orchestre de Paris, Christoph Eschenbach
- Subtitles: : German, English, French, Spanish
- Studio : Bel Air Classiques
- Number of discs : 1
The French composer Hector Berlioz made four attempts at winning the Prix de Rome music prize, finally succeeding in 1830. As part of the competition, he had to write a cantata to a text set by the examiners. Berlioz's efforts to win the prize are described at length in his Memoirs. He regarded it as the first stage in his struggle against the musical conservatism represented by the judges, who included established composers such as Luigi Cherubini, François-Adrien Boieldieu and Henri-Montan Berton. Berlioz's stay in Italy as a result of winning the prize also had a great influence on later works such as Benvenuto Cellini and Harold en Italie. The composer subsequently destroyed the scores of two cantatas (Orphée and Sardanapale) almost completely and reused music from all four of them in later works. There was a revival of interest in the cantatas in the late 20th century, particularly Cléopâtre, which has become a favourite showcase for the soprano and mezzo-soprano voice.
The Prix de Rome was an award for composers allowing the winner to spend a year studying at the Villa Medici in Rome. It also entitled him to a five-year pension. The prize was adjudicated by the Paris Conservatoire. Entrants had to submit a fugue as proof of their compositional skills and the four successful candidates were then required to write a dramatic cantata to a text chosen by the judges.
