Hector Berlioz
(1803-1869)

Died aged c. 66

Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the Symphonie fantastique and Harold in Italy, choral pieces including the Requiem and L'Enfance du Christ, his three operas Benvenuto Cellini, Les Troyens and Béatrice et Bénédict, and works of hybrid genres such as the "dramatic symphony" Roméo et Juliette and the "dramatic legend" La Damnation de Faust. The elder son of a provincial doctor, Berlioz was expected to follow his father into medicine, and he attended a Parisian medical college before defying his family by taking up music as a profession. His independence of mind and refusal to follow traditional rules and formulas put him at odds with the conservative musical establishment of Paris. He briefly moderated his style sufficiently to win France's premier music prize – the Prix de Rome – in 1830, but he learned little from the academics of the Paris Conservatoire. Opinion was divided for many years between those who thought him an original genius and those who viewed his music as lacking in form and coherence. At the age of twenty-four Berlioz fell in love with the Irish Shakespearean actress Harriet Smithson, and he pursued her obsessively until she finally accepted him seven years later. Their marriage was happy at first but eventually foundered. Harriet inspired his first major success, the Symphonie fantastique, in which an idealised depiction of her occurs throughout. Berlioz completed three operas, the first of which, Benvenuto Cellini, was an outright failure. The second, the huge epic Les Troyens (The Trojans), was so large in scale that it was never staged in its entirety during his lifetime. His last opera, Béatrice et Bénédict – based on Shakespeare's comedy Much Ado About Nothing – was a success at its premiere but did not enter the regular operatic repertoire. Meeting only occasional success in France as a composer, Berlioz increasingly turned to conducting, in which he gained an international reputation. He was highly regarded in Germany, Britain and Russia both as a composer and as a conductor. To supplement his earnings he wrote musical journalism throughout much of his career; some of it has been preserved in book form, including his Treatise on Instrumentation (1844), which was influential in the 19th and 20th centuries. Berlioz died in Paris at the age of 65.

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Commemorated on 4 plaques

Hector Berlioz 1803-1869 composer stayed here in 1851

58 Queen Anne Street, Westminster, W1, London, United Kingdom where they stayed

"La chambre où j'avais en 1831 écrit l'ouverture du Roi Lear était occupée par une famille anglaise. J'étais allé me nicher dans une tour appliquée contre le rocher des Ponchettes. BERLIOZ 1844

English translation: “The room where I wrote King Lear's opening in 1831 was occupied by an English family. I went to nest in a tower applied against the Ponchette rock. BERLIOZ 1844 [AWS Translate]

, Nice, France where they composed (1831)

A cet emplacement s'élevait jusqu'en 1926 une maison paysanne habitée de 1834 a 1836 par le compositeur Hector Berlioz. Il y écrivit Harold en Italie et Benvenuto Cellini.

English translation: Until 1926 there was a peasant house inhabited from 1834 to 1836 by composer Hector Berlioz. He wrote Harold there in Italy and Benvenuto Cellini. [AWS Translate]

rue Saint Vincent at rue du Mont Cenis, Paris, France where they lived (1834-1836)

Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) compositeur est né dans cette maison où il vécut les 18 premières années de sa vie.

English translation: Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) composer was born in this house where he lived the first 18 years of his life. [AWS Translate]

69 rue de la République, La Côte-Saint-André, France where they was born (1803)