Hector Berlioz is perhaps one of the most famous and successful French composers linked to the 19th century Romanticism with examples of compositions such as Symphonie fantastique and La Damnation de Faust. Besides being a major contributor to the advancement of romanticism, he also made significant contributions to the modern orchestra through his Treatise on Instrumentation . It is pegged on such a huge contribution to the music world, that write-up attempts to offer a biography of one of the greatest composers of the 19 th century. Born in France back in December 1803 to Louis Berlioz and Marie-Antoinette, Hector would go on to teach himself how to make compositions and arrangements as early as age twelve (Berlioz, 1966). While he may not have been a child prodigy, his passion for music would see him drop out of medical school to pursue a career in music. His arrival in Paris for the medical school is perhaps the onset of his musical career.
With numerous musical and learning institutions at his disposal in the city, Berlioz would begin to attend performances at Paris Opéra as well as researching on various compositions at the Paris Conservatoire library. His pursuit of medicine came to an official end in 1824, and by 1826 he studied composition under Jean-François Le Sueur and Anton Reicha. Berlioz’s breakout in music would come in 1830 following the composition of Symphonie fantastique which was considered to be a hallmark of Romanticism (Berlioz, 1966) . This particular piece came about as a result of the Berlioz's desperate passion for an Irish actress who played the role of Ophelia. For many audiences, the composition was considered a new frontier in orchestral expression. To further reinstate his success as a musical composer, Berlioz went on to win the Prix de Rome in 1830, following three previous unsuccessful attempts.
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From 1830 onwards to 1847, Berlioz would go on to establish himself in the world of music composition, producing numerous successful works, including such as Harold en Italie (1834) and Requiem, Grande Messe des morts (1837) ( Bloom, 2000). While highly successful in terms of music composition, Berlioz was often forced to rely on criticism to make ends meet. He relied on his prolific writing skills to criticize various musical works of his time. The French society was not necessarily appreciative of art, an element that largely influenced Berlioz to travel around the world in such of opportunities (Berlioz, 1966) . Most of his time during the 1840s was spent touring Europe where he began to enjoy better incomes from his career. A great deal of his tour in England, Germany, and Russia was spent as a conductor. His financial freedom would, however, come in the 1840s following the release of L'Enfance du Christ that would become a major success and got him enrolled in the Institut de France. This particular appointment came with a stipend, one that came as a major reprieve for him.
Berlioz' compositions depict a wide range of influences, ranging from literature to music as well as other composers. A lot of his compositions have their origin and influence in literary works. Poems, autobiographies, plays, and novels all formed part of his inspiration with Shakespeare, Lord Byron and Von Goethe being his notable authors ( Bloom, 2000) . However, romanticism as a movement is perhaps one of the greatest and most significant influencers of Berlioz's compositions. This can be attributed partly to his obsession with Shakespearian poetry which he found to be highly definitive in both freedom and dramatic expression. It is also possible that French artist-heroes of 19th-century could have inspired him to join the Romanticism movement. For composers, Berlioz revered Ludwig Van Beethoven. In Beethoven and his compositions, Berlioz became aware of the strong expressive power of instrumental music ( Bloom, 1998) . Besides Beethoven, he also found considerable inspiration in works of Mozart, Weber and, Méhul. Berlioz would meet his death on the 8 th of March in 1869, following stomach complications that had pestered him for a greater part of his adult life.
Despite the great contributions made by Berlioz to the French Romanticism as well as music, he was largely an ignored and neglected figure in France, an element that is evidenced by his financial woes throughout most of his musical career. However, his music and writings have been vital in the advancement of instrumentation as well as the symphonic form. To a greater extent, he also managed to highlight the use of music in developing literary ideas, an element that was pertinent to musical Romanticism ( Bloom, 1998). It would take a century before proper analysis and criticism of his compositions would allow for objectivity that would see music world acknowledge him as one of the great composers.
The twentieth century, particularly, between 1960 and 1970, Berlioz’s music underwent a major revival, an element that can be attributed to Rafael Kubelik’s performance of the Les Troyens back in 1957 at the Covent Garden. The culmination of Berlioz's twentieth-century revival would come through the inclusion of Les Troyens as an international repertoire. The contemporary music society, however, appreciates and acknowledges the contributions of Berlioz, and he is considered one of the three crucial players in the development of classical music alongside Bach and Beethoven. His music has since been moved from the category of eccentric novelty and is not considered serious and original. Berlioz remains a crucial figure in the world of music compositions and symphonies. While it might have taken over a century for his musical genius to be appreciated, it is undoubtedly a major contributor to modern orchestra.
References
Berlioz, H. (1966). Hector Berlioz. PediaPress . Retrieved on 22 February 2018, from http://www.hberlioz.com/pubs/books.htm.
Bloom, P. (1998). The life of Berlioz . Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.
Bloom, P. (2000). The Cambridge companion to Berlioz . Cambridge [u.a.: Cambridge Univ. Press.
