Stephane Deneve conducts the CSO in Berlioz’ “Symphonie fantastique”

Tonight at 7:00 on the Evening Concert on WILL-FM 90.9 guest conductor Stephane Deneve leads the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Berlioz’ “Symphonie fantastique”. Also on the program: James Ennes is the soloist in Shostakovich’s “1st Violin Concerto” plus Weber’s “Ruler of the  Spirits Overture”.  "The 27-year-old Hector Berlioz composed Symphonie fantastique both to explore German romanticism and to give his hometown of Paris a symphony of its own, something not yet native to this city of operas and ballets. Berlioz’s understanding of the symphony, however, was rooted in the operatic overture, perhaps why his program notes are presented “as the spoken text of an opera,” and certainly why Symphonie fantastique became one of the most well-known pieces of program music in the repertoire. A purely musical melodrama, Symphonie fantastique describes the life of an artist, replete with unrequited love, witches, guillotines and colorful, opium-induced hallucinations." (from http://csosoundsandstories.org/berlioz-symphonie-fantastique-complete-performance/)

Tuesday March 31: Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO #15-13)

Beyond the Score: the Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz, Stephane Deneve conducts

Weber: The Ruler of the Spirits Overture

Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 99 (James Ehnes, violin)

Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique

[CSO fil: Berlioz: Queen Mab Scherzo and Romeo at the Tomb of the Capulets from Romeo and Juliet (Sir Mark Elder, conductor)]