Composer: Hector Berlioz
Orchestra: Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Riccardo Muti
Number of Discs: 2
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: CSO Resound
Catalogue: CSOR9011501
Release: 2015
Size: 1.89 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
CD 01
Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14, H. 48
01. I. Rêveries – Passions
02. II. Un bal
03. III. Scène aux champs
04. IV. Marche au supplice
05. V. Songe d’une nuit de sabbat
CD 02
Lélio, ou Le retour à la vie, Op. 14b, H. 55B
01. Narration. Dieu ! Je vis encore (Lélio)
02. I. Le pêcheur (Horatio & Lélio)
03. Narration. Étrange persistance d’un souvenir ! (Lélio)
04. II. Chœur d’ombres
05. Narration. Ô Shakespeare ! (Lélio)
06. III. Chanson des brigands
07. Narration. Comme mon esprit flotte incertain ! (Lélio)
08. IV. Chant de bonheur – Hymne
09. Narration. Oh ! Que ne puis-je la trouver (Lélio)
10. V. La harpe éolienne – Souvenirs
11. Narration. Mais pourquoi m’abandonner à ces dangereuses illusions? (Lélio)
12. VI. Fantaisie sur “La tempête” de Shakespeare
13. Narration. Assez pour aujourd’hui ! (Lélio)
14. Coda. Allegro meno mosso
This recording features Berlioz’s ‘Symphonie fantastique’ with its sequel ‘Lelio’ presented as Berlioz intended. Actor Gerard Depardieu is the narrator in ‘Lelio’, and Riccardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, as part of their 120th season, give vibrant and dynamic performances of both works.
Riccardo Muti introduces the work Berlioz viewed as his signature artistic statement: the evening-long pairing of his most famous composition, the ‘Symphonie fantastique’, long a staple of the Chicago orchestra’s repertoire, and its little-known sequel, Lélio, never before performed by the CSO. Berlioz wrote Lélio as the “conclusion and complement” of the earlier work’s tortured tale, a response to the symphony’s cliff-hanger ending, and, above all, a testament to the healing power of music. Together, they formed the ‘Episode in the Life of an Artist’, a daring mix of autobiography and fantasy. Even during Berlioz’s lifetime, ‘Lélio’ was rarely performed with its companion, and, only once, in a performance staged by fellow pioneer Franz Liszt in 1855, did Berlioz see his complete dramatic work presented as he envisioned it. This new recording, from live semi-staged performances, attempts to recreate the essence of Berlioz’s own concept—moving from the realm of instrumental drama in the first half, to theatre in the second, as an actor takes the stage to tell Berlioz’s tale, while a simple scrim separates reality and creative fantasy—and draws a temporary line between a modern-day Chicago audience and the daring sounds of Berlioz’s imaginary world.