Composer: Hector Berlioz
Performer: Susan Graham
Orchestra: Berliner Philharmoniker
Conductor: Sir Simon Rattle
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Warner
Catalogue: 9029544819
Release: 2013
Size: 629 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14
01. I. Rêveries – Passions. Largo – Allegro agitato e appassionato assai
02. II. Un bal. Valse. Allegro non troppo
03. III. Scène aux champs. Adagio
04. IV. Marche au supplice. Allegretto non troppo
05. V. Songe d’une nuit du sabbat. Larghetto – Allegro
Berlioz: Cléopâtre – Scène lyrique, H36
06. I. “C’en est donc fait !”
07. II. “Ah! qu’ils sont loin ces jours, tourment de ma mémoire”
Having championed Russian and German repertoire in their first three releases of 2008, Sir Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker turned to French music for their latest CD, specifically the Symphonie fantastique and La mort de Cléopâtre by Hector Berlioz. The Grammy-Award winning mezzo-soprano Susan Graham is featured in La mort de Cléopâtre.
Not long ago, Rattle said of the Berliner Philharmoniker’s sound: “It’s like an enormous heat source that comes at you, and you feel as though you can burn in it.” The orchestra bring the intensity Rattle describes directly to bear on Berlioz’s work, undaunted by the fire in late May 2008 at Berlin’s Philharmonie that resulted in a last minute change of date and venue to Berlin’s Jesus Christ Kirche for the recording of this album.