Composer

Revel in the fantastic and magnificent over Halloween weekend. John Williams’ Devil’s Dance crackles with energy before Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain conjures supernatural frenzy. Prodigy Derek Wang dazzles with Liszt’s virtuosic Totentanz. Finally, Berlioz’s famous and feverish Symphonie Fantastique descends into hallucination and a haunting and visceral finale like no other.

EPSG:4326

Beautiful Monsters – John Williams & Symphonie Fantastique

Des Moines Civic Center

On Halloween night, the BPO transforms Kleinhans into a world of shadow, suspense, and orchestral storytelling. Led by Ron Spigelman, this hauntingly atmospheric program brings together music made for goosebumps, from John Williams’ Jaws and Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique to Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain and Saint-Saëns’ Danse macabre. Each work builds tension, drama, and dark beauty, creating a concert experience perfectly tuned to the spirit of the night.

Hauntingly Halloween

Kleinhans Music Hall

The Symphony Orchestra gives a nod to Halloween with the first of its fall performances, opening with Strauss's overture to the opera Die Fledermaus, a tale hinging on revenge for a costume party prank. Continuing the program is Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, its numerous variations including the Dies irae ("day of wrath") plainchant from the medieval Mass of the Dead. The evening finishes with Berlioz's phantasmagorical Symphonie fantastique—the wild debauchery of its "Songe d'une nuit du sabbat" (often translated as "Dream of a Witches' Sabbath") offering a raucous sendoff.

Bienen EnsemblesNorthwestern University Symphony Orchestra 

Northwestern University

Rhapsodies, lazy afternoons – and a wild night of dreams.
This spectacular programme is bookended by two revolutionary works. Debussy’s Prelude sounds gorgeously melodic and completely uncontroversial today, but caused quite the stir at the 1899 premiere, with its sensual evocation of an afternoon in the sun. His later Rhapsodie was originally scored for saxophone, but here celebrates the distinctive, melancholy sound of the English horn, performed by renowned soloist François Leleux (who also conducts). Gipps’ lush and lyrical Sinfonietta is a further tribute to the beauty of the wind section. Berlioz’ Symphonie was composed decades before any of these, but is one of the most outrageous, genre-busting works in the repertoire. Expect to have a simply fantastique time.

Symphonie Fantastique

Symphony Hall in Birmingham

Gold medallist at the 2013 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Kyiv-born Vadym Kholodenko is known worldwide for performances combining power with precision and poetic insight.

Vadym Kholodenko: Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique

Southbank Centre

The LSO launches its 60th Anniversary Season with music of passion, brilliance, and celebration. Debussy’s radiant Fêtes, Philip Glass’s hypnotic concerto featuring Mexican pianists, Jorge Viladoms and Mauro Lo Conte, and Berlioz’s revolutionary Symphonie Fantastique combine for an unforgettable evening of musical storytelling.

Masterworks No.1: Paris, Passion & Celebration

Skyline High School

A highlight of the season, the Défilé du Ballet introduces the opening gala of the Paris Opera’s dance season, bringing together the entire company on the stage of the Palais Garnier, from the “little rats” of the Ballet School to the Étoiles and the Junior Ballet.

Gala

Palais Garnier

An evening of Romantic passion and vivid storytelling. Joshua Brown performs Max Bruch’s beloved Violin Concerto No. 1, filled with soaring melodies and virtuoso flair. The program concludes with Hector Berlioz’s groundbreaking Symphonie fantastique, a bold and imaginative journey through love, obsession, and fantasy.

Violinist Joshua Brown is recognized internationally for his expressive artistry, praised for his “richness of sound, elegance of reading, and commitment of every moment at the service of the work” (La Libre). He rose to global prominence following his success at the 2024 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, where he was awarded Second Prize along with both Audience Awards. In 2025, he received an Avery Fisher Career Grant and the CAG Louis and Susan Meisel Prize, and is represented by Concert Artists Guild.

Folsom Lake College

The 112th Season starts with Dvořák’s vibrant Carnival Overture and Beethoven’s poetic Fourth Piano Concerto performed by QC-native Thomas Sauer. The night closes with Berlioz’s spellbinding Symphonie fantastique, a whirlwind of obsession, dreams, and dazzling orchestral color.

Masterworks I: Symphonie fantastique

Adler Theatre

Centennial Hall

Music Director James Kahane opens the season with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 “Pastoral” in Hamilton, alongside works by Berlioz and Chausson. Together, these pieces set the stage for a spectacular new season. The evening begins with Berlioz’s dazzling Roman Carnival Overture, bursting with colour and vitality. Inspired by his opera Benvenuto Cellini, this showpiece overflows with sweeping melodies, sparkling orchestration, and irresistible rhythmic energy.

From there, the atmosphere shifts to the introspective beauty of Ernest Chausson’s Poème for violin and orchestra. Violinist Jessica Linnebach brings a richly expressive voice to the work, unfolding its rhapsodic lines with both intimacy and intensity. Next, a highlight of the evening is the premiere of a new work by 26-27 Composer Fellow Leo Purich. This piece brings a contemporary voice to the stage and underscores the orchestra’s commitment to creativity and innovation.

Beethoven’s Sixth

Ellen Fairclough Building

MOZART & BERLIOZ

Koncertsalen Alsion

Akiko Fujimoto is Music Director of the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas (SoNA) and Music Director of the Mid-Texas Symphony. Known for evoking dynamic performances, she has earned praise for her “powerhouse performance” from the San Francisco Chronicle.

Rites of Renewal: The Firebird

Walton Arts Center

This programme traces a journey from momentary spring light to one of the most vivid musical imaginations of the nineteenth century. Opening with Lilli Boulanger's D'un matin de printemps, which captures the energy of a spring morning: flickering colours, dancing rhythms, and an unmistakable sense of life in motion.  A moment of intimacy follows with Schubert's Allegretto in C major, performed by Steven Osborne. Poised and lyrical, the music speaks with characteristic Schubertian warmth, balancing simplicity with emotional depth.

BBC NOW - Fantastique

Brangwyn Hall

The orchestra comes alive in Symphonic Dances, an evening of rhythm, color, and sheer momentum. Joan Tower’s Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman opens with bold, unmistakable force, followed by the sparkling brilliance of Berlioz’s Roman Carnival Overture. Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G brings elegance and wit to the stage before Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances closes the program with sweeping intensity and drive.

Symphonic Dances

The Grand Opera House

Løgumkloster Kirke

Cape Ann Symphony 75th Fantastique! — a breathtaking French masterworks program that launches our historic season in spectacular style. Experience Lili Boulanger's shimmering D'un matin de printemps (Of a Spring Morning), a luminous impressionistic gem by one of the first women to win the prestigious Prix de Rome. Debussy's evocative three-movement seascape La Mer follows, painting the ocean from dawn to noon, the play of waves, and the dialogue of wind and sea in glorious orchestral color. The program culminates with Berlioz's monumental Symphonie Fantastique — a revolutionary five-movement journey through an artist's obsessive passion, complete with a haunting recurring melody (the idée fixe), a dramatic "March to the Scaffold," and the wild, supernatural "Dream of a Witches' Sabbath." It's one of the most dramatic and imaginative works in the orchestral repertoire and an unforgettable way to celebrate 75 years of musical excellence.

75th Fantastique!

Manchester Essex Regional High School

Experience the splendors of Italy with Music Director Stéphane Denève and the SLSO in this captivating season opener. Visit a kaleidoscopic carnival in Berlioz’s Roman Carnival Overture and venture through colorful fishing villages of the northern coast in Andrea Tarrodi’s Liguria. Respighi’s Pines of Rome guides us through parks and catacombs and then to the dark forests of the Italian hills. At the center of it all, the dazzling technique of pianist Yefim Bronfman transports us from the dream-like to the thunderous in Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2.

Opening Weekend

Powell Hall

We launch our 2026/27 Season with a dazzling homage to Berlioz, the ultimate musical trailblazer. At the helm is our electrifying Principal Conductor, Maxim Emelyanychev, whose flair and imagination promise an unforgettable evening of drama and musical colour.

Berlioz Symphonie fantastique

City Halls & Old Fruitmarket

Usher Hall, Edinburgh

Perth Concert Hall

The Scottish Chamber Orchestra launches the Perth Concert Series with a dazzling homage to Berlioz, the ultimate musical trailblazer. At the helm is the SCO’s electrifying Principal Conductor, Maxim Emelyanychev, whose flair and imagination promise an unforgettable evening of drama and musical colour.

Perth Concert Series: Scottish Chamber Orchestra - Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique

Symphonie fantastique is one of the most revolutionary works in the history of music. With this, Hector Berlioz broke the framework for orchestral music in 1830. The symphony is a passionate self-portrait that depicts the artist, who – driven by infatuation and obsession – experiences the ecstasy of love turning into ruin. The beloved is portrayed through the first complete leitmotif in the history of music, the so-called Idée Fixe, which gradually changes character. From dreams and ball scenes to nightmares, executions, witches' dances and grotesque triumphs in the black night.

The night also forms the backdrop in the first half of the concert. The orchestral suite Nocturnes by Claude Debussy is a twilight tone painting that moves between light, clouds, celebration and sea. The sensual night universe is also found in Hilda Sehested's Nocturne for small orchestra from 1919. A rare encounter with a significant, but rarely performed, Danish composer. The music is elegiac, late romantic and rich in tonal sensitivity.

Dausgaard og Symphonie Fantastique

Konservatoriets Koncertsal

The Royal Danish Orchestra’s chamber concerts bring together celebrated masterpieces and rare gems of the chamber repertoire. Meet the musicians at close quarters in the foyer at Takkelloftet, with views across Copenhagen Harbour.

Chamber Music by Three Great Masters

Royal Danish Opera

Sir Antonio Pappano conducts the London Symphony Orchestra in one of the repertoire's most monumental musical statements. Premiered in 1837 with 450 performers, Berlioz's Requiem is a colossal, cinematic statement of faith, fear and hope – a sonic portrait of 'mankind gathered together on the last day'. Demanding ten timpanists and with four separate brass groups, it sends the shockwaves of the Day of Judgement right through listeners, insisting on the majesty, the fragility and the terrifying spectacle of death and resurrection.

Berlioz's Requiem

Royal Albert Hall

No stranger to the spotlight, Hardenberger takes centre stage for Aerial, a work written with and for him by Austrian composer HK Gruber.

Orchestral Dances with Håkan Hardenberger

Sydney Opera House

Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier Suite features a fantastic waltz, full of sweeping elegance, while Ravel’s La Valse has a moodier opening that gives way to a flood of opulence and a huge ending designed to bring the house down.

For Schools: Open Rehearsal with Fabien Gabel

Each year, the Festival international de Colmar transforms the city’s most distinguished heritage venues into vibrant stages for world-class soloists and leading ensembles. Since 2023, the festival has been under the artistic direction of Alain Altinoglu.

The La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra at the Colmar Festival

Église Saint-Matthieu de Colmar

Jusqu’ici, il fallait bien croire Hector Berlioz, qui affirmait avoir détruit cette messe composée à 21 ans, jouée pour la première fois à l’église Saint-Roch. Mais en 1992, par le plus grand hasard, un instituteur en retrouva un manuscrit à Anvers. On allait alors découvrir, dans cette partition généreuse, les signes avant-coureurs du révolutionnaire et les traces des futurs Requiem, Symphonie fantastique et autre Benvenuto Cellini. De vingt ans postérieure, la Troisième Symphonie de Louise Farrenc résume un artisanat et une science des proportions qui lui valurent l’admiration de Schumann… et de Berlioz.

Berlioz, Messe solennelle / Dinis Sousa

Maison de la Radio et de la Musique

This stellar festival gala concert will welcome one of the greatest figures on the contemporary opera scene. Bryn Terfel, an operatic legend with the charisma of a world star, will perform a programme that transcends the boundaries of genres and styles. He will be joined by Slovak soprano Slávka Zámečníková. The evening will feature famous opera arias, musical theatre melodies and distinctive Welsh songs, promising an exceptional experience full of emotion and vocal virtuosity.

Opera Gala – Bryn Terfel & Slávka Zámečníková

Litomyšl Castle

The Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra ends its 2025-26 season at Cadogan Hall in style, with an evening of art and romance.

The concert opens with Berlioz’s Hungarian March, a spirited piece derived from a popular folk tune that was originally part of his dramatic legend, The Damnation of Faust.

Pianist Radu-Gabriel Stoica is the soloist for Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2, an emotional tour-de-force which needs no introduction.

Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra

Cadogan Hall 

The programme of works by W. A. Mozart, F. Chopin and H. Berlioz promises a unique artistic experience. Piano virtuoso Martin Kasík will perform Mozart's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 23 in A major, K. 488, followed by Chopin's Variations on Là ci darem la mano for piano and orchestra, Op.  2. In the symphonic poem Harold in Italy by Hector Berlioz, we will hear the mastery of Josef Špaček, who will play the solo viola part. The Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra will be conducted by Erina Yashima, a German conductor who has performed with prestigious international orchestras in Europe and the USA.

Mozart – Chopin – Berlioz

Rudolfinum

A wonderfully vibrant evening to close the season! Is there a more shimmering, more thrilling piece of exotic music than the Bacchanale from Camille Saint-Saëns' opera "Samson et Dalila"? Hardly. This is followed by
Anna Clyne's "Quarter Days," which premiered only in 2023 and which the new Composer in Focus series describes as a reflection on the passage of time: "both within a minute, a day, the seasons, and even within an entire lifetime." And finally, the then-revolutionary "Symphonie fantastique" by the Frenchman Hector Berlioz, now indestructible as a clever popular hit, is a captivating evening with Nicholas Milton and the Elaia Quartet from Berlin, who know how to shape the profoundly human passage of time into soaring tones!

Fantastic

Stadthalle Göttingen

Both Symphonie fantastique (1830) and Harold in Italy (1842)  trace a musical journey from reverie to wild finale.The initial suggestion to write a work for solo viola came from the great violinist Paganini. Inspired by Byron’s 1812 poem Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, Berlioz created “a series of orchestral scenes” in which the solo viola plays a “melancholic dreamer”.

Symphonie fantastique

Berlioz used all the colors in a composer’s paintbox–and created a few new ones all his own–for his Symphonie fantastique, a swirling portrait of an artist’s passion, dreams and ecstasy. We’ll place this alongside the unparalleled elegance of Emanuel Ax at the piano, and brand-new music from our gifted Resident Artistic Partner Allison Loggins-Hull–a finale to cherish!

Season Finale: Symphonie Fantastique

Count Basie Center for the Arts

New Jersey Performing Arts Center

State Theatre New Jersey

Princeton University

Dayner Tafur-Díaz/Orchestra Giovanile Italiana

Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Theatre

The concert hall sets the stage for Hector Berlioz’s Roméo et Juliette, a ‘symphonie dramatique’ that defies classification as opera or symphony. Inspired by the timeless tale of impossible love, Berlioz reflects on themes of hatred and reconciliation. Director Aïda Gabriëls, known for challenging conventions, builds on Berlioz’s vision, blending art forms in a striking musical-theatrical setting. Under the baton of Dima Slobodeniouk, the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra joins forces with the Octopus Symphonic Choir and renowned opera singers for an unforgettable performance – a true feast for the eyes and ears.

Roméo et Juliette

Queen Elisabeth Hall

Concertgebouw Brugge

A recording of the concert Hector Berlioz - Requiem will be made, directed by Stéphane Aubé, produced by the Opéra national de Paris with the support of the Orange Foundation, sponsor of the Paris Opera's audiovisual broadcasts, for a live broadcast on Friday 22 May 2026 at 8:00pm on Paris Opera Play, the Paris Opera's streaming website.

Hector Berlioz

Cité de la Musique

Promenade with the Colorado Symphony through the gallery of one of the most celebrated and colorful works in the symphonic catalogue: Ravel’s famous orchestration of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. From its regal opening to its majestic finale, Mussorgsky’s work is a perennial favorite characterized by immersions into the worlds of its various paintings.

Pictures at an Exhibition with Christopher Dragon

Denver Performing Arts Complex

This program highlights the viola’s deep, expressive voice in Canadian composer Cassandra Miller’s Concerto, a poignant reflection on separation premiered in 2023 by Lawrence Power. Meanwhile, Debussy paints a vivid portrait of the sea with impressionistic colours, immersing listeners in a nostalgic and dreamlike soundscape. Enjoy a musical journey that is both powerful and poetic.

Wagner and Debussy: From Love to the Sea

Place des Arts

«La Damnation de Faust» is one of Hector Berlioz's most revolutionary works, a dramatic journey to hell that is part opera, part oratorio. «I neither tried to translate Goethe’s masterpiece nor to imitate it, but simply let it work on me in an effort to grasp its musical content», the composer stated candidly. His multicolored music is imaginary theater, a journey into Faust’s interior, from which the devil Méphistophélès himself seems to emerge.

The Damnation of Faust

Zurich Opera House

Ari Tujian, countertenor

Northwestern Bienen School of Music

Two wartime poets expressed disillusionment; two composers spun their poems into evocative musical scores. Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Principal Violist Zhenwei Shi stands in for Childe Harold in Berlioz's picturesque Harold in Italy. Robert Spano presents the "fearless" piano virtuoso Conrad Tao in Bernstein's plaintive and sassy symphony "The Age of Anxiety," inspired by W.H. Auden's Pulitzer Prize-winning poem.

America @ 250: Spano Conducts Bernstein + Berlioz

The Woodruff Arts Center

Mystique and Wonder

Performing Arts Center San Luis Obispo

Join us for our closing Masterworks concert of the season with an evening of orchestral splendor featuring harpist Courtney Hershey-Bress. The program includes Berlioz’s spirited Hungarian March, Michael Daugherty’s captivating Harp of the Age, and Mussorgsky’s iconic Pictures at an Exhibition.

Orchestral Brilliance

Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts

Stroke of Genius

Cologne Philharmonie

The Management Symphony – comprised of around 100 executives from the German business world who are passionate about making music at a high level. For their annual rehearsal period culminating in a concert, they invite renowned orchestras to act as coaches and hosts. This season, they are joined by the hr-Sinfonieorchester (Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra) and its chief conductor, Alain Altinoglu. The result of their collaborative work can be experienced in this concert, which presents a symphony that was once a departure into a new world, a romantic and fantastical one. The "Symphonie fantastique" takes an artist's life as its program, and the audience is right there with them. They experience a sonic intoxication unlike anything heard before – so vivid, so powerful, and so dramatic. This artist is captivated by a woman he adores, experiences her in a waltz-filled frenzy at a ball, seeks tranquility on a country outing, has visions of his execution while under the influence of opium – and finally dreams of his burial, accompanied by witches and grotesque faces, by funeral bells and a parodied "Dies irae." The dark Romanticism with all its demons enters the music of its time – this too is a merit that Berlioz deserves with his truly fantastic symphony.

Symphonic Side Step

Hessischer Rundfunk

Dr. Paul Thornock is Director of Music and Organist at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Savannah, Georgia, where he conducts the semi-professional Cathedral Choir, the fully professional Choral Scholars, and acts as Artistic Director for the Friends of Cathedral Music concert series.

Symphonie Fantastique!

Lucas Theatre For the Arts

Wolfe was two blocks from the Twin Towers when the planes hit on September 11, 2001. Big Beautiful Dark and Scary is the sound of that aftermath: an ominous, awesome wall of sound. When he wrote his Violin Concerto, Tchaikovsky was also recuperating from personal turmoil: after a collapsed marriage and a failed suicide attempt, he escaped to the shores of Lake Geneva. In the company of a violinist muse – Josef Kotek – Tchaikovsky created a concerto of romance, peace and jollity, and a celebrated classic of the repertoire.

BBC Philharmonic - Big Beautiful Dark and Scary

The Bridgewater Hall

Big Beautiful Dark and Scary

The Spanish conductor Pablo Heras-Casada, principal guest conductor of the Teatro Real in Madrid, will be conducting the Bavarian State Orchestra for the first time and will present Hector Berlioz's orchestral songs Les Nuits d'été, Op. 7. Christian Gerhaher will perform the vocal part in this romantic, wistful song cycle, marked by farewells, which was never performed in its entirety during the composer's lifetime. He last appeared in this context exactly ten years ago, at the 5th Academy Concert in 2016 under the direction of Kirill Petrenko. The concert will then be followed by a work with a twenty-year history of composition: Johannes Brahms began drafts for a symphony as early as 1854, but he wrote doubtfully to Hermann Levi: "You have no idea how we feel when we always hear such a giant (meaning Beethoven) marching behind us." The composer was not satisfied with his own work until he was 43; Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68, was premiered in Karlsruhe in 1876 (the same year as Richard Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung in Bayreuth).

5th Academy Concert: Pablo Heras-Casado

Max-Joseph-Platz

Opium, romantic obsession, the guillotine, and a demon orgy – today, this would be a Netflix series. Two hundred years ago, it was a symphony. Take a wild ride through the hyperreal Symphonie fantastique with the Swiss conductor Philippe Jordan. Berlioz's breathless Roman Carnival Overture kicks off the evening with thundering brass and percussion. The "strikingly brilliant," award-winning piano ace Bertrand Chamayou adds panache with Saint-Saëns’s Piano Concerto No. 5.

Jordan Conducts Symphonie fantastique

Our new Principal Guest Conductor, Henrik Schaefer, will lead no less than four special evenings, when Mozart's Requiem from 1791, one of the most moving and dramatic works in music history, is on the program. It is Mozart's last composition but among his most famous works, even though it was only partly written by Mozart himself.

Mozart's Requiem with Schaefer

Alsion Concert Hall

German House

Harmony Cultural Center, Haderslev

Løgumkloster Church

This dynamic program, featuring works by Berlioz, Brahms, and Clarice Assad, blends intensity and expression. Berlioz’s King Lear Overture makes its HSO debut, capturing the play’s power struggles with dramatic orchestration. Assad takes the stage as soloist in her own FLOW, Concerto for Piano, offering a unique composer-performer perspective.

Brahms’ Third

The Bushnell

HSO Masterworks Series: Brahms’ Third

Maxwell M. & Ruth R. Belding Theater

Easter Festival Salzburg

Great Festival House

The Hamburg State Orchestra's Philharmonic Concerts become time-plays, transcending the boundaries of the ordinary. This concert features Sally Beamish's compositional exploration of Mozart's rules – the second and third movements of his Sinfonia concertante are replaced by new compositions by her, inspired by the original. Mozart encounters us today as a mirror of the past and, through Beamish, as a part of the here and now. This unabashed musical play opens new perspectives on our musical culture, our thinking and being, and our way of receiving music.

Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra / Konradin Seitzer / Aziz Shokhakimov

Elbphilharmonie Hamburg

The Hamburg State Orchestra's Philharmonic Concerts become ZeitSpielen and transcend the boundaries of the ordinary: In this concert, Sally Beamish's compositional exploration of Mozart's rules will be heard - for the second and third movements of his Sinfonia Concertante will be replaced by new compositions from her pen, inspired by the original. We encounter Mozart today as a mirror of the past and at the same time, through Beamish, as part of the here and now! 

7th Philharmonic Concert MOZART / BEAMISH

Elbphilharmonie

Easter Festival Salzburg Tugan Sokhiev conducts Berlioz’ “Symphonie fantastique”

From great romance to revolutionary fervour, France doesn’t do things by halves. Passion and flair pulse through every corner of French cultural life, whether in the cool sophistication of its cinema, the rich flavours of its cuisine or the vibrant sounds of its music.

The Hallé: Vive La France!

Royal Concert Hall Nottingham

March 2026 Concert

Comsewogue High School

Renowned for his searching interpretations of French classical music as well as his genre-defying jazz records, pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet performs Saint-Saëns’s Piano Concerto No. 5, Egyptian. The concerto’s nickname didn’t originate with Saint-Saëns; it came about because he composed most of it while on vacation in Luxor. But no single country could contain his restless imagination: the “Egyptian” compiles a world-traveler’s far-flung impressions. Debussy’s dreamy Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun and Berlioz’s hellacious Symphonie fantastique round out this program of French favorites led by Swiss conductor Philippe Jordan.

Symphonie fantastique & Jean-Yves Thibaudet

Davies Symphony Hall

Music for All Ages

Norwalk Concert Hall

Camille Saint-Saëns' Second Piano Concerto is one of the most versatile works in romantic piano literature. With its unusual structure, it begins like an improvised fantasy before building up to a virtuosic and rhythmically striking finale. Bertrand Chamayou, one of the leading pianists of his generation, interprets the work with technical brilliance and musical depth, effectively showcasing the contrasting moods of this concerto. Hector Berlioz's "Symphonie fantastique" is a milestone in program music, narrating in five movements the passionate and increasingly nightmarish vision of a young artist. The multifaceted instrumentation, ranging from lyrical melodies to dark sounds of the "Witches' Sabbath," makes the work an impressive example of romantic sonic art.

Palace of Culture

Step into the enchanting world of Paris with A Night in Paris!—a captivating concert that will transport you straight to the City of Light. Join us for an unforgettable evening, featuring the sensational guest soloist Rosana Eckert, as we journey through the heart of French music. From Offenbach’s lively Can-Can to the lush melodies of Piaf’s La Vie en Rose and Sous le Ciel de Paris, the night will be filled with passion and beauty. Experience the haunting Danse Macabre by Saint-Saëns, the dreamy Clair de Lune by Debussy, and the mesmerizing Daphnis & Chloe, Suite No. 1 by Ravel. With powerful orchestral works like Bizet’s L’Arlésienne and Berlioz’s Le Corsair Overture also on the program, every note will be a celebration of French artistry. Let the music sweep you away on a magical night in Paris you’ll never forget!

A Night In Paris!

A music that doesn't need any explanation, that one understands all by itself? That's what the French composer Hector Berlioz wanted when he wrote his "Fantastic Symphony." He was heartbroken, and he composed his experiences directly into the music. In fact, while listening, we can imagine how someone falls in love, experiences happiness with the beloved woman, and how love fails. But of course, there are still some open questions – how does Berlioz manage to create so many different timbres? What role do the individual instruments play in this? Malte is on a quest to find answers for you...

Fantastic Symphony

Are you in the mood for drama, love, and a little bit of madness? Hector Berlioz invites you on an emotional rollercoaster ride with his "Symphonie fantastique"! This masterpiece is like a movie without a screen – everything happens in your mind. Berlioz tells the story of a young artist who is hopelessly in love. His emotions range in all directions: from romantic infatuation to wild jealousy to dark nightmares. The music is explosive, imaginative, and full of surprises. A highlight: the "Witches' Sabbath", where Berlioz pushes the boundaries of music and stages an eerie sound festival. The orchestra becomes a tool of pure emotion – from delicate harp sounds to thundering drums.

Best of Classics: Berlioz Fantastique

Berlioz, Rimsky-korsakov, Schumann

Imperial Baths

Violinist Clara-Jumi Kang is Konserthuset’s Artist-in-Residence this season and returns to the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra several times. This is her third production with the orchestra, each time under the baton of Chief Conductor Ryan Bancroft, with whom she has frequently collaborated in recent years.

Bernstein and Berlioz

Stockholm City Hall

For the first time the Prague Symphony welcomes the most important Slovenian conductor of today, Marko Letonja. The first half of the evening will be French in honour of his many years in Strasbourg, the second half will be Fate. One of the world's finest organists, Olivier Latry, will also perform with our orchestra for the first time.

Beethoven – Fate Symphony

Municipal House

Camellia Symphony Orchestra: Folk Spirits and Temperaments

C.K. McClatchy High School

Constantinos Carydis conducts Guiraud, Koukos, Berlioz

Teatro La Fenice

This concert highlights piano mastery and dynamic artistry as husband and wife duo Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung take center stage. Mozart’s Concerto for Two Pianos sparkles with elegance and virtuosity. Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals delights with humor and imagination, while Poulenc’s Concerto for Two Pianos adds wit and rhythmic energy.

Mozart & More: Concertos for Two Pianos

Jacoby Symphony Hall

Dreams are fleeting, unpredictable and all too prone to turn to nightmare – territory ripe for the imagination of a composer to run riot! This concert starts in the hazy, half-remembered dreams of a slumbering faun in a Mediterranean forest on a sunny afternoon, before Rebecca Clarke’s Viola Sonata takes us to a night where ‘the wine of youth... is fermenting in the veins of God’. That fermentation takes things darker still and we visit the nightmarish world of obsessive desire in Berlioz’s epic, dramatic Symphonie fantastique.

Ulster Orchestra: Dreams & Visions

Ulster Hall

Dreams are fleeting, unpredictable and all too prone to turn to nightmare – territory ripe for the imagination of a composer to run riot! This concert starts in the hazy, half-remembered dreams of a slumbering faun in a Mediterranean forest on a sunny afternoon, before Rebecca Clarke’s Viola Sonata takes us to a night where ‘the wine of youth… is fermenting in the veins of God’. That fermentation takes things darker still and we visit the nightmarish world of obsessive desire in Berlioz’s epic, dramatic Symphonie fantastique.

Composer

Hector Berlioz

Events

Upcoming events

Oct 31 - Nov 1, 2026

Beautiful Monsters – John Williams & Symphonie Fantastique · Des Moines Symphony

Nov 9, 2026

Symphony II: Pianist Charlie Albright · Port Angeles Symphony Orchestra

Nov 12, 2026

Rapture · Teatro Regio Torino

Nov 19, 2026

The Sea in Sound: Debussy's La Mer · Eugene Symphony

Nov 20, 2026

Ulster Orchestra: Seasons & Splendour · Ulster Hall

Past events

Oct 31 - Nov 1, 2026

Beautiful Monsters – John Williams & Symphonie Fantastique · Des Moines Symphony

Oct 31, 2026

Hauntingly Halloween · Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra

About

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