Composer

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.

EPSG:4326

Orchestral Brilliance

Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts

Mystique and Wonder

Performing Arts Center San Luis Obispo

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

The Woodruff Arts Center

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.

HSO Masterworks Series: Brahms’ Third

Maxwell M. & Ruth R. Belding Theater

Brahms’ Third

The Bushnell

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

March 2026 Concert

Comsewogue High School

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

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.

Symphonie fantastique

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

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

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.

Dreams & Visions

Belfast

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

Preview of one of the most exciting partnerships in American orchestral music when the Chicago Symphony returns to Boston with music director designate Klaus Mäkelä. Fresh off his 2024 Series appearance with Orchestre de Paris, the 29-year-old Finnish superstar doesn’t officially take the helm of this legendary orchestra until the 2026/27 season—but this concert offers a thrilling preview of what’s to come.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Boston Symphony Hall

One of the world’s most revered ensembles, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra returns under the baton of electrifying music director designate Klaus Mäkelä, hailed for his “mesmerizing presence and interpretive depth” (The Guardian). Mäkelä leads a program that pairs two revolutionary masterworks of symphonic form: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, a pulse-quickening triumph of rhythm and vitality that Wagner called “the apotheosis of the dance,” and Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, the wildly imaginative, hallucinatory tale of love, obsession, and dreams gone awry. Together, conductor and orchestra promise an unforgettable evening of high drama, orchestral brilliance, and virtuosity.

The Music Center at Strathmore

Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique tells the story of a quintessential Romantic artist, complete with a lovelorn obsession, a pastoral scene in the country, frightful hallucinations, and a wild witches’ sabbath. Emmanuel Pahud, hailed as a “one-in-a-generation flutist” (San Francisco Classical Review) is the soloist in Samy Moussa’s DSO co-commissioned concerto.

Detroit Symphony Orchestra

Mäkelä made his thrilling UMS debut with Orchestra de Paris in March 2024, just a few weeks before he was appointed to the Chicago post. He conducts Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, a work written in 1812 during the Napoleonic era with Beethoven conducting its premiere at a charity concert for wounded soldiers, and Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, a revolutionary work composed just a few years after Beethoven’s death.

University of Michigan

More than 80 musicians take the stage as Symphony Nova Scotia joins forces with the Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra! Together, the NSYO, alongside their professional mentors from the Symphony, are proud to present an exhilarating performance of Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique. This massive, bombastic orchestral phenomenon features two tubas and two sets of timpanis, and it tells the tale of the composer’s struggle with unrequited love. Don’t miss this huge collaboration at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, with $23 tickets for everyone!

Two Orchestras Play Berlioz

Dalhousie University

Join WNO Conductor Laureate, Carlo Rizzi, the award-winning mezzo-soprano, Justina Gringytė (La forza del destino, Roberto Devereux) and WNO Orchestra for a concert that will win both hearts and minds.

Carlo Rizzi & Justina Gringytė with WNO Orchestra

Bute Park

Filled with sultry tango melodies, infectious Spanish dance rhythms, and dizzying displays of virtuosity, Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole will sizzle in the hands of Clara-Jumi Kang. Then, buckle up for classical music’s ultimate thrill ride: with its wild story of a lovelorn artist who overdoses on opium, plunges into a hallucinogenic nightmare, and envisions his own funeral in hell, Symphonie fantastique packs an emotional wallop unlike anything else in music.

Symphonie espagnole + Symphonie fantastique

Jones Hall

The Orchester der Oper Zürich starts the concert season under a new, old name. After thirteen years as Philharmonia Zurich, the orchestra will return to its original moniker. The Philharmonic Concerts will once again alternate between the Opernhaus and the Tonhalle Zürich.

Jussen & Rustioni

Tonhalle Zürich

This will be a great joy for everyone involved: In keeping with the fifth season (Carnival), under the direction of Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, we will slip into different roles, individually or in groups, for the musical stories of this concert, just like at Carnival or a masquerade – and can thus demonstrate our playing skills on the respective instruments. For Berlioz's soul-searching work set in Italy, our solo violist Wen Xiao Zheng will take on the part of the melancholic dreamer Harold.

Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, Wen Xiao Zheng

Bamberger Symphoniker

Fantastic Symphony | Frost Symphony Orchestra

University of Miami

Camellia Symphony Orchestra: Dreams and Delirium

The Clock

Empress Theatre

Welcome to a carnivalesque evening full of lively rhythms and magnificent orchestration! The concert begins with Dvořák's sparkling Carnival Overture , followed by two lively overtures by Johann Strauss. Solo violinist Hanan Santos brings Paganini's virtuoso Carnival of Venice to a brilliant climax. The concert continues with Berlioz's fiery Roman Carnival Overture , which captures the festive atmosphere of Rome.

Carnival of Sounds with J. Strauss and N. Paganini

University of Salzburg Great Hall of the University

Welcome to a carnivalesque evening full of lively rhythms and magnificent orchestration! Dvořák's lively Carnival Overture kicks things off, followed by two lively overtures by Johann Strauss. Solo violinist Hanan Santos gives Paganini's virtuoso Carnival of Venice a brilliant climax. The program continues with Berlioz' fiery overture to the Roman Carnival, which captures the festive atmosphere of Rome.

Carnival of sounds with J. Strauss and N. Paganini

Mozart Week Salzburg

Great Festival House

Mozart's Clarinet Concerto was composed just two months before his untimely death. The lyrical second movement, in particular, is one of his most touching musical legacies. Farewell and mourning also find their place in Berlioz's orchestral songs, Les nuits d'été . Both works are the focus of the Vienna Philharmonic's second concert featuring three artists of the first category.

Vienna Philharmonic II: Ticciati / Kožená / Ottensamer

Debussy’s impressionistic symphonic tone poems, La mer and Ibéria, take center stage in this all-French–Iberian-peninsula program. Mezzo-soprano Angela Brower is the soloist for Berlioz’s cantata Cléopâtre, on the first of her two weeks with the TSO, and Maestro Gomez introduces the music of Olivier Messiaen with the grief-stricken Le tombeau resplendissant.

Debussy’s La mer

Linda Ronstadt Music Hall

Despite dying at the age of just 26, French composer Lili Boulanger left behind a wealth of fantastic music. Among the highlights is the buzzing, lively spring morning she evokes in the short tone poem D'un matin de printemps , which she composed just a few months before her death.

Søndergaard & Ravel

DR Koncerthuset

Transport yourself to the heart of Italy with an unforgettable evening of musical storytelling, presented through a vibrant program, brimming with romance and the spirited charm of Italian culture. Experience the dazzling sounds of Berlioz’s Roman Carnival Overture, Tchaikovsky’s Capriccio Italien, and Respighi’s Fountains of Rome – each a vivid homage to Italy’s festivals, landscapes, and timeless allure. For this concert, ASO is thrilled to welcome back acclaimed piano virtuoso Sean Chen, who’ll perform Rachmaninoff’s beloved Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini – a deeply expressive tour de force, inspired by one of Italy’s greatest violinists.

Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

Heymann Performing Arts Center

Former Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero returns for a night of musical brilliance and vivid storytelling! Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun opens with sensual, dreamlike melodies that transport you to a world of fantasy. Mozart’s Symphony No. 31 “Paris” sparkles with elegance and youthful energy, leading to the evening’s grand finale—Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, a wild and electrifying journey of love, obsession, and fate. Don’t miss this unforgettable homecoming!

Giancarlo Guerrero Returns • Jan. 15, 2026, 7:30pm

Hult Center for the Performing Arts

A good cliffhanger is the most important thing: Only those who are almost bursting with suspense at the end of a story stay hooked and want to know what happens next as quickly as possible. Directors of soaps and series use this trick, which they may have copied from Scheherazade: A Persian king has married her for one day and one night, after which she is to die. With imagination and cleverly placed cliffhangers, Scheherazade tells the king 1001 Nights of sailors, princesses, murders, miracles and, of course, true love.

1001 Nights

A sparkling tradition to welcome the new year: the Residentie Orkest's New Year's Concert. This edition is all about colour, virtuosity and French flair. Under the baton of the charismatic Mei-Ann Chen, a conductor known for her sheer passion, you'll experience an evening where festive traditions and glorious music come together. Join us in raising a glass to a wonderful new year! 

New Year's Concert 

Amare

“Vivacious, funny, heroic, eloquent, plain-spoken, thoughtful, and wholly irresistible” – this was a critic’s verdict on Anders Hillborg’s Piano Concerto No. 2 after its world premiere in San Francisco in October 2023 with Emanuel Ax and Esa-Pekka Salonen: “You can’t help but love the results.” Now, this 22-minute “fascinating ball of fun,” written specifically for Ax, will be performed again by Ax and Salonen along with the BRSO. The work is flanked by Ravel’s harmonically refined, rhythmically sensuous, and melodically captivating Le Tombeau de Couperin, which is dedicated to the great French Baroque harpsichordist François Couperin, and Hector Berlioz’s aesthetically uncompromising Symphonie fantastique, whose premiere in 1830 led some to suspect that Berlioz had gone mad, while others heralded him as an icon of modern music.

Esa-Pekka Salonen & Emanuel Ax

Munich Residence

Wyatt Underhill plays Bruch

San Francisco War Memorial & Performing Arts Center

Hector Berlioz’s second symphonic work takes us to Italy. Accompanying us will be Lord Byron’s romantic hero Harold, whose voice will be Amihai Grosz, the principal violist of the Berlin Philharmonic. Upon returning from the musical universe of Witold Lutosławski, we will hear Beethoven’s majestic Eroica, originally dedicated by the composer to Napoleon.

Czech Philharmonic • Simon Rattle

Rudolfinum

Joyce DiDonato has been described as “an American treasure” (Operawire), “increasingly incomparable” (New Yorker) and “a great, brave and inspiring artist – one of the finest singers of our time” (Gramophone). She brings her voice, described by NPR as “luminous, silken, flexible, full of colours and expressive shadings” to Hector Berlioz’s equally luminous song cycle Les nuits d’été (Summer Nights). Berlioz’s gorgeously intimate orchestrations embody the sound of love, both new and long lost.

Joyce DiDonato

Auckland Town Hall

Michael Fowler Centre

L’Enfance du Christ is a lavish operatic oratorio that tells of Herod’s Massacre of the Innocents, and the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt, blending surging drama and ethereal wonder, mighty choral set pieces with sublime solos of exquisite beauty. Berlioz conjures music of deep passion and belief, but it’s also a moving story of new life and family love that brings you up close to Mary, Joseph and Jesus as they flee their home and run for their lives.

L'Enfance du Christ

Usher Hall

Latin Grammy Award-winning trumpeter Pacho Flores brings the house down everywhere he plays.

Rafael Payare Conducts Berlioz & Ortiz

Southbank Centre

Welcome to Rome, where your guide will be Milanese Daniele Gatti. Admire, on your left, Berlioz sketching a multicolored Carnival, with themes taken from his opera Benvenuto Cellini . A little further on, see Mendelssohn moved by landscapes, ruins and nature in his " Italian " Symphony. Finally, linger at the Villa Borghese and the Trevi Fountain, thanks to Respighi's Pines and Fountains , odes to the Eternal City and small treatises of orchestral flavor. Grazie mille , National Orchestra.

Roman Carnival / Daniele Gatti

Maison de la Radio et de la Musique

Two of Berlioz’s most popular works frame a performance by ‘the best trumpeter in the world’ in this fiesta of a concert.  

Latin Grammy-winning trumpeter Pacho Flores brings the house down everywhere he plays. Tonight he joins fellow Venezuelan Rafael Payare to perform Altar de Bronce (Altar of Bronze), written for him by the Philharmonia’s Featured Composer Gabriela Ortiz. Its two movements, ‘Tin’ and ‘Copper’, are full of drama and invention, and the infectious rhythms of Mexican popular music. 

Rafael Payare conducts Symphonie fantastique

Welcome the coming festive season with one of the tenderest, most captivating Christmas pieces ever created.

In the second concert of its 2025-26 season, the Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra presents a dynamic programme of music by Suppé, Tchaikovsky and Berlioz.

The evening opens with Light Cavalry Overture, a lively and spirited introduction by master of the operetta, Franz von Suppé. Georgian pianist Salome Jordania joins the Orchestra to perform Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, a powerful work that balances the virtuosic demands of the soloist with the powerful presence of the orchestra.

Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra

Cadogan Hall 

Two of Berlioz’s most popular works frame a performance by “the best trumpeter in the world” in this fiesta of a concert.   

Latin Grammy-winning trumpeter Pacho Flores brings the house down everywhere he plays. Tonight he joins fellow Venezuelan Rafael Payare to perform Altar de Bronce (Altar of Bronze), written for him by the Philharmonia’s Featured Composer Gabriela Ortiz. Its two movements, ‘Tin’ and ‘Copper’, are full of drama and invention, and the infectious rhythms of Mexian popular music. 

Berlioz summons up his version of carnival with timpani and tambourines rather than a full Latin percussion section. But he gives it just as much orchestral colour and energy, and adds a beautiful solo for the cor anglais.   

Leicester: Symphonie fantastique

De Montfort Hall

One of the finest singers of our time, Joyce DiDonato has achieved international prominence appearing on the world’s major opera stages. She joins the MSO for a special gala performance of Berlioz’s song cycle full of love, loss and longing.

Ryman Healthcare Spring Gala: Joyce DiDonato

Arts Centre Melbourne

A powerful night of symphonic storytelling! Former Music Director Joel Levine returns to guest conduct the OKC Philharmonic, joined by cellist Carter Brey for Dvořák’s Cello Concerto and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5.

Joel Levine Conducts Tchaikovsky

Civic Center Music Hall

No ensemble has visited the University of Iowa more often than the Grammy Award-winning Minnesota Orchestra—but it’s been 43 years since the ensemble’s last performance on campus. We are delighted to welcome them back under the baton of Thomas Søndergård for a concert featuring violinist Benjamin Beilman, an adventuresome and passionate performer with a rich and deep tone. The program includes music by Tōru Takemitsu, Karol Szymanowski, and Hector Berlioz. Members of the orchestra will also engage with student musicians across the UI School of Music.

Minnesota Orchestra

University of Iowa

Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique was rooted in his passion for an actress who, for years, paid him no attention. His unanswered obsession led him to compose an autobiographical symphony that tracks the highs and lows of his emotional state, and one that redefined the parameters of what an orchestra could do.

Søndergård Conducts Symphonie fantastique

Orchestra Hall

This program offers a shining homage to French mélodies from the Belle Époque in a highly anticipated rendezvous with soprano Véronique Gens. Let yourself be swept away by the poetry of the songs and the vocal elegance and refined artistry of one of today’s foremost interpreters of French mélodies. A must-see concert for aficionados of music and French song.

Véronique Gens and the French Mélodie

Place des Arts

World premieres are exciting: For the first time, printed music becomes tangible music for an audience. For the first time, the composer experiences how listeners react to his new work. Thomas Blomenkamp's work features "Cordelia, the lovingly loyal daughter of King Lear; Lady Macbeth, the demoness lusting for power and murder; and 13-year-old Juliet, caught between love and death," the Düsseldorf-born composer reveals of these "portraits between lyric poetry, drama, and psychological study." He juxtaposes key monologues by Shakespeare's female characters, which could hardly be more different, and allows them to flow into one another—connected by two orchestral interludes. With Sylvain Cambreling at the helm of the Duisburg Philharmonic, a conductor is considered a proven specialist in contemporary music and is also known for his imaginative programming, something he has already demonstrated in Duisburg. With Hector Berlioz's "King Lear" Overture, he opens the door to the world of Shakespeare, contrasting it in the second half of the concert with Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No. 7. A work whose tragic tone and profound seriousness perfectly complement the English playwright's tragedies.

Shakespeare monologues

CityPalais

Can you hear the bells? Rachmaninoff’s choral symphony The Bells — inspired by Edgar Allen Poe’s poem of the same name — evokes the experience of bells ringing through the phases of life, and features Cincinnati’s own May Festival Chorus. Then, Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique takes you inside the delirious fever-dream of a young artist driven mad by unrequited love. Fueled by opium-induced hallucinations, the visions culminate in a sabbath dance where the bells toll a haunting clamor

The Bells & Symphonie Fantastique

Cincinnati Music Hall

Don’t miss pianist Zlata Chohieva performing the exquisite Piano Concerto No. 21 by Mozart, made famous in the movie Elvira Madigan. Next, Berlioz rounds out the fantastic evening with Symphonie Fantastique, program music that tells the story of a brilliant artist who experiences desperation and sadness because of his unreciprocated love for a woman and poisons himself with opium.

An Evening Fantastique

Purdue University Fort Wayne

Ambassador Mansions & Gardens

The sonorous and sparkling virtuosity of MSO Principal Clarinetist Jorge Diez holds the spotlight in two definitive works by Debussy and Weber. Plus, Berlioz’s daring blockbuster Symphonie Fantastique engages the senses and enlivens the imagination to deliver a bold genius-stroke of a finish, in a program that will take you places you never knew you wanted to go.

Bravo 2: Epic Dreamscape

Thalia Mara Hall

Ravel Bolero

The Garde Arts Center, Inc.

Elevate your morning routine with the new, innovative Coffee Concert Series, where music meets the comforting aroma of freshly brewed Blue Lion coffee. This unique series not only provides a delightful mid-morning musical interlude but also includes complimentary coffee after each performance in your own Fort Wayne Philharmonic Coffee Series mug and donuts from Sugar Creek Donuts. In addition, each post-concert activity provides an exclusive opportunity for patrons to engage in discussions with the musicians themselves, participate in fun musically themed activities and connect with the team who bring the music to life.

Coffee Concert: Symphonie Fantastique

Poetry slam meets classical music – Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique as the soundtrack to an emotional rollercoaster – heartbreak, madness, and dark dreams. At the center: an artist almost destroyed by his unrequited love. At first, he dreams himself into love through romantic fantasies and lavish balls – but then everything turns sour. Jealousy, madness, thoughts of murder, nightmares, death knells. And at the end? A witches' sabbath.

1. Concert for young people

Staatstheater Mainz

Join the brilliant young players of Norfolk County Youth Orchestra for a thrilling evening of orchestral favourites conducted by Andrew Morley.

Norfolk County Youth Orchestra: Autumn Concert

Ormiston Victory Academy

Surround yourself with the frenzied sounds of dancing witches, spooky skeletons and swirling spirits in this witches brew of Halloweeen-themed classical favorites conducted by Guest Conductor David Ellis. You’ll be sleeping with the lights on for weeks after this one!

Composer

Hector Berlioz

Events

Upcoming events

7 - 9 May, 2026

America @ 250: Spano Conducts Bernstein + Berlioz · Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

May 8, 2026

Ari Tujian, countertenor · Northwestern Bienen School of Music

10 - 17 May, 2026

The Damnation of Faust · Opernhaus Zürich

13 - 14 May, 2026

Wagner and Debussy: From Love to the Sea · Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal

15 - 17 May, 2026

Pictures at an Exhibition with Christopher Dragon · Colorado Symphony

Past events

May 2, 2026

Orchestral Brilliance · Greensboro Symphony Orchestra

May 2, 2026

Mystique and Wonder · San Luis Obispo Symphony

About

Hector Berlioz hasn't added a bio