Composer

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.

EPSG:4326

Best of Classics: Berlioz Fantastique

Palace of Culture

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

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

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.

Dreams & Visions

Belfast

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.

Symphonie Fantastique!

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'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

Great Festival House

Mozart Week Salzburg

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

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

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

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

Cologne Philharmonie

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

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

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

Rafael Payare Conducts Berlioz & Ortiz

Southbank Centre

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.

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

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 

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

Ravel Bolero

The Garde Arts Center, Inc.

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

Ambassador Mansions & Gardens

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!

Diabolical Dances, Tricks and a Treat

Beachwood High School

Symphonie Fantastique

Cannon Center For The Performing Arts

University of Memphis

Hector Berlioz: Inside the Score

Mount Pleasant Middle School

She was a candidate for the prestigious Prix de Rome: the French composer Mel Bonis . But her promising career ended before it could really begin. After Mel Bonis entered into a marriage arranged by her parents, she composed only for herself. Between 1897 and 1913 she wrote the piano pieces Femmes de Légende , which are inspired by female figures from literature and mythology such as Salome and Ophelia. Mel Bonis also arranged some of these pieces for orchestra, including Le Songe de Cléopâtre . With impressionistic timbres that are reminiscent of her fellow student Claude Debussy, yet reveal a very subtle style of her own, she paints the picture of a powerful and seductive Cleopatra.

2nd Symphony Concert

Music Director Jonathon Heyward welcomes Italian-American violinist Francesca Dego for Prokofiev's dark and brooding Violin Concerto No. 2. Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique evokes the passions of a tortured artist, while Mark Simpson's Israfel adds to the mysterious mood in homage to one of Baltimore's most famous residents: Edgar Allan Poe.

Symphonie Fantastique (Tales of Poe)

Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall

It is rare to witness a public execution and the subsequent “dream of a severed head” in a concert, but Hector Berlioz’s Symphony No. 1 does. Of course, it is all fantasy, but reality was more wonderful than fiction. In the symphony, Berlioz murders his love, the English actress Harriet Smithson, but years later married her. Michael Drapkin has reduced the orchestra in his arrangement, but not much emotion. Canadian-Finnish composer Matthew Whittall’s new oboe concerto is tailored for the brilliant oboe principal of the Tapiola Sinfonietta, Anni Haapaniemi. Whittall was inspired by the contrast between light and shadow in his composition, which also served as the starting point for the visual design of the concert.

Hallucination

Espoo Cultural Centre

Join us for a spine-tingling night of music that stirs the imagination and sends shivers down your spine! From the eerie elegance of Danse Macabre to the haunting beauty of Phantom of the Opera, this one-of-a-kind concert brings together iconic scores from stage and screen with the dramatic power of classical masterworks.

Phantoms & Fantasies

Corning Museum of Glass

Love, witchcraft, murder — it’s all packed into Symphonie fantastique, Berlioz’s thriller about a lovesick artist obsessed with a young actress. Zell Music Director Designate Klaus Mäkelä leads this showpiece in all its psychedelic glory. There’s more drama in Harold in Italy, Berlioz’s Byronic tone poem featuring violist Antoine Tamestit’s “ferocity and panache” (BBC Music Magazine).

Mäkelä Conducts Symphonie fantastique

Berlioz’s utterly spectacular Symphonie fantastique is not to be missed — a gripping masterpiece of nightmares and satanic rituals which shocked audiences at its premiere. New Zealand composer Louise Webster, meanwhile, meditates on the gruesome ‘tests’ used in historical trials for witchcraft.

Fantastique!

This is Halloween

Gateway High School

Step into a world of rebirth and rediscovery through three extraordinary works that stir the soul and awaken the senses. Gabriella Smith’s Rust pulses with earthy energy and vibrant textures — a raw, kinetic meditation on nature and decay that ultimately celebrates life’s resilience. Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’été follows with hauntingly beautiful songs of love, loss, and transcendence, floating like a dream through the twilight of the human heart. The evening culminates in Stravinsky’s The Firebird Suite, a dazzling tale of magic and rebirth where darkness gives way to radiant, triumphant light.

Finding Renewal

University of Redlands

Opening Night: The Witching Hour

University of Kentucky

Get ready for chills and thrills with Bach’s Toccata and Fugue, Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain, Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, and Elfman’s Batman Suite—a spooky musical adventure for all ages! Children 0-12 years of age are invited to wear family-friendly costumes for our costume parade, and will be given a raffle ticket to win a Halloween treat and an opportunity to conduct side by side with the NVSO conductor.

Symphonic Spooktacular

North Canyon High School

BNY Classics showcases unforgettable performances by your Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, featuring timeless masterpieces, thrilling premieres, and renowned guest artists.

Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts

Bruneau-Boulmier Berlioz Debussy

Gasteig HP8

Step into a world of fantasy and wild imagination. Don your mask and immerse yourself in the music and beauty of three iconic masterpieces as we kick off the 2025/2026 season.

Anna Clyne’s dazzling and dynamic opening piece captures the spirit of celebration and revelry.

Masquerade

California Theatre

Our 2025/26 Season kicks off with Beethoven’s “Emperor” Piano Concerto No. 5 and Dvořák’s “New World” Symphony No. 9. Pianist Llewellyn Sánchez-Werner, 2022 Concert Artists Guild winner, returns as soloist. Paolo Bortolameolli, associate conductor of the LA Philharmonic, returns to lead this concert of much-loved repertoire including Berlioz’s Roman Carnival Overture.

Opening Weekend: Dvořák’s “New World” Symphony

Phoenix Convention Center

Concerto Competitions are an opportunity for students to showcase their abilities as a soloist. Music Director of the Oakland Symphony Kedrick Armstrong conducts as winners Cristina Villalobos and Zoe Yost perform Hector Berlioz’ Les nuits d'ete and Bela Bartók’s Viola Concerto. 

Concerto Competition Winners' Concert

San Francisco Conservatory of Music

Berlioz, Saint-Saëns, Schumann

Decorah High School

We open our 96th season of concerts at the Forum with Rossini’s exuberant overture to La Gazza Ladra, (The Thieving Magpie). Renowned pianist Jeffrey Biegel plays James Stephenson’s piano concerto, a technical and expressive tour-de-force written for Biegel, himself. Hector Berlioz’s mind-bending orchestral epic, Symphonie fantastique completes the program.

The Forum Auditorium

This September, ERSO welcomes back conductor Yan Pascal Tortelier, whose program of French music received wide acclaim in March 2025. Once again, Tortelier will explore the rich world of 19th-century French composers, beginning with the overture to Benvenuto Cellini by Hector Berlioz, a pioneer of modern orchestration. Marcel Johannes Kits will perform a rare gem of the cello repertoire: the concerto by Édouard Lalo. The evening will conclude with one of the best-known works by the short-lived composer Ernest Chausson—his Symphony in B-flat major.

French Moods. Tortelier and Kits

Estonia Concert Hall

The British conductor, pianist, and composer Thomas Adès visits the Swedish Radio concert hall Berwaldhallen with his piano concerto, here performed by Kiril Gerstein for whom the work was written, and Three Studies of Couperin, his tender adaptation of music by the Baroque composer François Couperin. But first, Adès leads the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra in the overture to Hector Berlioz’s never-performed opera Les francs-juges in this concert that concludes with Jean Sibelius’s sublime Sixth Symphony.

Composer

Hector Berlioz

Events

Upcoming events

18 - 21 Mar, 2026

Bernstein and Berlioz · Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra

Mar 21, 2026

A Night In Paris! · Plano Symphony Orchestra

Mar 21, 2026

Symphonie fantastique · Dresdner Philharmonie

Mar 22, 2026

Music for All Ages · Norwalk Symphony Orchestra

26 - 28 Mar, 2026

Symphonie fantastique & Jean-Yves Thibaudet · San Francisco Symphony

Past events

Mar 20, 2026

Best of Classics: Berlioz Fantastique · Dresdner Philharmonie

Mar 20, 2026

Fantastic Symphony · Dresdner Philharmonie

About

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