Fresh Inspirations

French composer Hector Berlioz spent a miserable two years in Italy as winner of the prestigious Prix de Rome, but it inspired some of this greatest music. Roman Carnival is nine minutes of jaunty music originally intended as an overture to an opera. Viet Cuong, California Symphony’s “wildly inventive” (New York Times) and “irresistible” (San Francisco Chronicle) resident composer (2020-23) debuts his third and final composition for the orchestra. British composer William Walton was the John Williams of the 1940s and ‘50s, composing music for movies including Sir Laurence Olivier’s iconic Henry V. His Symphony No. 1 is considered one of the greatest symphonies of the 20th century.