jan 1, 1834 - Harold en Italie
Description:
a symphony featuring solo viola by BerliozGenre Trouble: Berlioz Again
A. Paganini commissioned a viola concerto from Berlioz in 1832.
B. Berlioz rejected the concerto idea in favor of “a solo for viola, but a solo combined with
orchestral accompaniment in such a way as to leave the orchestra full freedom of action.”
C. He initially advertised the work as The Last Moments of Mary Stuart and called it a dramatic fantasy for orchestra, chorus, and solo viola. By the time it was finished, it was called Harold en Italie, there was no program, and Paganini was not involved.
D. Harold en Italie is literary (based on Lord Byron’s Childe Harold’s Pilgrimmage), picturesque, programmatic, and thematically unified (again with an idée fixe, but one that
behaves differently from the Symphony fantastique).
Added to timeline:
Date:
jan 1, 1834
Now
~ 191 years ago