Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique, 2nd mvt Un Bal

Enter a dizzying dream-world of a hazy ball scene where a young artist is haunted by the image of his beloved.

Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique stands unequalled as an expression of Romantic dreams and nightmares, a work that distils the turbulent life and thoughts of its 27-year-old composer into musical images of extraordinary originality.

9 years prior to writing this work, Berlioz had just moved to Paris to study medicine. Having grown up in a provincial town, he hadn’t even encountered some of the most common musical instruments, let alone heard an orchestra. His first visit to the opera left him so overwhelmed by the power of the drama and music that he abandoned medicine and hurled himself into becoming a composer.

Berlioz wrote that he intended to create a symphonic drama that would be a projection of his entire emotional life: ‘My heart’s book inscribed on every page ... All I have suffered, all I have attempted.’