Music and Vinyl: Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique

Hector Berlioz' 1830 programme symphony Symphonie fantastique: Épisode de la vie d’un artiste … en cinq parties (Fantastical Symphony: An Episode in the Life of an Artist, in Five Parts) Op. 14 has become an audience favourite and part of the core repertoire of Romantic-period music.

Hector Berlioz

Written as a result of his infatuation with Irish actress Henrietta Smithson, Berlioz used a number of existing compositions as the basis for his new work, and then wrote an extensive programme note for the published score in 1845. For these notes and more information on the music, enlarge the sleeve scan below, and look here for a detailed commentary on the piece.

This is the third Everest recording that I've posted (after Benjamin's Piano Concerto, and Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances), made in London around 1960 with a three channel film recording technique.

The Analogue Productions 45rpm issue here uses the earlier Classic Records remastering, and evidence of some wow and flutter from those transfers is unfortunately audible in places (as commented on here). But the clarity and dynamics of the recording - with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Eugene Goossens - are very evident. The two records are presented in separate sleeves, one a facsimile of the original issue, the other with a cover giving information about Everest recordings on the front, and a catalogue of releases on the rear - reproduced below. Attention to detail failed somewhat on the label printing: on the second record another British conducting Knight - Sir Malcolm Sargent - is credited as the conductor, and on the first record Goossens' name is misspelt.