Symphonie fantastique

This massive work takes almost an hour to perform and is written for an orchestra of 90 musicians. Inspired by Berlioz' infatuation with Irish stage actress Harriet Smithson, the symphony is a piece of program music i.e. music that is based on a story. Berlioz' own story is of an artist who is unable to attain the woman he adores and so overdoses on opium and has hallucinations. The symphony is subtitled “Épisode de la vie d'un artiste … en cinq parties.” As the subtitle indicates, it is in five movements instead of the four that were traditional at the time. The work premiered in Paris on December 5, 1830, with François-Antoine Habeneck conducting.