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Donald Macleod sees Berlioz deeply unsettled by his first encounter with Shakespeare.

Berlioz burst onto the musical stage of 19th-century Paris, determined to break the mould of France’s elegant and refined classical style. He wanted to create music that could be bombastic, barbaric and grotesque, as well as sentimental, scintillating and sorrowful. In this, he was inspired by writers as much as fellow musicians. He was captivated by stories and crowded his imagination with the tales of Virgil, Scott, Goethe and, most of all, William Shakespeare. This week, Donald Macleod traces the tangled literary connections in Berlioz’s life and music, including the profound spell cast by Shakespeare over the composer’s art and personality.

Today, Berlioz has an extraordinary reaction to seeing Shakespeare performed for the first time. He also embarks on two unhappy love affairs and finds himself in danger of fatally losing his way.

Roméo et Juliette, Op 17: Part 2 (extract)
³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Sir Andrew Davis

La Damnation de Faust: Scène 15.
Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzo-soprano (Marguerite)
Philharmonia Orchestra
Philharmonia Chorus
conducted by Myung-Whun Chung

Symphonie fantastique: II. Un bal (Valse)
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Claudio Abbado

Lélio, ou Le Retour a la vie: VI. Fantaisie sur ‘La tempête’ de Shakespeare
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
conducted by Riccardo Muti

Symphonie fantastique: V. Songe d'une nuit du Sabbat
Berliner Philharmoniker
conducted by Sir Simon Rattle