Symphony

Symphonie fantastique

1 upcoming performance in New York

Hector Berlioz’s *Symphonie fantastique* (1830) is a five-part, story-driven symphony that follows an artist through obsession, delirium, and nightmare, using a recurring melody to track a single idée fixe. It mattered early on in New York’s concert life, entering the repertoire as local orchestras and critics grappled with its theatrical approach to “serious” symphonic writing. At NJPAC, the New Jersey Symphony brings out Berlioz’s expanded orchestration and sharp contrasts in color. One clear takeaway is how the piece treats the orchestra as a narrative engine, not just a vessel for form.