Berlioz on Music: Selected Criticism 1824-1837

Hector Berlioz, the great French composer of the 19th century, was not only a musician, but the period’s foremost music critic as well.  This volume, edited by the late scholar Katherine Kolb, presents a broad selection of his writings in my translation.

From the jacket

“The quintessential Romantic artist of his century, Hector Berlioz impressed Paganini and Liszt as ‘Beethoven’s only heir,’ and dazzled the young Wagner as a composer, orchestra conductor, and critic. To Paris and all Europe, Berlioz was known as much for his writings as for his music, yet there has been no English-language anthology of his criticism available until now.”

“Elegantly written and meticulously researched, Berlioz on Music is a veritable treasure trove.”

Arline Cravens (Saint Louis University) in Nineteenth-Century French Studies 46.3-4 (2018)

Online supplement to this book

Eleven additional articles by Berlioz — translated by Samuel N. Rosenberg and annotated by Katherine Kolb — are available exclusively through publisher’s “complementary webpage” for the book—(https://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199391950/).

  • 1. Hector Berlioz, “Reflections on Religious Music,” originally published in Le Correspondant (April 21, 1829).

To view, follow the link “Religious Music” at https://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199391950/

or download the pdf file “Religious_Music” directly from https://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199391950/religious?view=usa .

  • 2. Hector Berlioz, “Gluck (Part II),” originally published in Gazette musicale de Paris (June 8, 1834).

To view, follow the link “Gluck: Sequel and Conclusion” at https://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199391950/

or download the pdf file “Telemaco_II” directly from https://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199391950/gluck?view=usa .

  • 3. Hector Berlioz, “Gluck’s Iphigenia in Tauris [Act I] (Part II),” originally published in Gazette musicale de Paris (November 16, 1834).

To view, follow the links “Gluck: Iphigenia in Tauris, Articles 2-4” and “Iphigenia II” at https://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199391950/

or download the pdf file “Iphigenia_II” directly from https://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199391950/gluck3/Iphigenia_II .

  • 4. Hector Berlioz, “Gluck’s Iphigenia in Tauris [Act I] (Part III), originally published in Gazette musicale de Paris (November 23, 1834).

To view, follow the links “Gluck: Iphigenia in Tauris, Articles 2-4” and “Iphigenia III” at https://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199391950/

or download the pdf file “Iphigenia_III” directly from https://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199391950/gluck3/Iphigenia_III .

  • 5. Hector Berlioz, “Gluck’s Iphigenia in Tauris (Part IV),” originally published in Gazette musicale de Paris (December 7, 1834).

To view, follow the links “Gluck: Iphigenia in Tauris, Articles 2-4” and “Iphigenia IV” at https://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199391950/

or download the pdf file “Iphigenia_IV” directly from https://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199391950/gluck3/Iphigenia_IV .

  • 6. Hector Berlioz, “Rossini’s William Tell (Part II),” originally published in Gazette musicale de Paris (October 19, 1834).

To view, follow the links “Rossini: William Tell, Articles 2-4” and “William Tell II” at https://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199391950/

or download the pdf file “William Tell_II” directly from https://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199391950/Rossin/William_Tell_II .

  • 7. Hector Berlioz, “Rossini’s William Tell [Act II] (Part III),” originally published in Gazette musicale de Paris (October 26, 1834).

To view, follow the links “Rossini: William Tell, Articles 2-4” and “William Tell III” at https://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199391950/

or download the pdf file “William Tell_III” directly from https://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199391950/Rossin/William_Tell_III .

  • 8. Hector Berlioz, “Rossini’s William Tell [Acts III and IV] (Part IV),” originally published in Gazette musicale de Paris (November 2, 1834).

To view, follow the links “Rossini: William Tell, Articles 2-4” and “William Tell IV” at https://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199391950/

or download the pdf file “William Tell_IV” directly from https://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199391950/Rossin/William_Tell_IV .

  • 9. Berlioz, “Letters to Her, for Piano by Chrétien Urhan,” originally published in Gazette musicale de Paris (February 1, 1835).

To view, follow the link “Urhan, Letters to Her” at https://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199391950/

or download the pdf file “Letters_for_Her” [sic] directly from https://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199391950/urhan?view=usa .

  • 10. Hector Berlioz, Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots: Opera in Five Acts . . . (Part I),” originally published in Revue et gazette musicale de Paris (March 6, 1836).

To view, follow the links “Les Huguenots, Articles 1-2” and “Les Huguenots I” at https://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199391950/

or download the pdf file “Huguenots_I” directly from https://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199391950/les/huguenots_I .

  • 11. Hector Berlioz, “Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots: First, Second, and Third Acts (Part II),” originally published in Revue et gazette musicale de Paris (March 13, 1836).

To view, follow the links “Les Huguenots, Articles 1-2” and “Les Huguenots II” at https://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199391950/

or download the pdf file “Huguenots_II” directly from https://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199391950/les/huguenots_II .