Symphonie Fantastique

Hector Berlioz (Composer), Riccardo Muti (Conductor), Philadelphia Orchestra (Orchestra)

Product Details

• Orchestra: Philadelphia Orchestra
• Conductor: Riccardo Muti
• Composer: Hector Berlioz
• Audio CD (August 10, 1999)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: EMI Classics
• ASIN: B00000JQY3
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,201 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #4 in	Music > Classical > Featured Composers, A-Z > ( B ) > Berlioz, Hector
  #83 in	Music > Classical > Symphonies
  #83 in	Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Symphonies

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording

Muti's perfectionism is everywhere clear in his stirring, crisp leadership of this many-layered, flavorful work. Some have argued that it's a bit over-the-top; we call that exciting. This is not to say that in the more elegant moments, we don't get some beautifully sculpted, feathery sounds. And clearly, each section of the orchestra was ideally rehearsed: the strings are lush, the winds reedy and spicy, and the brass wonderfully aggressive. Wow! --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastique!!!, October 11, 2003

By	Charles Emmett "Chas in the boonies" (Oroville, California (the boonies)) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

What is it that Muti continually seems to bring something new to the table. This recording, as his performance of 'Romeo and Juliette' is filled with absolute fire, yet the juxtaposition of the clarity and tenderness that he seems to bring to every recording. 'Reveries-Passions' The string writing and how the Maestro plays with transparency and tenderness and the ferocity when needed. The wonderful playing of the brass section, especailly in the finale along with that horrendous bell and how it rings in time to an inexorable ending.

The Philadelphia Orchestra plays with such passion and virtuosity and such wonderful tone. Maestro Muti really shapes the tone and seems to be on top of that with the strings. You can feel his every movement with his hands as he conducts them.

I wish that EMI would re-release all of the PHO recordings with the Maestro.

Has anyone got his recording of Mahlers 'Titan' yet? Breathtaking. A must for everyone also! Berlioz is the early 'Mahler'to me. There are dissonances that haven't been heard before and they always resolve so beautifully. He takes us musically where no one of the period had ever gone/

The highest recommendation. Should be one of the top one hundred in a music library.

Highest recommendation, again. It's a bargain anyway and unequaled by anything else out there.

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Breathtaking!, September 2, 2001

By	Brian Douglas (Brighton, England) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I LOVE this symphony - I've listened to it over and over again. And this is the finest recording I've ever heard of the Fantastique. More than any other, this recording captures the emotion of Berlioz's self-portrait symphony. You cannot help but be sucked into the story, the transition from Romantic emotionalism of the first movement to the sheer horror of the last. The gruesome power of the 5th movement is absolutely breathtaking, and this recording does the music perfect justice. And you can't beat the price!

If you like Romantic music, buy this CD!

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Berlioz from Muti/Philadelphia, November 28, 2005

By	Alan Majeska "Alan Majeska" (Bad Axe, MI, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I purchased the Muti/Philadelphia Berlioz "Fantastique" in 1986 on the strength of reviews I read in STEREO REVIEW magazine, and am glad I did, although this is not my only Fantastique recording. Muti and the Philadelphia are very well recorded here by EMI's engineers, and the orchestra has a brilliant sheen, emphasizing the high frequencies, but not at the expense of the treble or bass ranges. Muti pushes the tempo where needed, but it is always at the service of Berlioz' fantastic, passionate music. One example is in V, the witches sabbath, which in many recordings comes off as tame and lukewarm. (Berlioz depiction of this grotesquery should be anything but lukewarm...)

I should point out my FANTASTIQUE is the earliest issue, with no discmates.

Ormandy/Phiadelphia also recorded Symphonie fantastique in 1965, available in Sony's "Essential Classics" series, and I like that recording also, along with Muti. There are other options, each different from the others, yet all excellent: Bernstein/French National Orchestra (EMI); Karajan/Berlin (DG); Markevitch/Lamoreux Orchestra (DG); Colin Davis/London Symphony (Philips); Talmi/San Diego (Naxos).