Berlioz Fantasies
On May 13-18 Kyiv hosted the Fantastic World of Berlioz International Festival organized by the French Cultural Center, Embassy of France to Ukraine, National Philharmonic of Ukraine, French Association to Support Creative Work, and Fund to Promote the Arts.
The festival is dedicated to the bicentennial of the birth of Hector Berlioz, great composer, conductor, music critic, and writer, which will be celebrated throughout the world on December 11, 2003. The maestro boldly combined elements of the opera, oratorio, and symphony. However, his innovations were based on his own French musical traditions. Yet, Berlioz also confessed that his ideals in creative work were Gluck, Beethoven, Shakespeare, and Goethe. The innovative composer’s works are characterized by monumentality coming from the vocal and orchestra style formed during the French Revolution, picturesque quality, and theatricality. Their specific melodies combine droll and piquant folk tunes with the oratorio’s intonations. Hector Berlioz introduced many novelties into vocal studies, harmony, and rhythm, making a number of findings in orchestration. The composer used rare instruments, original registers, and unusual tempo combinations.
Berlioz was a brilliant conductor and demonstrated vivid artistry. Along with Wagner, he laid the basics of the contemporary conducting school. His treatise, The Orchestra Conductor, was translated into many languages and for a long period was used as a textbook. The maestro also wrote articles dealing with musical and aesthetic problems.
The Kyiv festival was opened with one of the composer’s most popular pieces, The Fantastic Symphony, performed by the Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Mykola Diadiura. The National Music Academy of Ukraine hosted the Berlioz and Global Culture colloquium. At the concerts Berlioz’s romances were performed. French soloists Silvie Sullie (mezzo-soprano), Gui Flechter (tenor), and Jean-Philippe Curtis (bass) took part in the festival, which finished with Berlioz’s symphony Harold in Italy. The Dumka Choir, Ukrainian Radio and Television Choir, and Shchedryk Choir Ensemble took part in the closing concert.
