Symphonie Fantastique is a programmatic symphony written by Hector Berlioz in 1830. Berlioz wrote semi-autobiographical programme notes for the piece that allude to the romantic sufferings of a gifted artist who has poisoned himself with opium because of his unrequited love for a beautiful and fascinating woman (in real life, the Shakespearean actress Harriet Smithson, who in 1833 became the composer's wife.) The composer, who revered Beethoven, followed the latter's unusual addition in the Pastoral Symphony of a fifth movement to the normal four of a classical symphony. The artist's reveries take him to a ball and to a pastoral scene in a field, which is interrupted by a hallucinatory march to the scaffold, leading to a grotesque satanic dance (Witches' Sabbath.) Within each episode, the artist's passion is represented by a recurring theme called the idée fixe. The symphony has long been a favourite with audiences and conductors. In 1831 Berlioz wrote a sequel, Lelio, for actor, soloists, chorus, piano and orchestra. The Bamberger Symphoniker is a renowned German top-class orchestra that has been residing in Bamberg since its foundation in 1946 and travels the world as a touring orchestra. Here it is directed by Jonel Perlea, conductor. This record and its sleeve are in Very Good Plus condition.

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