Entry from Journal
April 8, 1940
In the music of Berlioz you will find something petulant, like a man with a toothache. I write this because I am thinking of the “Roman Carnival” overture which I played this afternoon. There is something historical about this piece, some strange and new outburst — the “peeve” has come into art, the sense of personal rejection, the man unwanted and unheeded. What a strange sad man Berlioz must have been. Aaron Copland says the music of Berlioz is strange too, in the sense that one never knows where it is going or what the artist’s intention is (if I am reporting correctly) but I don’t understand what Aaron means: the music is followable enough to me. One might almost say that the nerves and hysteria of the modern man have come into the art with Berlioz, too.
I know absolutely nothing about Berlioz. Does anyone have a comment on that one?
Not I. The excerpts here are perfectly coherent, though, and Amazon reviewers give it five stars!
I suggest any competent recording of the Symphonie Fantastique. Once you’ve heard that, and heard the story behind its composition, you’ll know exactly what he means.