Berlioz in Dublin

Sir Simon Rattle conducts a double bill of symphonies by Berlioz on tour in Dublin.

Berlioz’s powerful, poetic music sets visions whirling of wandering poets, enchanting women, shepherds, an execution procession and witches.

Both Symphonie fantastique (1830) and Harold in Italy (1842) trace a musical journey from reverie to wild finale.The initial suggestion to write a work for solo viola came from the great violinist Paganini. Inspired by Byron’s 1812 poem Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, Berlioz created “a series of orchestral scenes” in which the solo viola plays a “melancholic dreamer”.

Symphonie fantastique was Berlioz’s first real success making him, not unlike Byron, an overnight sensation. Whilst his own unrequited love for an Irish actress made for a gratifyingly debauched programme, the piece also owes its enduring reputation to Berlioz’s radical handling of musical ideas and instrumental forces.

Violinist Julia Kuhn and bass player Cecelia Bryggemyer playing in the playground at Acland burghley School

Japanese conductor Masaaki Suzuki conducts the OAE with singer Florian Stortz

OAE musicians run a workshop in a school classroom

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Dublin, National Concert Hall

Thursday 11 June 2026, 20:00

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Sir Simon Rattle conducts a double bill of symphonies by Berlioz on tour in Dublin.

Did you know you can support the OAE?

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