Böcker av Hector Berlioz

During the performances of fashionable operas, the musicians tell tales, read stories and exchange gossip to relieve the tedium of the bad music they are paid to perform. We are privy to 25 entertaining evenings with a fascinating group of distracted performers.

This is a translation of the second (1858) edition of Berlioz's treatise by Mary Cowden Clarke, daughter of music publisher Vincent Novello. The work was quick to establish itself as a standard text, and reflects Berlioz's keen understanding of instrumentation and the orchestra as both composer and conductor.