Berlioz - Hector Berlioz

French composer. Born in the small village of Côte Saint-André in southern France, he taught himself to play instruments and compose as a boy. In 1821, he went to Paris to study medicine, but he soon became fascinated with music, and abandoned medicine to study composition under Le Sueur, a professor at the Paris Conservatory. Despite his father's opposition, he gave recitals of his own compositions. In 1826, he entered the Paris Conservatory, and the following year, he was impressed by a performance of Shakespeare's work in Paris, and fell in love with the leading actress, Harriet Smithson (1800-1854). He was also inspired by a performance of Beethoven's symphonies conducted by Abneg at the Paris Conservatory that began in 1828. He continued to study symphonies and began composing his own symphonies, premiering his Symphonie Fantastique in 1830. This work was a groundbreaking work in the creation of program music, and the program is said to reflect his experience of a love affair that ended without Smithson's attention. Another new technique was adopted: using a fixed musical idea representing a lover in various variations.

In 1830, he received the Prix de Rome, a gateway for up-and-coming composers, and studied in Rome, returning to Japan in 1832. The following year, after a short relationship, he married Smithson, and to support his family, he began writing music criticism and composing program music, producing works such as "Harold in Italy" (1834), a symphony with viola solo based on a poem by Byron, and "Romeo and Juliet" (1839), as well as the large-scale "Requiem" (1837). However, the failure of his opera "Benvenuto Cellini" (1838) prevented him from being active in the opera world for a long time.

After 1842, he made many concert tours in Belgium, Russia, Germany, England, and other countries, conducting his own compositions with great success, and also became acquainted with Mendelssohn, Schumann, Liszt, Wagner, and others. At the same time, he composed and premiered works such as the overture "Roman Carnival" (1843) and the oratorio "The Damnation of Faust" (1846), which were well received.

In 1850, he founded the Society Philharmonic as a base for his conducting activities in Paris, but it was dissolved a year later due to a lack of members. Between 1854 and 1858, he composed the oratorio "The Infancy of Christ," "Te Deum," and the opera "Les Trojans," which marked the last period of Berlioz's major compositions. In 1856, he was elected a member of the French Academie, but in his private life, he was predeceased by the singer Marie Recio, whom he remarried after Smithson's death, in 1862. He was warmly welcomed on a concert tour of Russia from 1867 to 1868, but died alone in Paris in 1869.

Berlioz tried to connect music and literature, and established the foundation of a new genre called program music. This led to the development of Romantic music. His influence in this respect can be seen in Liszt, Wagner, and the national school of Eastern Europe. He also succeeded in drawing out unprecedented colorful and effective sounds from the orchestra by devising ingenious ways to play each instrument, combine instruments, and arrange them. He opened up new possibilities for orchestral expression by further dividing the string sections, drastically expanding the percussion and wind instruments, and emphasizing the individuality of each instrument's tone. He also included instruments such as the English horn and harp in the regular arrangement of the orchestra, which had previously only been used in special cases. His achievements in this field were summarized in his book, Modern Instrumentation and Orchestration (1844), which was translated into many languages ​​and widely used.

His literary activities cover a wide range, including essays, travelogues, and autobiographies, but he is best known for his Memoirs, which are highly subjective and reflect his unique perspective.

[Yoshio Miyama]

"Memoirs of Berlioz" translated by Kojiro Tanji (1981, Hakusuisha)" ▽ "Music and Musicians" by R. Schumann, translated by Hidekazu Yoshida (Iwanami Bunko)" ▽ "Berlioz" by S. Domarque, translated by Masakazu Shimizu and Hirokazu Nakahori (1972, Ongaku No Tomosha)" ▽ "Berlioz" by Keiichi Kuno (1967, Ongaku No Tomosha)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

フランスの作曲家。南フランスの小村コート・サンタンドレに生まれ、少年時代独学で楽器演奏、作曲を試みる。1821年、医学を学ぶためにパリに出るが、たちまち音楽に魅了され、医学を捨ててパリ音楽院教授ル・シュールに作曲を師事、父の反対にあいながらも自作の発表会などを行う。26年パリ音楽院に入学、翌27年、パリでシェークスピアの作品上演に接し感銘を受け、主演女優スミスソンHarriet Smithson（1800―54）に心ひかれる。また28年から始まったパリ音楽院におけるアブネク指揮のベートーベンの交響曲演奏に衝撃を受け、交響曲の研究を進めるとともに、自らも交響曲作曲に着手、30年に『幻想交響曲』を初演した。この作品は、標題音楽の成立のうえで画期的なもので、標題プログラムには、スミスソンに顧みられることなく終わった恋の体験が反映しているとされる。また、恋人を表す「固定楽想」を、さまざまに変化させながら使うという新手法が採用された。

　1830年、新進作曲家の登竜門ローマ大賞を受けてローマに留学、32年帰国。翌33年、短い交際ののちスミスソンと結婚、家計を支えるために音楽評論の執筆を開始するとともに、標題音楽の作曲を進め、バイロンの詩によるビオラ独奏付き交響曲『イタリアのハロルド』（1834）、劇的交響曲『ロメオとジュリエット』（1839）などを発表、また大規模な『レクイエム』（1837）も作曲した。しかし38年に発表したオペラ『ベンベヌート・チェッリーニ』の失敗により、以後長い間オペラ界で活躍することができなくなった。

　1842年以後しばしばベルギー、ロシア、ドイツ、イギリスなどへ演奏旅行、自作を指揮し成功を収めるとともに、メンデルスゾーン、シューマン、リスト、ワーグナーなどと交遊した。その一方、序曲『ローマの謝肉祭』（1843）、オラトリオ『ファウストの劫罰(ごうばつ)』（1846）などを作曲・初演し、好評を博した。

　パリでの指揮活動の基盤として、1850年にフィルハーモニー協会を設立するが、会員が集まらず1年後に解散。54～58年にかけてオラトリオ『キリストの幼時』や、『テ・デウム』、オペラ『トロイの人々』を作曲、これはベルリオーズの大作創作の最後の時期となった。56年フランスのアカデミー会員に選ばれたが、私生活ではスミスソンの死後再婚した歌手マリー・レシオにも62年に先だたれる。67～68年ロシア演奏旅行で大歓迎を受けたが、69年孤独のうちにパリで死去した。

　ベルリオーズは音楽と文学を結び付けることに努め、標題音楽という新ジャンルの基礎を築いた。それによってロマン主義音楽の発展を導いた。この面での彼の影響は、リストやワーグナー、東欧などの国民楽派にみられる。また、オーケストラの各楽器の奏法、楽器の組み合わせ方、編成にくふうを凝らし、従来にない色彩的で効果的な音をオーケストラから導き出すのに成功した。弦楽器の各パートをさらに分割して用いたり、打楽器群、管楽器群の思いきった拡大、各楽器の音色の個性の強調などにより、新しいオーケストラ表現の可能性を切り開いた。また、それまでは特殊な場合にしか用いられなかったイングリッシュ・ホルン、ハープなどの楽器を管弦楽の通常の編成に含めた。この分野における成果は、彼の著書『近代の楽器法と管弦楽法』（1844）に集約され、これは各国語に翻訳されて広く用いられた。

　彼の文筆活動は、評論、旅行記、自伝など多方面にわたるが、独自の視点で主観性を強く映した『回想録』が有名。

［美山良夫］

『丹治恆次郎訳『ベルリオーズ回想録』全二冊（1981・白水社）』▽『R・シューマン著、吉田秀和訳『音楽と音楽家』（岩波文庫）』▽『S・ドマルケ著、清水正和・中堀浩和訳『ベルリオーズ』（1972・音楽之友社）』▽『久納慶一著『ベルリオーズ』（1967・音楽之友社）』

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