The Music of Hector Berlioz – Lecture Series

EVENT DESCRIPTION

As 2023 marks the 220th anniversary of the birth of world-renowned French composer Hector Berlioz, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department will launch “The Music of Hector Berlioz” lecture series from December to January next year. Hosted by local music critic Ernest Wan, the lecture series will introduce Berlioz’s works in different genres, including symphonies, mélodie, choruses, operas and religious music, allowing audiences to experience his unique music style and its conflation of genres.

Details of the six lectures are as follows:

Topic: Berlioz: “Episode in the Life of an Artist”
Date: December 13 (Wednesday)
Content: To introduce the wildly popular “Symphonie fantastique” and the little-known “sequel” from this work to understand the life stories of Berlioz and the characteristics of his music.

Topic: Berlioz’s Other Symphonies
Date: December 27 (Wednesday)
Content: To introduce Berlioz’s symphonies concertante, choral and ceremonial and interpret the origins that inspire his creativity.

Topic: Berlioz’s Songs
Date: January 3, 2024 (Wednesday)
Content: To study how Berlioz elevated French songs from the traditional “romance” to the refined “mélodie”.

Topic: Berlioz’s Secular Choral Music
Date: January 10, 2024 (Wednesday)
Content: To introduce Berlioz’s choral works including songs, cantatas and the “dramatic legend” inspired by Goethe.

Topic: Berlioz’s Operas
Date: January 24, 2024 (Wednesday)
Content: To discuss Berlioz’s opera works and his theatrical inspiration from Shakespeare, Vergil and “certain episodes in the life” of another artist.

Topic: Berlioz’s Religious Music
Date: January 31, 2024 (Wednesday)
Content: To share Berlioz’s religious music works including three Latin works and a “sacred trilogy”.

Wan, the host of the lectures, focused his studies on music theory and analysis at the City University of New York and the University of British Columbia. He is currently a culture and arts writer, translator and editor who specialises in music criticism. His previous projects include writings for performing arts and cultural organisations, programme annotations for concerts, pre-concert talk deliveries, as well as productions and presentations of radio programmes on arts.

All the lectures will be conducted in Cantonese and will start at 7.30pm at the Lecture Hall of the Hong Kong Space Museum.