[batreleaser]

for me, Hector Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique. This song was pretty much the first classical thing I heard that blew my mind on first listen. Usually classical takes me a few listens before i "get it". But shit, this shit is/was groundbreaking. A gigantic orchestra; noisy woodwinds, grumbling staccato strings, the pianissimo horn solo, the "idee fixe" on clarinet, and those groundbreaking percussion effects provided by Berlioz himself. The melody is real fucked up too, it appears numerous times but each time a little different, highlighting the charachters changed emotions concerning his loved one. The sounds range from very pretty and melodic, to spastic and noisy, often within a ten second span. Nutso. And the story line represented in the five movements is twisted even by today's standards. Love, obsession, rejection, hatred, stalking, drugs, suicide, murder, execution, hell, witchcraft, are all themes that pop up within the composition. I find Berlioz to be fascinating; he wasnt even supposed to be a musician, he was studying to be a doctor, but then decided out of nowhere that he would be a great composer, and he actually fucking did it! He was also different from other composers in that he was a guitarist, clarinet player, and a percussionist, as most composers were pianists. I feel like his music must have been very shocking and probably very avant garde for the time he was playing it. And this composition would definitley be the best example of that. I want to listen to this on ketamine.

So, what about you guys?