Keeping Score | Hector Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique (FULL DOCUMENTARY AND CONCERT)

[@dfdhgtrss212]

For all those people whining about ads or the documentary being a bit cheesy, its funded by a symphony orchestra not fox studios. And of course they have ads, this a free video. These documentaries are treasures and god bless the SFS and MTT for uploading these. (edit: apparently youtube placed ads not SFS).

[@knd1940]

I believe that the ads are placed by KZbin, not by the performers.

[@dfdhgtrss212]

@@knd1940 ah i see

[@spmathetron]

People thinking this documentary is cheesy don't know how silly the documentaries we watched for school in the 90s were. Or maybe I'm just old. This feels very engaging and fun to me.

[@JorgeRzezak]

Captivating documentary and masterful performance. Thank you Michael Tilson Thomas and thank you Hector Berlios for your legacy.

[@hashatz]

Keeping Score is a wonderful series, full of important and, most of all, interesting and essential information about each composer. MTT's conducting is exquisite but, in order to fully appreciate its gripping appeal, one must see him in action. Clear and crisp, every gesture and turn of the baton has meaning and purpose. He is a master of communication and his players respond accordingly. Just watch their facial expressions and the way they bend to the task of interpreting the music, each as his individual instrument requires and is able to sound. As to the explanations that accompany the life of the composer and his art, MTT is always eloquent as his diction is impeccable. His manner is imperial yet ALWAYS in touch with his audience; he is one of the people, not above. This is an experience that no music lover can afford to deprive himself of.

[@jmslick07]

Just wanted to thank the SFO and MTT for making these publicly available, especially now during the pandemic. I had purchased these a few years ago on a streaming service (rhymes with “Blamazon”) and was planning to play parts of them with my high school band kids to discuss ideas of interpreting composers’ intent. Imagine my panic when all my kids logged on to Zoom today and I found out that other streaming service (again, not calling them out, but they do share their name with a river in South America) blacks out video when you try to share your screen. These KZbin videos saved my bacon today!

[@dan-us6nk]

That's the most American thing I've read in my English-speaking period in life thus far.

[@elysebuehrer5981]

I absolutely love Berlioz. He is one of several people down through history that feels strangely familiar to me, as if we’d met. His memoirs reveal such a likable personality. I recommend them to anyone who wants to get to know the man, the music, and the Romantic Period better. This documentary was a revelation in several ways… my first time seeing his childhood home, and hearing a performance of that melancholy little song he composed in his youth. You’re right, people tend to focus on the bombastic moments and forget the poignant serenity that exists in spades in his music. Thanks for making this available to the public.

[@spmathetron]

His memoirs are incredible. I have cried and laughed out loud several times throughout, and I absolutely know what you mean about that sense of familiarity.

[@elysebuehrer5981]

@@spmathetron Gaaahhh, a kindred spirit! I always have to stifle laughs when I’m reading the memoirs in public. And I’ve definitely cried too. His thoughts are so touching! “He repeats himself, the reader will say. This is only too true. Always memories, always regrets, always a soul clinging to the past, always a pitiful relentlessness in holding onto the fleeting present, always a useless struggle against time, always the madness of wanting to achieve the impossible, always this furious need of immense affections! How not to repeat myself? The sea repeats itself; all its waves are alike.”

[@oldcremona]

Me too!!! I have been intrigued and fascinated and delighted by Berlioz since I first discovered him as a teen.

[@simonkawasaki4229]

This movie not only analyzes the piece, but the man Berlioz. Wonderful!

[@suzannewolfemartin9559]

I am puzzled why no credit has been given to M. Thomas for his masterful achievement of blending a documentary and concert which Kept me gripped throughout and which added an enriching dimension to the majestic music. And it was thoroughly entertaining to Me as a lockdown due to the virus. Thank you! Suzanne Wolfe Martin

[@wolfgangresch1650]

Totally agree completely!!!

[@flaviafontana6970]

EU tbm ❣️❣️❣️ 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾💋

[@rodneyboehner3007]

It's because this performance is a bit lackluster. It doesn't hold a candle to Thomas Beecham, Pierre Monteaux, or Charles Munch.

[@SRBlair]

Nice idea, but the credit of blending the documentary and live concert goes mostly to the production crew: Directors, Cameramen, Sound mixers and recordists, and the Editor who put it all together.

[@flaviafontana6970]

WOWWWWWWWWWWW ❣️❣️❣️ GREAT JOB, GRATITUDE FOR SHARING 🏆💚👑🖤💋🧠👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾

[@InCAdocumentaries]

We're so proud to have worked with MTT and the San Francisco Symphony to create this series, between 2002 and 2011. I hope it's available to everyone, worldwide, for as long as possible. David Kennard, InCA Productions, San Francisco.

[@jbarvideo12]

I have been a professional videographer for 44 years and continue to sing in choirs for 72 years. The historical documentary and inspired narration by MTT is a masterpiece! The video and audio quality of the San Francisco Symphony is not exceeded on KZbin by anybody. Such a thrill to have been introduced to the symphony's leading musicians in MTT's home where they reviewed and practiced together.

[@MaHa-um5sv]

Bravo to the amazing editing and camera work of the concert! It's unreal and spectacular!! To see the underside of the violinists' bows, and all the other amazing views! MTT is of course, an unparalleled genius!

[@jandrewscali]

Just seeing it now in 2024 thanks to KZbin. Thank you for this amazing series! I have been thrilled and inspired by all of the episodes and will watch them again!

[@d.mavridopoulos66]

We watching it for free, at our own leisure, are immensely grateful to you.

[@heatherlewis4477]

I'm enjoying watching these videos here in Canada! I learned more about some of the most beautiful pieces of classical music, thanks to MTT and the San Francisco Symphony orchestra. 😁👍🏻

[@knd1940]

55:45. 1st movement: Rêveries - Passions. Largo - Allegro agitato e appassionato assai - Religiosamente 1:09:40. 2nd movement: Un bal (A Ball) . Valse. Allegro non troppo 1:16:35. 3rd movement: Scène aux champs. Adagio 1:34:20. 4th movement: Marche au supplice. Allegretto non troppo 1:39:05. 5th movement: Songe d’une nuit de sabbat. Larghetto - Allegro

[@dfdhgtrss212]

Thanks!

[@TimpTim]

I was influenced by Bernstein's Young People's Concerts on black and white tv in back in the 1950's. Later in the 70's used Michael's educational film strips as I taught Jr. High music. SO glad to see he is doing this!!!

[@Richard-b5r9v]

When living in Palo Alto California, I was lucky enough to attend the concerts given by the San Francisco Symphony with their fabulous conductor MTT.

[@renevanderwoude-h6r]

Wat een treffende analyse over Berlioz, zijn levensloop, zijn geëalteerde gevoelens, zijn romantische obsessies, zijn prachtige muziek. Een geweldig inlevingsvermogen van deze dirigent. Een uitzonderlijke geweldige documentaire.

[@jandrewscali]

Left breathless! Can only imagine what it was like to be in the audience! Thank you, San Francisco Symphony! You are all fabulous. And MTT! Bravo, Maestro! No one like you on the classical stage!

[@dfdhgtrss212]

Incredible cinematography for the concert half.

[@jacquelineyaffe6141]

no words can convey my gratitude. wonderful.awsome,brilliant, merci beacoup

[@jrcanon1]

Bravo!! Que delicia de documental y concierto! Muy poco sabia de Berlioz y esta hermosa, romántica y pasional sinfonía ! En verdad un reflejo de su vida. Muy seguramente este gran artista sufrió una pasión incontrolable por esa cantante británica creando una tormenta emocional claramente reflejada en esta hermosa composición. El director, excelente en todo sentido! Me encantó su pedagogía y emotiva dirección! Para repetir varias veces! 👏👏👏👏

[@wolfgangresch1650]

Thank you Maestro and absolutely incredible orchestra-the educational value of these documentaries is priceless! Brilliant performance-moved to tears at end of the third movement when the sheperd calls and receives no answer

[@stephanielachtman2975]

It's so beautiful and Michael knows how to weave it into a fantastic story which enriches the entire documentary...lovely

[@jihong2174]

Best program in KZbin, thanks for sharing.

[@neeldesai680]

WORST****

[@LaurentPingaultLyon]

In 1972 I was 13 yo and in 💘 for the first time. My music teacher at school presented this symphony, and played it from a completely worn vinyle record. The beginning of 4th movement in particular remained etched in my memory, as a guillotine evocation. I'm so glad I can receive all this detailed informations about Berlioz and his masterpiece by the great maestro who conducts in such an expressive way with all the body. My parents live in the same place as Estelle, the first crush of Berlioz. The documentary shows the fantastic view on the beautiful mountains "chaîne de Belledonne" .

[@elysebuehrer5981]

Your parents are fortunate! That’s delightful. I would love to make a trip to see all the important places in the life of Berlioz.

[@svrfan]

What a fantastic production! Thanks so much!

[@markemanuele1929]

Maestro, Thank You so much for presenting this documentary. I am planning a recording of this work, and I see the parallel to my own life. I now feel much more confident that I will be able to put the emotion into the music that will be necessary to bring the recording to life instead of just being a bunch of notes being played.

[@서기열-u2v]

Thank for your excellent program and expect this series to be continued in the future

[@jamsheddelvadavala1972]

A splendid documentary indeed. Unraveling so many facts & facets of the master that's Hector Berlioz! Beautifully presented! Kudos to Tilson Thomas and team! Thanks for the post. Jamshed K Delvadavala. Mumbai

[@fernandojaramillo8083]

Simply great!

[@ishtar2848]

Excellent lesson on Berlioz symphony fantastique 👍👍👍Merci beaucoup 🙏

[@AnthonyOTooleMusic]

These are all so well-made and offer an amazing amount of insight into the work and it's composer. Thank you for uploading these and making them available!

[@tjpat3768]

u were not well made

[@AnthonyOTooleMusic]

@@tjpat3768 thanks!

[@Tovify]

Fantastic movie ! :-) Thank you !

[@decibellic]

This is an amazing series. Hopefully there will be a Bruckner too.

[@erick-gd7wo]

Yes, probably Symphonie nr. 8

[@michaweinst3774]

They didn't do Bruckner

[@tjpat3768]

This series is actually bad

[@Cubestreak]

"Alright, you can study music for a time, but you'd better be excellent" And be excellent he did

[@knd1940]

An amazing performance. When Tilson Thomas unleashes the demons of the fifth movement's Witches' Sabbath other performances seem tame by comparison.

[@youtuber3328]

to be COMPLETELY honest i did do and/or PROBABLY will really LOVE hector berlioz

[@TristanMA]

Berlioz's first musical take on the Faust Legend, an event in Halloween-related art music history. Liszt (Totentanz), Wagner (Flying Dutchman, and The Ring), Saint-Seans (Danse Mmcabre, & Organ Symphony), and Rachmainoff (Isle of the Dead, Vocalise, Rhapsody ona Theme of Paganini, and Symphonic Dances) were all influenced by this symphony.

[@jacobblodgett338]

The fugue is a method of composition by process, whereby an initial phrase is stated, followed by a succession of phrases that are layered within the musical tapestry as based on the initial phrase. The entire work's musical and conceptual cohesion is based primarily on the effectiveness on that initial phrase, meaning if you want the music to sound good, you best know what you're doing from the very beginning.

[@tjpat3768]

fugue it

[@jenkinsfamily2229]

What is the name of the song at 9:07?

[@enriquesanchez2001]

Sure the great documentary by MTT but - WOW what an INCISIVE and EXCITING ending he made of the finale! ♥♥♥

[@fabiovalenza9811]

KZbin insists on interrupting the viewing of masterpieces with totally annoyingly inappropriate and inappropriate advertisements. It would be appreciated, gentlemen of KZbin, if you would broadcast the commercial either before the video starts or at the end of it. That way you would ensure a truly polite and pleasant experience. Thank you.

[@GreenBoy9000]

KZbin ReVanced and uBlock Origin fix this problem for free.

[@crushedhearts]

6:58 these are the kind of toys he had as a kid? That explains his sanity level...

[@dudleyfisher9336]

Just to add Harriet Smithson died 1854 she had taken to the bottle and suffered from a paralysis. First of all she was buried at St. Vincent's Cemetery when Berloz found out St. Vincent's was going to be destroyed he had her body disinterred and moved to where he was later buried next to her with his second wife singer Marie Recio in the Montmartre Cemetery. Berloiz in his memoirs left a chilling account of this that would equal the last movement of the "Symphonie Fantastique," If you goggle Harriet visit images of her and behind one of the black and white pictures you will find this account it is quite chilling.

[@elysebuehrer5981]

I know exactly what you’re referring to. When I read it I thought, this could only happen to Berlioz.

[@dudleyfisher9336]

@@elysebuehrer5981 Hi, yes indeed poor "Berlioz" but he did in his music go against the grain a wee bit, the arguments with "Cherubini" at the conservatoire, I believe the "The Trojans," certainly in his lifetime was never performed in Paris, the requirements to perform his "Requiem Mass". But he certainly left us with a few musical punches that are still controversial today. Regards, Dudley Fisher.

[@jacquelineyaffe6141]

this was used to represent the evil husband, in the film ,,sleeping with the enemy,, most have seen it, but worth watching, just for the use of the music

[@OrchestrationOnline]

"He became an accomplished flutist, and picked up the guitar. Then he taught himself drums." Then he watched two absurd KZbin ads hawking a disinfectant and a vacuum cleaner. Seriously though, why is SFSO monetising these priceless videos with distracting, unnecessary ads?

[@dfdhgtrss212]

"priceless" i think you just awsnered your own question you blockhead

[@OrchestrationOnline]

@@dfdhgtrss212 Don't burn any bridges there. Though your spelling of the word "awsnered" is also priceless. 😄

[@irinad.2543]

I Am before I feel, before I think, before I see, before I hear, before I smell, before I taste…

[@pluralismajestatis9334]

Ironic that Maestro Tilson Thomas did a segment on Symphonie Fantastique - a symphony about an artist consuming psychedelics!

[@Thornspyre81]

Does Irae 1:42:17. Welcome everyone enjoy!

[@asym52]

I couldn't make it much past the three minute mark, where Maestro Thomas says "Long before its premiere, he began to circulate a so-called 'programme' (and yes, you can indeed hear the scare quotes in his voice), "to explain what the symphony was about," leaving out that its actual premiere was many months after it was first scheduled to be performed, and even worse perpetuating the surely by now completely exploded idea that the music is "about" the events outlined in the programme. (The practice of circulating programmes long before premieres was a practice of Herr Wagner's.) Such a great opportunity to truly teach, to truly expound the peculiar genius of Berlioz and the genuine contribution of his first symphony to musical thought. In his monumental biography of Berlioz, Jacques Barzun, after listing a few predecessors who had supplied programmes for their music, including Beethoven, Spohr, and Weber, has this to say about Berlioz' programme: "Since [he] never wrote another, he ranks among the first to break with this practice...." I suppose that further along in this show, M. Thomas may indeed reveal the musical secrets of this work, though I have my doubts. After all, nothing in this remark in the blurb above--"symphonic love letter, part psychological self-portrait, part fantasy about the life of an artist, and it expressed his passion for a beautiful woman" has anything to do with music. Aside from the one word "symphonic," that is.

[@alexandresobreiramartins9461]

Yeah, the whole video only follows the programme, talking about the music merely as an expression of that. Pretty bad.

[@dfdhgtrss212]

Snob

[@trucututrucutu6071]

At last, for the love of Berlioz!

[@tjpat3768]

for the love of god shut up

[@228bonis]

Berlioz

[@brandtbecker1810]

Unfortunately, like most romantic love, the having never seems to equal the wanting. Eventually Hector and Harriet separated though they never divorced.

[@maxfenwick5024]

“Flutist” - “flautist” this man is a conductor

[@dfdhgtrss212]

both are perfectly acceptable

[@w.urlitzer1869]

an ad every 4 minutes :-( :-( :-(

[@tjpat3768]

ikr such capitalism

[@JafuetTheSame]

Victor Hyougoh

[@samsun216]

Don't get me wrong, I value this series a lot. And I have absolutely nothing against sugar coating per se. However each time Michael Tilson Thomas' brand of dumbed down "down to earth"ness kicks in, it gives me the feeling of watching something with little more interest in historical accuracy than a blockbuster biopic.

[@dfdhgtrss212]

Its for people unsure if they like symphonic music

[@calciumchloride710]

Yes, watching him endlessly smirk and mug for the camera feels immediately disingenuous and patronizing. The spotlight is his, but at least he lets the music come along for the ride. I'm starting to imagine a deepfake of Lenny: every word the same, except he's got a cigarette in his mouth and a highball or five at the podium the whole time...

[@alexandresobreiramartins9461]

Still can't believe Stravinsky said Berlioz couldn't compose...

[@MusicEnthusiastIlias0520]

49:04

[@ishtar2848]

Every two minutes an interruption for commercial s!😖

[@kyleleggat175]

09:07 when I’m depressed

[@archangecamilien1879]

Haha...13:13...why do they have to show that woman?...Like she has anything to do with anything...it's sometimes amusing what they do in documentaries...at any rate, wanted to watch a documentary about Berlioz...

[@archangecamilien1879]

Haha...19:09...

[@archangecamilien1879]

Haha...quality (or lack thereof) is quality (or lack thereof), whatever the reason for it...when a film has bad special effects, you don't think it's ok because they had a low budget, haha...that said, I wasn't complaining, haha...I was just pointing out that documentaries like to do that...I was noticing a pattern documentaries have...it's always strange to me that, in art and other things, people seem to follow trends...all documentaries tend to do that, whether they have a low or big budget...I was just pointing that out with amusement, haha...but, again, if I had been complaining about quality, haha, the quality would be the quality...well, that is, my opinion of the quality, etc...I'm not claiming to have the objective view, haha...

[@archangecamilien1879]

You watch films from the old days, they have clear patterns...or, since this is about music, the music from the films from a given time period are similar...it's like everyone is copying everyone, haha...

[@maybelar]

6:00 27:00 40:00 54:28 55:40

[@tjpat3768]

r u illuminati

[@michaeltheophilus5260]

Berlioz is what happens when your real obsession is women and you take it out on a in the unwilling bystander of music

[@f.p.2010]

55:50 1:34:20 1:39:05

[@archangecamilien1879]

24:40 ok, haha, that might be the first time I've ever seen a man playing a harp...

[@archangecamilien1879]

25:32 Koechlin complains about harpists not trusting their instruments' loudness in his treatise on orchestration, haha...he says that when the orchestra is tuning up, you hear their potential, that one then notices that they can be heard even if playing softly, which they are (were, in his time, I guess) afraid to do when actually performing...

[@archangecamilien1879]

29:01 geez, haha...I didn't think of composing being done as a test like that...

[@archangecamilien1879]

31:54 I wonder why the real-life facts about intimacy made it difficult for him to compose a piece of music, haha...I would have expected that wouldn't make writing notes down and orchestrating any more difficult than a piece about, I don't know, firewood, haha...

[@archangecamilien1879]

I've always wondered why someone, in some documentary, claimed Berlioz was a sociopath or something, haha...40:00, haha, imagining he had murdered his beloved...

[@GregoryPLoomis]

Can we have Disney produce this next time? so we can have a black Berlioz? It isn’t historically correct at the moment and would be less racists next time 😷 🏳️‍⚧️ 🏳️‍🌈

[@tomsolon9766]

MTT's conducting style is so wooden

[@FreakieFan]

True, but I'm sure he's a master in rehearsals because the results speak for themselves.

[@stanochocki8984]

Mawkish ....Meh.......LoL

[@beautifulw999]

MTT is a great communicator. He should quit conducting (as it has never, ever agreed with him; his conducting is absolutely atrocious, bless him).