Le carnaval romain H 95
Symphonie fantastique H 48

The Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and its Music Director Rafael Payare explore Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique and Le carnaval romain - two works that reveal the composer’s flair for drama, colour, and psychological intensity. In Symphonie fantastique, Berlioz charts the delirious inner world of an artist undone by passion, hallucination, and obsession. From dreamy reveries to a diabolical witches’ sabbath, the symphony is a milestone of musical storytelling. Paired with the exhilarating Le carnaval romain, this album captures Berlioz at his most imaginative and uncompromising. In a special touch, the performance of Symphonie fantastique features OSM's two newly acquired carillon bells - G and C - that expand the orchestra’s sonic palette and bring striking brilliance to Berlioz’s original vision. After their acclaimed PENTATONE recordings of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony (2023), Rückert-Lieder and Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben (2024), and Schoenberg’s Pelleas und Melisande & Verklärte Nacht (2024), Payare and the orchestra continue their compelling exploration of Romantic repertoire with this vivid Berlioz program.

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This album was recorded at la Maison symphonique de Montréal, Canada, between 19-20 December 2024