no. 9 (1824), in which he set Schiller’s “Ode to Joy” in the final movement. At Beethoven’s death in 1827, Franz Grillparzer best described him during his funeral address when he said: “despite all these absurdities, there was something so touching and ennobling about him that one could not help admiring him and feeling drawn to him.” *Berlioz Louis Hector Berlioz was born on December 11, 1803, in La Cote-Saint-Andre, a very small town in the east of France, fairly close to Grenoble, and a little further from Lyon. His father was a very respected doctor, an openly declared atheist and also a music lover. His mother was a Catholic. He was brought up under strict Catholicism as a boy, but soon left the Church and claimed agnosticism for the rest of his life. He started musical education when he was 13. He took flute (flageolet), vocal and guitar lessons. He did not study the piano as a child. In fact, his first compositions were for piano, flute and guitar. For his first 20 years or so, his father was the main influence in his life. In 1821, his father enrolled him in a medical school in Paris. After about a year of study there, he became very excited with the study of music. He attended operas in Paris, which fueled his love for music, and he soon abandoned medical school and enrolled in the Conservatoire under Jean- Francois le Suer. He wrote his Missa Solemnis, but at the time, he did not have enough money for it to be performed, so it was performed a year later. His father agreed to keep his allowance unless he failed in music, at which time he would need to choose another field. But a year later, he cut it off anyway. His mother cursed him for choosing the evil life of an artist. In 1827, Berlioz became a chorus singer at a vaudeville theater, as he was a very good sight singer. He did not publicize this, as it was mostly to make ends meet. He saw a production of Romeo and Juliet in September ...
