Berlioz Vol. I : The Making of an Artist 1803-1832

London: Andre Deutsch, 1989. Second Impression. Hardcover. As New/as new. As new in dust jacket. Hardcover. 586 pp. with index, bibliography. Illustrations. Second impression. The first volume of Cairns' monumental biography of French master composer and author Louis-Hector Berlioz. This opening volume covers the period from his birth in 1803 to 1832. He originally went at age 18 to Paris to study medicine but found he had neither interest nor aptitude in that field. It was here that he was exposed to cultural influences such as the Paris Opera, Paris Conseratoire, and the composer Christoph Gluck, whom he admired equally with Beethoven. He began composing circa 1825, entered the Conservatoire in 1826 and in 1827 saw English Shakespearian actrees Harriet Smithson on nthe stage as as Juliet and became obsessed with her (the two would marrty in 1833). In 1830, he composed his famed Symphonie Fantastique. He traveled to Italy in 1831 and continues to produced his most famous and influential works.