“Wine, blood, joy and rage mingle in mutual intoxication and make music together” was Berlioz’s description of the finale of “Harold in Italy.” He wrote the piece on commission from the virtuoso Niccolò Paganini. Upon seeing Berlioz’s first movement, however, Paganini found the piece to be insufficiently flashy for his own performance, and he never played it, though he confessed to admiring it. Berlioz would surely have rejoiced in this impassioned performance from violist Lawrence Power, conductor Andrew Manze and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra.
Berlioz: Harold in Italy
