The Hallé – Symphonie Fantastique at The Bridgewater Hall

The French conductor Maxime Pascal greatly impressed when, standing in at short notice, he made his Hallé début conducting Berlioz at the 2019 Proms. He now makes his first appearance in Manchester, as does the young Russian violinist Alena Baeva, whose playing has been described by The Strad as ‘heroic and full of personality’. She plays Beethoven’s noble and spacious Violin Concerto. Appropriately, Pascal conducts more Berlioz, his extraordinary, Symphonie fantastique, conceived in the wake of his ardent, initially unrequited, love for the actress Harriet Smithson. Described as ‘Episodes in the life of an Artist’ (aka Berlioz himself) each movement portrays his strange opium-induced dreams such as the famous ‘March to the Scaffold’. 192 years since its premiere, the sheer originality of this great masterwork never fails to astonish.

Beethoven – Violin Concerto
Berlioz – Symphonie fantastique

Conductor:
Maxime Pascal

Featuring:
Alena Baeva, violin

Tuning Up - 6.30pm Maxime Pascal and Alena Baeva in conversation with Hallé Chief Executive, David Butcher. - Free to concert ticket holders