A true manifesto of modernity, the Symphonie Fantastique had the effect of a bomb being dropped when it premiered in Paris in 1830. Franz Liszt, then amongst the audience of musicians, went on to spread the work throughout Europe. Meanwhile, Schumann wrote a rave review of it ten years before composing his famous Concerto in A minor for his wife Clara, who premiered it under the direction of Felix Mendelssohn. The history of music is thus woven of friendly ties such as the one between the OSR and the Ticino pianist Francesco Piemontesi, for whom this marks the first concert of his residency.

Discover an excerpt of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande playing Hector Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique conducted by Neeme Jaärvi on May 14, 2013 at Victoria Hall and recorded by Espace 2.