Berlioz, (Louis) Hector 1803-1869. French
romantic composer and the founder of modern
orchestration. Much of his music was inspired
by drama and literature and has a theatrical
quality. He wrote symphonic works, such as
Symphonie fantastique and Romeo et Juliette;
dramatic cantatas including La Damnation de
Faust and L'Enfance du Christ; sacred music;
and three operas, Beatrice et Benedict,
Benvenuto Cellini, and Les Troyens. Berlioz
studied music at the Paris Conservatoire. He
won the Prix de Rome 1830, and spent two
years in Italy. In 1833 he married Harriet
Smithson, an Irish actress playing
Shakespearean parts in Paris, but they
separated in 1842. After some years of
poverty and public neglect, he went to
Germany in 1842 and conducted his own works.
He subsequently visited Russia and England.
In 1854 he married Marie Recio, a singer.