1803–1869
Louis-Hector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer, conductor, and music critic, one of the dominant figures of nineteenth-century music. Born on 11 December 1803 in La Côte-Saint-André, Isère, he studied medicine briefly before abandoning it for the Paris Conservatoire.
His Symphonie fantastique (1830) inaugurated the programmatic symphony and secured his reputation. He became music critic for the Journal des Débats around 1835, a post he held for nearly thirty years; his feuilletons are models of French critical prose and invaluable documents of Parisian musical life.
During the Monte Cristo serialization (1844–46) Berlioz was reviewing opera, concerts, and musical events for the Débats weekly, often appearing on the same page as Dumas's feuilleton.
- Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14 (1830)
- Harold en Italie, Op. 16 (1834)
- Roméo et Juliette, Op. 17 (1839)
- Les Troyens (1856–58, premiered 1863)
- Mémoires (published posthumously, 1870)
Débats colleagues and friends
Berlioz and Janin were both writing feuilletons for the Débats in the same decades (Berlioz from 1834, Janin from 1830).
Director and music critic
Bertin directed the paper 1841-1854, the period during which Berlioz was its regular music critic (1834-1863).
Simultaneous Débats contributors
Both served the Débats as critics — Berlioz for music, Delécluze for visual art.
First wife, 1833–1854
Married 3 October 1833 at the British Embassy, Paris; the couple separated in 1843 but remained married until her death in 1854.