Louis Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) was a French composer, conductor, and music critic. His works contributed to the burgeoning romanticism and influenced orchestral techniques for more than a century.

Hector Berlioz is the epitome of the romantic artist, together with the writer Victor Hugo and the painter Eugène Delacroix. Berlioz helped to break old molds and create new forms full of strong contrasts of passion and emotion. He ranks indubitably as one of the most original creative musicians of all time.

Berlioz was born at La-Côte-Saint-André (Isère) on Dec. 9, 1803, the son of a doctor. His father, a cultured man, was his first teacher. Berlioz formed his lifelong attachment to the poetry of Virgil at this time. From the age of 12 he took music lessons; he studied flute and then guitar, and these were the only instruments he ever played. After reading some...