Hector Berlioz

Born in 1803 in La Côte-Saint-André, France, he was expected to study medicine but was drawn instead to music in Paris. He became one of the great original voices of the Romantic era, known for huge musical imagination, daring orchestral color, and works that often feel almost cinematic in their drama.

His best-known piece, Symphonie fantastique, helped define program music by telling a story through the orchestra. He also wrote major works including Harold in Italy, Roméo et Juliette, La Damnation de Faust, and Les Troyens, while his Treatise on Instrumentation influenced generations of composers and conductors.

Although he was not always fully appreciated in France during his lifetime, his reputation grew through performances, criticism, and writing, including his celebrated memoirs. He died in 1869, and today he is widely remembered as a composer who expanded the emotional range and sound world of 19th-century music.