Harold en Italie, Rob Roy, Reverie et Caproce : A.Davis / Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Ehnes(Va, Vn)(Hybrid)

The virtuosic, 9-time Juno-winning Canadian James Ehnes is centre stage in this new recording of orchestral works by Hector Berlioz with the Melbourne Symphony conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. This recording mirrors an extraordinarily rare concert held in November 2014 with the same forces, in which James Ehnes played two Stradivarius, respectively a viola in the solo part of Harold en Italie - 'symphony with a principal viola part' in Berlioz's words - and a violin for the solo in Rverie et Caprice, both of which feature here. Berlioz was never ashamed to recycle his music from one work to another, especially when the earlier work had been rejected by the public or by the composer himself. In 1834, Paganini asked Berlioz for a work in which he could display his power on a fine Stradivarius viola. Berlioz then composed the four-movement Harold en Italie Symphony, incorporating passages from the Rob-Roy overture which he had recently rejected.

Similarly, Rverie et Caprice was the form eventually given to an aria from the opera Benvenuto Cellini, unceremoniously booed in Paris in 1838. Berlioz transformed it into a violin solo piece three years later, becoming the only piece he ever wrote for solo violin.