Emma Roberts, Mezzo-soprano

Harry Grigg, Tenor

Nigel Foster, Piano

David Mildon, Speaker

‘Berlioz and Friends’ paints an atmospheric picture of the musical environment of mid-19th century Paris, a setting for intense, romantic music and largerthan-life characters. This vibrant world is depicted in a domestic setting through the songs of Hector Berlioz and his friends, including the pianist Franz Liszt and the opera singer Pauline Viardot, both noted celebrities of their day, and through the words of Berlioz himself, taken from his lively Memoirs and his book The Musical Madhouse (Les Grotesques de la Musique), in which he applies his often-caustic tongue to the musical foibles and eccentricities of his time.

Nigel Foster, renowned accompanist and Director of the London Song Festival, is joined by prize-winning soloists Emma Roberts and Harry Grigg, with stage and film actor David Mildon reading Berlioz’s own words.