If you go
› What: Symphonie Fantastique› Where: Tivoli Theatre, 709 Broad St.› When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 26› Admission: $21 and up, $15 for music educators and students› For more information: chattanoogasymphony.org
French composer Hector Berlioz became consumed with writing his Symphonie Fantastique after seeing actress Harriet Smithson in a Shakespearean play. He was so passionate about the piece, that he even wrote his own program notes so the audience would understand the story clearly.
At its premiere, Berlioz was onstage playing in the percussion section, as he often liked to do, so that he could witness the audience cheering and stomping in excitement at the end.
Whether the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera’s performance brings such an audience reaction Thursday, April 26, remains to be seen, when the CSO presents Symphony Fantastique as part of its season finale in the Tivoli Theatre.
Guest artist Frank Almond, concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, will be featured on Leonard Bernstein’s “Serenade,” playing his Lipinski Stradivarius violin.