The first movement, at least on the surface, is in the traditional form Berlioz knew well from Beethoven and others and that he had used in earlier overtures: a slow opening and a long faster movement. But the opening Largo is too long to be considered a mere ‘introduction’. Rather than beginning the Allegro with a sharply defined motive suitable for development, Berlioz presents a long melody, the idée fixe, and bases most of the movement on it, breaking it down and reassembling it in various forms, including a big climax and a wistful coda. The connection of the Allegro to sonata form has been an area of disagreement ever since, considered in more detail in Chapter 10. Major revisions undertaken after the first performance changed the movement’s proportions; the original version cannot be recovered.

Symphonie fantastique, premiered in 1830, is a long symphony for its time. Its chief novelty was that it had a title and a detailed programme, supplied by the composer. It is not strictly autobiographical, although the programme’s unnamed protagonist represents Berlioz himself. He had many reasons for composing such a work, which are discussed in the Introduction. There follows a translation of the programme and an outline of the symphony, preparing later discussion of each movement. One unusual feature is his use of a single melody, the idée fixe, in each movement; it represents the image of a beloved woman. Berlioz revised the symphony over many years before publishing it, and also revised the programme for performances with its sequel, the monodrama of the protagonist’s ‘Return to Life’ (known as Lélio), premiered in 1832 in the presence of the Irish actor Harriet Smithson, who became Berlioz’s first wife.