Berlioz´s “Symphonie Fantastique” is always a treat. I have played it on many occasions and on different instruments. Playing it again on the week of June 2-6, together with the Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias, has been a real pleasure.

This time I was on bass drum, but I have never been comfortable with none of the editions of the part nor the conductor´s score. I always have the feeling that the information provided is not correct, that something is missing, they do not feature bar or rehearsal numbers, certain traditions take over the part without a serious musicological approach, etc. 

Enough is enough, so I decided to study the part in depth and get rid, once and for all, of all of the pending questions that I had. I got a copy of the manuscript, and you won´t believe the whealth of information that I gathered, how much the editors tampered with the music, how we tend to look using contemporary eyes into works that were composed 180 years ago and how we dislike getting off the beaten path even if it was built based on erroneous information 😉.