Your Favorite Berlioz Symphony

[Jaakko Keskinen]

They all count as symphonies, right?

My vote is for Harold.

[Sergeant Rock]

Symphonie fantastique (despite the central movement, Scène aux champs)

Sarge

[ritter]

Another vote for Childe Harold...

[North Star]

Another vote for Childe Harold...

+2 - while Roméo et Juliette contains some of the most exquisite music Berlioz wrote, it doesn't really work as a whole.

[Mirror Image]

Harold en Italie for me, too.

[Florestan]

+ 4. 

[You did it]

Harold for me too, but Fantasique still has some great moments

[Jo498]

Romeo & Juliette has the best pieces (Love scene, Mab scherzo and the Ball at Capulets is also better than the Ball in op.14) but it does not really work together for me as a whole and I struggle to call it a symphony at all.
I don't really know Funebre et Triomphale (don't own a recording and while I have probably heard it once I have no recollection of the piece) and the Fantastique is better than Harold (love the first movement but the finale is weak and the other two are slight and not as good as the respective ones from SF), so I somewhat reluctantly voted for op.14.

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

Roméo et Juliette for me.

[André]

Romeo & Juliette has the best pieces (Love scene, Mab scherzo and the Ball at Capulets is also better than the Ball in op.14) but it does not really work together for me as a whole and I struggle to call it a symphony at all.
I don't really know Funebre et Triomphale (don't own a recording and while I have probably heard it once I have no recollection of the piece) and the Fantastique is better than Harold (love the first movement but the finale is weak and the other two are slight and not as good as the respective ones from SF), so I somewhat reluctantly voted for op.14.

+ 1. The Fantastique actually improves with each movement, the opposite of Harold, actually. As for the other two works, they are more pièces de genre than real symphonies IMO. Very good stuff, of course.

[Jo498]

I disagree insofar that the first movement of the Fantastique is the best for me. But the rest holds up well whereas in Harold it does not really. It's o.k. to have two short, picturesque movements in between if afterwards something follows that gives the piece as a whole closure. But the Harold finale fails in that respect, I think (and it's not all that good even apart from its failure in that rôle).

Another point is that as charming as the "Harold theme" is, the "Idée fixe" is better and especially works better to unite the piece in its various guises.

As for Romeo, I have the impression that "suites" with 4 or 5 instrumental movements (Romeo seul, Ball, Scéne d'amour, Mab scherzo or similarly) used to be more popular (on recordings) in former times. They still don't make a whole (how could chunks be better than a problematic whole) but the music is marvellous and for conductors without a choir at hand or listeners who are not sufficiently convinced by the original whole they should be a admissible option.

[aligreto]

Symphonie fantastique for me, for its sheer innovation.

[amw]

Romeo & Juliette may not work as a whole but imo it fails in a massively ambitious and fascinating way and also contains a lot of Berlioz's best music. So it gets my vote

[SymphonicAddict]

Harold en Italie > Roméo et Juliette > Symphonie Fantastique > Grande Symphonie Funèbre et Triomphale

[kyjo]

Fantastique, for sure. Just because it's overplayed doesn't diminish the fact that it's an out-and-out masterpiece. I must admit, I don't think I've ever heard Romeo et Juliette...

[kyjo]

+ 1. The Fantastique actually improves with each movement, the opposite of Harold, actually. As for the other two works, they are more pièces de genre than real symphonies IMO. Very good stuff, of course.

Very much agree - although I like the 2nd movement of the Fantastique better than the 3rd. I love the opening of Harold, but my interest slowly wanes as the work progresses.

[Jo498]

Very much agree - although I like the 2nd movement of the Fantastique better than the 3rd. I love the opening of Harold, but my interest slowly wanes as the work progresses.

Yes, the opening (brooding intro and slow version of the "Harold theme") is even the best part of the best movement in Harold.
But you really need to hear R & J, at the very least the 4-5 common instrumental excerpts. Many commenters found the love scene to be Berlioz's best piece and the rest is also very good, IMO better than the shorter inner movements of SF or Harold.

[Wanderer]

In order of preference:

1. Symphonie fantastique
2. Roméo et Juliette
3. Harold en Italie
4. Grande symphonie funébre et triomphale

[Turner]

R&J for me, I like the general  schwung of it, whereas the others, typical of Berlioz, have some good ideas that don't really get much off the ground 🙂

[TheGSMoeller]

fantastique, one of all time favorite works. But Harold is a very close second.