berlioz is a clear example of a “prophet who is without honour in his own country”: not many people in france realized he was a great composer, but in other countries he was welcomed as one of the great composers and conductors of his day. many of his works are difficult to describe. his "symphonie fantastique" is not quite a symphony, his "harold en italie" is not quite a concerto. his "requiem" is not a normal, religious requiem, "roméo et juliette" is a mixture of all sorts of things. he wrote five operas, which are all very different in style. his songs are tender and lovely, influenced by the french romance. his overtures are very popular at orchestral concerts. his music is very original and, although he wrote a book on orchestration, the sounds he composed were so personal that no one could imitate him. he was not good at playing any instrument, but could imagine all the sounds in his head. many of his melodies stretch themselves over an unusual number of bars. a lot of his orchestral music is programme music: it is often inspired by books or wild stories in his imagination.