Berlioz’s Birthplace – La Côte Saint-André
Place Hector Berlioz
In 1890 a statue of Berlioz, made by the artist Lenoir and cast in bronze by the firm of Thiébaut Frères Fondeurs, was erected in the Esplanade, which was later renamed Place Hector Berlioz. The event took place on 28 September 1890 in the presence of many national, departmental and local dignitaries. The Berlioz family was represented by Commandant Chapot and his two sons. A copy of the programme of the inauguration is reproduced on this site. See also the text (in English translation) of report on the inauguration of Berlioz’s statue which appeared in the Grenoble-Revue of 15 October 1890, written by the journalist Louis Bassette, and the report (in French) in Le Ménestrel written by Julien Tiersot.
In Berlioz’s time the Esplanade, situated at the south-east corner of the town, was, according to David Cairns, one of the main centres of social activity, ‘where the men played boules and the band of the National Guard practised, and the women and children walked among the lime trees on fine Sunday afternoons’ (Berlioz vol. I p. 25). The Esplanade is now (2008) a car park.
Lenoir’s statue of Berlioz at La Côte is a fine copy of the original erected in honour of the composer in Paris, illustrated on the engraving below. That statue was unveiled in a ceremony held on 17 October 1886 in a square called at the time Square Vintimille. See our Berlioz in Paris page (Square Berlioz) for further details.
Place Hector Berlioz in pictures
Unless otherwise specified, all the photographs reproduced on this page were taken by Michel Austin
in April 1998 and September 2008; other pictures have been scanned from postcards and books in our
own collection. © Monir Tayeb and Michel Austin.
All rights of reproduction reserved.
Place Hector Berlioz in the early 20th century
Place Hector Berlioz in the early 20th century
Berlioz’s statues in Paris in 1886 and in La Côte in 1927
[Large view] [Large view]
The engraving on the left is scanned from: Hector Berlioz: Sa Vie et ses
Œuvres, by Adolphe Jullien, 1888, Paris: La Librairie de l’Art.
Berlioz’s statue in the mid-20th century
Place Hector Berlioz in 2008
Berlioz monument – 2008
Berlioz monument – 2008
The base of the monument clockwise:
Berlioz monument (front of the base) – 2008
Berlioz monument (right side of the base) – 2008
Berlioz monument (rear of the base) – 2008
Berlioz monument (left side of the base) – 2008
Berlioz monument (rear view) – 2008
Berlioz monument (rear view, detail) – 2008
Statue of Berlioz – 2008
Statue of Berlioz – 2008
Statue of Berlioz – 2008
Statue of Berlioz – 2008
Berlioz monument – 1998
Statue of Berlioz – 1998
Statue of Berlioz – 1998
Statue of Berlioz – 1998
The following two photos, taken in April 2007, were sent to us by M. Michel Verjus to whom we are very grateful.
The photo below has been taken by Mr Peter Curbishley; we are most grateful to him for sending us a copy.
© 1998-2013 Monir Tayeb and Michel Austin for all the pictures and information on this page.
Copyright notice: The texts, photos, images and musical scores on all pages of this site are covered by UK Law and International Law. All rights of publication or reproduction of this material in any form, including Web page use, are reserved. Their use without our explicit permission is illegal.
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