This page serves as a companion and supplement to the main page on Berlioz and the Institut; it lists in chronological sequence the main dates and events mentioned in that page.
The search for the Prix de Rome: 1826-1830
Election to the Institut: 1839-1856
Berlioz at the Institut: 1856-1869
This page is also available in French
The search for the Prix de Rome: 1826-1830
1826Early July: Berlioz enters the qualifying exam for the Prix de Rome competition but fails (Memoirs ch. 10; CG no. 61)
182726 July: Berlioz passes successfully the preliminary exam for admission to the Prix de Rome competition (Memoirs ch. 14; CG no. 76)
28 July: Berlioz enters the Prix de Rome competition; his cantata La Mort d’Orphée is declared ‘unperformable’ (cf. CG no. 77)
182826 May: Berlioz gives a concert of his own works at the Conservatoire, but the cantata La Mort d’Orphée has to be dropped from the programme (Memoirs ch. 19)
First half of July: Berlioz enters the Prix de Rome competition with the cantata Herminie (Memoirs ch. 22; CG no. 95)
2 August: Berlioz is awarded the second prize
18291 July: Berlioz passes successfully the preliminary exam and enters the Prix de Rome competition with the cantata Cléopâtre
1 August: performance of the cantata before the assembled Institut, but no award is made (Memoirs ch. 25; CG nos. 132, 133)
1830March-April: Berlioz and Camille Moke fall in love
14 July: Berlioz passes successfully the preliminary exam for the Prix de Rome competition
17 July: Berlioz enters the competition with the cantata Sardanapale (Memoirs chs. 29-30; CG nos. 168, 169)
27 July: outbreak of revolution in Paris
29 July: Berlioz completes his cantata and leaves the Institut to join the revolution in Paris (CG no. 170)
19 August: the music section of the Institut puts forward Berlioz for the first prize
21 August: the entire Académie des Beaux-Arts awards the first prize to Berlioz, and a second first prize to Montfort (CG no. 172)
29 October: general rehearsal of Sardanapale with a finale added by Berlioz
30 October: official ceremony of the giving of the prize at the Institut; Berlioz is on his own (Camille Moke and her mother do not attend); performance of Sardanapale, but the finale misfires (CG no. 188)
5 December: concert at the Conservatoire conducted by Habeneck, with the first performance of the Symphonie fantastique, the finale from Sardanapale and other works by Berlioz; Camille Moke and her mother are present
30 December: Berlioz leaves Paris for La Côte-Saint-André
18318 February: Berlioz leaves La Côte-Saint-André to begin his journey to Italy
1832End of May: Berlioz leaves Italy
June-October: Berlioz spends most of his time at La Côte-Saint-André and in Dauphiné before returning to Paris
7 November: Berlioz is back in Paris
Election to the Institut: 1839-185618393 May: Death of Ferdinand Paër, a member of the music section of the Institut
7 May: Berlioz attends the funeral of Paër
9 May: the Revue Musicale mentions Berlioz as one of the candidates to succeed Paër at the Institut (cf. CG no. 649)
10 May: Berlioz made Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur on the proposal of Gasparin
23 May: the Revue Musicale states that Berlioz has withdrawn his application to the Institut on hearing that Spontini has applied
15 June: Spontini is elected to the Institut in the first round of voting
184215 March: death of Cherubini; Berlioz decides to apply for his seat at the Institut (CG no. 768; NL no. 773bis)
September-October: Berlioz submits his official application for the vacancy at the Institut (CG no. 786)
29 October: Cherubini’s vacancy at the Institut officially declared
12 November: the music section of the Institut draws up its list of candidates to the succession of Cherubini, with Adam and Onslow as equal firsts, and Barton in second place; the complete Académie adds the name of Ambroise Thomas; Berlioz is not put forward despite having applied
19 November: Onslow is elected against Adam to succeed Cherubini
184422 April; death of Henri Berton; Berlioz does not seem to have even considered applying to the resulting vacancy at the Institut
185124 January: death of Spontini; Berlioz soon decides to apply for the resulting vacancy, though he does not expect to win (CG no. 1388)
6 March: Berlioz submits his formal application as candidate for Spontini’s succession at the Institut (CG nos. 1389, 1392)
22 March: Ambroise Thomas is elected in the first round, and Berlioz does not get a single vote
18533 October: death of Onslow
10 November: Berlioz, away in Germany, submits his formal application for the succession of Onslow at the Institut (CG nos. 1644, 1645)
13 November: Henri Reber is elected to succeed Onslow at the fifth round of voting, ahead of Clapisson (CG no. 1653)
185429 July: Halévy appointed permanent secretary of the Académie; Berlioz cancels a planned trip to Munich to apply for the vacancy at the Institut created by this appointment
10 August: Berlioz submits his formal application to Halévy’s place (CG nos. 1780, 1781)
26 August: Clapisson elected to the Institut against Berlioz (CG nos. 1783, 1784, 1785, 1787bis)
18563 May: death of Adolphe Adam aged 53; Berlioz decides to stand for the vacancy created (CG nos. 2124, 2125, 2132)
3 June: Berlioz submits his formal application (CG no. 2133)
11 June: the Institut draws up the formal list of candidates (CG no. 2137)
14 June: Berlioz’s name is placed first on the list of candidates (CG no. 2139)
21 June: Berlioz is finally elected at the fourth round of voting (CG nos. 2141, 2144, 2145, 2146)
Berlioz at the Institut: 1856-1869185628 June: Berlioz officially admitted to the Institut (CG no. 2149)
1 July: Berlioz invites to dinner at home the members of the music section of the Institut
4 July: Berlioz participates for the first time in judging the Prix de Rome competition (CG no. 2149)
5 July: Berlioz attends two sessions of the Institut (CG no. 2150)
23 August: the Bibliographie de la France announces the publication of Eugène de Mirecourt’s biographical work on Berlioz
185711 March: Berlioz attends a formal evening reception at the Tuileries palace, but is unable to speak to the emperor (CG no. 2214)
22 March: Berlioz attends a formal evening reception at the Tuileries palace, and mentions the poem of les Troyens to the empress (CG nos. 2219, 2222)
4 July: the Prix de Rome jury, of which Berlioz is a member, gives the first prize to Bizet
11 July: at the Institut Berlioz takes part in the unanimous election of Prince Napoleon as corresponding member
185814 January: as a sequel to Orsini’s plot against Napoleon III, Berlioz goes to the Tuileries palace to sign a register opened on the occasion (CG no. 2272)
22 January: Berlioz reads the poem of les Troyens before a gathering of colleagues from the Institut (CG nos. 2274, 2279)
2 February: Berlioz attends a ball at the Tuileries, but is unable to speak to the emperor or the empress about les Troyens (CG nos. 2275, 2277, 2279)
12 February: Berlioz dines at Prince Napoleon’s, a cousin of the emperor
28 March: Berlioz drafts a letter to the emperor requesting that he should hear a reading of the poem of les Troyens, but is dissuaded from sending it
6 April: Berlioz attends an evening reception at the Tuileries, but is unable to see either the emperor or the empress
7 April: Berlioz spends an hour in the morning with Count Morny in connection with the possible staging of les Troyens
3 May: Berlioz attends a reception at the Tuileries; Napoleon III indicates he will be pleased to read the poem of les Troyens (CG no. 2292, 2293)
ca. 20-25 May: Berlioz received in audience by Napoleon III together with 40 other guests, and hands him a copy of the poem of les Troyens (CG no. 2299)
17 July: Berlioz appointed member of the commission for the normalisation of concert pitch
185925 February: Berlioz is one of 12 signatories of the official report of the commission on concert pitch which is published in le Moniteur universel
30 July: Berlioz reads the poem of les Troyens in front of an audience comprising Count Morny and other members of the emperor’s circle
22 October: on the death of Ludwig Spohr Liszt seeks election as foreign member of the Institut
5 November onwards: Berlioz campaigns for the election of Liszt as foreign member of the Institut (CG nos. 2428, 2429, 2442, 2443)
3 December: Liszt fails to be elected to the Institut; Verdi is elected (CG nos. 2447, 2449, 2678)
186010 February: Berlioz and all the members of the music section of the Institut received in audience by the minister for public education (CG no. 2480)
12 May: Berlioz attends the Institut for the Prix de Rome competition (CG no. 2502)
186121 March: Berlioz is member of the commission to examine candidates for the posts of director and assistant director of military music
7 June: Berlioz attends a dinner given by Prince Poniatowski in honour of Liszt
5 July: Berlioz spends the whole day as member of the jury for the Prix de Rome competition (CG no. 2564)
11 and 12 September: publication in the Journal des Débats of a letter addressed to the members of the Académie des Beaux-Arts
186217 March: death of Halévy, permanent secretary of the Académie des Beaux-Arts
4 April: Berlioz is pressed by his colleagues to apply for the post of permanent secretary of the Académie des Beaux-Arts (CG no. 2601)
12 April: Beulé elected as permanent secretary after 4 rounds of voting, with 19 votes out of 36 (CG no. 2608)
13 June: death of Marie Recio-Berlioz at Saint-Germain-en-Laye
16 June: funeral of Marie Recio-Berlioz at Montmartre cemetery
12 July: Berlioz attends the Institut for the first time in a month (CG no. 2630)
18637 January: Berlioz attends a ball at the Tuileries palace (CG no. 2689)
12 January: Berlioz attends a ball at the Tuileries palace, but the emperor does not speak to him (CG no. 2689)
9 May: Berlioz attends the Institut (CG no. 2724)
3-4 July: Berlioz attends the final sessions for the Prix de Rome competition; the first prize goes to Massenet
13 November: an imperial decree removes the management of the Prix de Rome competitions from the Institut to a special panel of experts (of which Berlioz was occasionally a member) (Memoirs chapter 22; cf. CG nos. 2870, 3239, 3244)
1864ca. 4 April: Berlioz attends at the Tuileries a small ball at which the emperor does not come (CG no. 2850)
15 July: Berlioz does not vote for Saint-Saëns for the Prix de Rome prize (CG no. 2870)
18651 January: Berlioz does not attend the morning reception at court (CG no. 2961)
11 January: Berlioz attends a ball at the Tuileries (CG no. 2970)
ca. 10 February: Berlioz too ill to attend a ball given by Prince Napoleon
10 April: Berlioz congratulates Jules Janin on his election to the Académie française, though in practice Janin had not been elected (CG no. 2998)
186619 March: death of Clapisson
21 March: Berlioz attends the funeral of Clapisson; he succeeds to his position as curator of the museum of the Conservatoire (CG no. 3112)
12 May: Charles Gounod is elected to succeed Clapisson in the music section of the Institut, with the support of Berlioz; Félicien David is not elected (CG no. 3132)
1867April: Berlioz appointed member of four juries, including that for the Prix de Rome (CG no. 3239)
10 June: Berlioz too ill to attend a reception at Court, to which he had been invited CG no. 3244)
11 June: Camille Saint-Saëns wins the prix de Rome; Berlioz was a member of the jury (CG no. 3244)
29 September: Berlioz goes to the Institut to discuss with the sculptor Perraud a bust he is due to make for Steinway in New York (CG no. 3279)
186829 February: Berlioz goes to the Institut to see the sculptor Perraud about the making of his bust
May to August: Berlioz frequently signs in on Saturday mornings at the Institut, but is unable to attend the sessions (CG no. 3363)
25 November: Berlioz, though very ill, attends a session of the Institut to vote for Charles Blanc
18696 January: last attested visit of Berlioz to the Institut
8 March: death of Berlioz
11 March: funeral of Berlioz, attended by members of the Institut
© Monir Tayeb and Michel Austin for all the pictures and information on this page. This page created on 1st August 2016.
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.
Back to Institut de France
Back to Berlioz in Paris main page