Berlioz - BasicRep.com

Berlioz may be best known for his Symphonie Fantastique, but if you enjoy that work, you will also like his other famous compositions. Harold In Italy is for viola solo with orchestra, and his many Overtures are excellent.
Toscanini conducting the NBC Symphony Orchestra [1] on RCA Records is out of print, but this CD is well worth it if you find it. Along with Harold In Italy, there is also the Roman Carnival Overture and a few excerpts from various works. The sound quality is from fair to good for recordings in the 1950's, in mono, but the intensity and power are overwelming. However, a 2CD set of Toscanini recordings [2] has the Roman Carnival Overture and Roméo et Juliette-Queen Mab Scherzo from this out-of-print CD, along with music by Debussy, Franck and Ravel.
Charles Munch And The Boston Symphony Orchestra [3] give a great performance of Symphonie Fantastique. Yet another old recording, but the sould quality is early stereo, and performance is a bit rough but definitely passionate.
Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra [4] have a good reading of Harold In Italy for Viola and Orchestra, and includes various excerpts from various Berlioz works. This CD is an older release, and looks to be out of print soon.
One of my favorite vinyl LPs is of five Berlioz Overtures by Davis, but these recordings are only available in a 6 CD set of Berlioz's Orchestral Music [5], but comes at a nice price. Davis also remade an Overture recording with Dresden Staatskapelle [6] and it is a very good CD. It contains overtures from Les francs-juges, Waverly, Le roi Lear, Le carnaval romain, Beatrice et Benedict, Le corsaire and Benvenuto Cellini.
Davis and the London SO [7] have a Philips Duo set of Berlioz orchestral works that includes Symphonie Fanstastique, Harold In Italy, and The Corsaire and Roman Carnival Overtures.

[3] Symphonie Fantastique
w/ Romeo et Juliette: Love Scene
Conductor: Charles Munch
Orchestra: Boston Symphony Orchestra
Label: RCA
Catalog: 68979