French composer Hector Berlioz died 150 years ago. He has been a lifelong favorite of the British author David Cairns, who wrote Berlioz's biography and edited and translated his memoirs. Émile Signol/Académie française/Villa Médicis, Rome hide caption
Víkingur Ólafsson's album was a fitting tribute to the 80th birthday of composer Philip Glass. Ari Magg/Deutsche Grammophon hide caption
Colin Davis found power in humility later in his career — and one astonished music journalist. Alberto Venzago hide caption
In Hector Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, he imagines his own march to the guillotine. Rischgitz/Getty Images hide caption
Reneé Fleming (right) and Susan Graham — two "cheerful Americans" often mistaken for each other — are planning an intimate evening of French song. Craig T. Mathew/Mathew Imaging hide caption
Robin Ticciati conducts beyond his years in a debut recording with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Marco Borggreve hide caption
Which composers would you invite to your Thanksgiving table? iStockphoto.com hide caption
Dmitri Shostakovich topped our informal "who's the most badass composer" poll. Roger Rosing/Wikimedia/Deutshe Fotothek hide caption
A photo of Berlioz by Pierre Petit (ca 1863-1864). Pierre Petit/Berlioz Museum hide caption