<P> Symphonie fantastique: Épisode de la vie d'un artiste...en cinq parties (Fantastical Symphony: An Episode in the Life of an Artist, in Five Parts) Op. 14, is a program symphony written by the French composer Hector Berlioz in 1830 . It is an important piece of the early Romantic period . The first performance was at the Paris Conservatoire on 5 December 1830 . Franz Liszt made a piano transcription of the symphony in 1833 (S. 470). </P> <P> Leonard Bernstein described the symphony as the first musical expedition into psychedelia because of its hallucinatory and dream - like nature, and because history suggests Berlioz composed at least a portion of it under the influence of opium . According to Bernstein, "Berlioz tells it like it is . You take a trip, you wind up screaming at your own funeral ." </P> <P> In 1831, Berlioz wrote a lesser known sequel to the work, Lélio, for actor, orchestra and chorus . </P>

Who inspired berlioz to compose his symphonie fantastique