Faust Overture Faust Overture The Faust Overture is a concert overture by German composer Richard Wagner. Wagner originally composed it between 1839 and 1840, intending it to be the first movement of a "Faust Symphony" based on the play "Faust" by German playwright Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Realizing that he would not finish the planned symphony, Wagner revised the piece between 1843 and 1844, incorporating ideas from the other planned movements, and creating instead a single-movement concert overture. He made a final revision in 1855. The work is one of Wagner's few compositions intended for the concert hall, rather than the theatre.
Overtures by Hector Berlioz Overtures by Hector Berlioz The French composer Hector Berlioz wrote a number of overtures, many of which have become popular concert items. They include overtures intended to introduce operas as well as independent concert overtures. "Les francs-juges", Op. 3. Composed 1826. The overture to Berlioz's first attempt at opera, which was never staged. The overture was first performed in the concert hall of the Paris Conservatoire as part of an all Berlioz concert on 26 May 1828. In his study on the composer, Jacques Barzun describes the work as "a genuine tour de force for a young dramatic musician working