Niccolò Paganini commissions Hector Berlioz to compose…

Niccolò Paganini commissions Hector Berlioz to compose a viola concerto, intending to premiere it as soloist.

This becomes the symphony for viola and orchestra, Harold en Italie, based on Byron’s “Childe Harold.”

The premiere of the piece is held later in 1834.

After initially rejecting the piece, Paganini, as Berlioz's Mémoires recount, kneels before Berlioz in front of the orchestra after hearing it for the first time and proclaims him a genius and heir to Beethoven.

The next day he sends Berlioz a gift of twenty thousand francs, the generosity of which leaves Berlioz uncharacteristically lost for words.

Around this time, Berlioz decides to conduct most of his own concerts, tired as he is of conductors who do not understand his music.

This decision launches what is to become a lucrative and creatively fruitful career in conducting music, both his and that of other leading composers.