Symphonie Fantastique

Inspired by a piece of music written by Hector Berlioz in 1830 and recorded by Leonard Bernstein in 1963 , Hedi Slimane’s men’s winter ’24 short film “Symphonie Fantastique” was shot early this year between the Mojave and Los Angeles, using a desolate desert road as its runway.

“Symphonie Fantastique” is shot in black-and-white and it’s oozing with 1960s swagger and silhouettes.

Juxtaposing models in Slimane signatures — skinny suits, slick leather, fur coats, capes — against lasso-wheeling cowboys, L.A. mountains and freeways, “Symphonie Fantastique” creates an alternate world in the familiar sprawling setting, borrowing the spirit of what Bernstein described as the first psychedelic symphony ever made.

That freewheeling approach can be heard in this recording of “Symphonie Fantastique” with the Saito Kinen Orchestra, which he helped found in Japan in 1984.

The concert included the world premiere of Valerie Coleman’s “Giants of Light,” Barber’s Violin Concerto with Gil Shaham, and Berlioz’s “Symphonie fantastique.”