Dix Francs

Megan Nanovic Blog 5

The dix francs pictures Louis Hector Berlioz.  Each side of this dix francs depicts Louis Hector Berlioz in moments of his life.  On the front he is pictured conducting the orchestra in Chapelle des Invalides in Paris and on the back side he is pictured playing a guitar which was offered to him by Paganini in front of Villa Media in Rome.  This man was an accomplished composer in France.  He composed approximately fifty songs and he conducted concerts with more than 1,000 musicians.  Louis Hector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer who was instrumental in starting the genre of the symphonic poem.  His influence was critical in the development of Romanticism and he played an important role in the development of program music and modern orchestra.  It is clear that this man was important in the musical world, but it is interesting that his influence warrants him a spot on a French bank note.  Growing up in a country where the only people that appear on currency are influential men in politics, it is interesting to see how in other countries, people who are influential in other aspects of life are still seen as worthy of appearing on the country's currency.  By placing a composer on a bank note, the French are showing that the government recognizes the accomplishments of its citizens outside of the influence of politics.  It is more interesting that this man appears on the dix francs because being that it is a smaller bill, it will have more circulation and this type of bill would be used in everyday transactions.

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