1812 Overture

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The 1812 overture complete with cannon fire was performed at the 2005 Classical Spectacular.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote the Festival Overture "The Year 1812" in E major, Op. 49 (French: Ouverture solennelle "L'Année 1812"; Russian: Торжественная увертюра 1812 года, Toržestvennaja uvertjura 1812 goda) to remember Russia's 1812 defense against Napoleon's advancing Grande Armée at the Battle of Borodino, during the French invasion of Russia. The Overture was first presented to the public in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow on August 20, 1882 (NS; the OS date was 8 August). The overture is best known for its climactic volley of cannon fire and ringing chimes. While this piece has no historical connection with United States history, it is often used at Fourth of July celebrations.

[change] Recording history

• A 1927 Cleveland recording contains dozens of bass drum "shots" at random in the final moments of the piece.
• A Royal Opera Orchestra recording of about the same time contains no shots at all. Various more recent recordings feature modern or antique artillery firing in approximation of the score, and other improvisations and bell sounds from tubular chimes to fake bell sounds which do no zvon ringing.
• Antal Dorati’s landmark 1954 Mercury Records recording with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra (recorded in mono in 1954 and in stereo in 1958), partially recorded at West Point, and using the Yale Memorial Carillon (then a mere chime) in Hartford, Connecticut, uses a period French single muzzleloading cannon shot dubbed in 16 times as written, and was such an advancement in authenticity that on the first edition of the recording, one side played the Overture and the other side played a narrative by Deems Taylor about how the feat was accomplished. The stereophonic version was recorded on April 5, 1958 using the bells of the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Carillon, at Riverside Church. On this Mercury Living Presence Stereo recording the spoken commentary was also given by Deems Taylor and was coupled with Tchaikovsky's "Capriccio Italien". Later editions coupled the 1812 Overture with Dorati's recording of Beethoven's Wellington's Victory, which featured the London Symphony Orchestra and real cannons.

[change] Notable performance venues

• The Boston Pops Orchestra plays the Overture annually on Independence Day for "Pops Goes The Fourth." The performance is accompanied by real cannons from the 101st Field Artillery Regiment, Massachusetts National Guard, the bells from the Church of the Advent, and by fireworks over the Charles River.
• The National Symphony Orchestra plays the Overture as part of the finale to the A Capitol Fourth concert on the Capitol lawn in Washington, D.C. each Independence Day, featuring the guns of the 3rd United States Infantry Regiment Presidential Salute Battery. However, recent performances have featured only the climax of the overture, not the entire fifteen minute piece.
• The United States Army Band "Pershing's Own" performs the 1812 Overture at the National Sylvan Theater, Washington, DC, USA, every August. The performance is highlighted with real cannons of the 3rd United States Infantry Regiment Presidential Salute Battery.
• The Richmond Concert Band plays the Overture annually on July 4th at Dogwood Dell in Richmond, Virginia. The performance is accompanied by real cannons (howitzers) from the 2nd Battalion, 111th Field Artillery, Virginia National Guard, on-site live carillon bells by Larry Robinson located in the Richmond World War I Memorial, and fireworks over the stage by Pyrotechnics.
• The 1812 Overture is performed annually as the finale of the Oregon Symphony Waterfront Concert in August. The Oregon Symphony has traditionally hosted the Oregon National Guard whose cannon fire is conducted by a second conductor and remote operated traffic lights.
• The 1812 Overture is played annually at the Hollywood Bowl's Tchaikovsky Spectacular, with fireworks over the Bowl.
• The 1812 Overture is played each January by the Sydney Symphony to conclude the popular Symphony in the Domain concert, with the bells of St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney tolling in the background. It is also played annually by the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra at the Santos Limited 'Symphony Under the Stars' concert.
• The 1812 Overture is played each year by the Royal Military College Band — at Duntroon in Canberra, Australia - complete with real artillery and fireworks.
• The 1812 is the closing piece in the Starlight Symphony held in the Auckland Domain, Auckland, New Zealand every summer. The New Zealand Army fires a single shot from a 105mm towed gun as symbolic cannon fire, timed with the final shot of the last fusillade.

[change] Media use or reference to the overture

Tchaikovsky's 1812 is sometimes mentioned in other artistic creations, most of the time where conflict is an important theme. Examples include:

• A fragment of 1812 appears in the score by Andre Previn for Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1977), a play for actors and orchestra by Tom Stoppard. The play is set in a Russian mental hospital to which dissidents are consigned during the Soviet era. In this context the French themes such as "La Marseillaise" symbolize independence of spirit.
• For several years, the overture was used as the background score by the Australian Government in Army Reserve recruiting advertisements.
• In the movie V for Vendetta (film) by James McTeigue (2006), the main character V has set up two terroristic attacks on the Old Bailey and the Houses of Parliament. During the explosions, fragments of the 1812 sound through the streets of England.