Tchaikovsky's famous 1812 Overture

老柴的1812序曲， 最能表现节日庆典的欢乐气氛， 所以成为国家庆典的常选节目，
比如美国独立日的庆典。

Some background:

1812 Overture


The Year 1812, Festival Overture in E flat major, Op. 49,popularly known as the 1812 Overture (French: Ouverture Solennelle, L'Année 1812, Russian: Торжественная увертюра «1812 год», Festival Overture The Year 1812), is an overture written by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1880 to commemorate Russia's defense of Moscow against Napoleon's advancing Grande Armée at the Battle of Borodino in 1812. The overture debuted in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow on August 20, 1882,[2] in the Gregorian calendar (the date in the Julian calendar was August 8). The overture is best known for its climactic volley of cannon fire and ringing chimes.

On his 1891 visit to the United States, Tchaikovsky conducted the piece at the dedication of Carnegie Hall in New York City.[3] While this piece has little connection with United States history besides the War of 1812 diverting the British, freeing Napoleon to attack Russia, it is often a staple at Fourth of July celebrations, such as the annual show by the Boston Pops[3] and at Washington DC's annual program called A Capitol Fourth.

Association with July 4th

Though most Americans recognize the work for its associations with the Independence Day celebrations of the United States, few realize the work's inspiration as being not about the US and the British in the War of 1812, but the triumph of Russia on the far end of the Napoleonic Wars.[19][20]

Tchaikovsky scholar Leon Botstein argues that part of the reason for the United States commandeering of the tune is that the country was short on patriotic hymns and, given its ending, the Overture was conducive to grand bombastic performances. The Overture had been performed sporadically throughout the 20th century, but it was a 1974 performance by the Boston Pops that secured the work's place in the nation's patriotic canon. Conductor Arthur Fiedler directed a performance of the Pops on the Charles River Esplanade, replete with actual cannons, fireworks, and a steeple-bell choir. The broadcast around the country by the nation's premier outdoor orchestra was successful and other orchestras followed suit. The Boston concert became an annual tradition in 1981 and the connotations have been worn into American cultural consciousness.[