1812 Overture

Lore & Background

The overture was written in just six weeks, beginning on 12 October 1880. Its first public performance, conducted by Ippolit Al'tani, took place in Moscow on 20 August [O.S. 8 August] 1882, under a tent near the still unfinished Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, which also memorialised the 1812 defence of Russia. The cathedral had been commissioned in 1812 by Tsar Alexander I to commemorate the Russian victory. Tchaikovsky complained to his patron Nadezhda von Meck that he was 'not a conductor of festival pieces' and that the overture would be 'very loud and noisy, but [without] artistic merit, because I wrote it without warmth and without love.' Despite this, the work made the Tchaikovsky estate exceptionally wealthy, as it is one of the most performed and recorded works from his catalog.

The piece's structure begins with the plaintive Russian melody of the Eastern Orthodox Troparion of the Holy Cross, representing the Russian people praying for victory. The French national anthem 'La Marseillaise' is then heard, representing the invading French army. The two melodies compete, representing the armies fighting, with cannon shots representing the overall 1812 campaign. A long descending run represents the French army retreating out of Moscow. During the Soviet era, the imperial anthem was replaced with the chorus 'Glory, Glory to you, holy Rus!' from Mikhail Glinka's opera A Life for the Tsar (also known as Ivan Susanin). With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the original score returned.

Reader's Guide

The 1812 Overture is significant as a patriotic commemorative work that has transcended its original context. Though written for the 25th anniversary of the coronation of Alexander II and the 1882 All-Russia Arts and Industry Exhibition, it has become a staple of orchestral repertoire worldwide. In the United States, it is popularly associated with Independence Day celebrations, a tradition dating to a 1974 choice by Arthur Fiedler for a Boston Pops July 4 concert, though an earlier outdoor July presentation occurred on 7 July 1950 by the National Symphony Orchestra. The piece has been adapted in other contexts, including parodies by composer Malcolm Arnold in A Grand, Grand Overture and by P. D. Q. Bach for the album 1712 Overture and Other Musical Assaults. Its instrumentation is notable for requiring a battery of cannons or ceremonial field artillery, and the brass band part is meant to play only during the finale. The overture's legacy is also marked by its use in recordings that altered the score, such as Herbert von Karajan's 1966 recording which scored the opening for voices instead of strings, and Igor Buketoff's recording which added a children's chorus.

Did You Know?

• The overture was written in just six weeks, beginning on 12 October 1880.
• Its first public performance took place under a tent near the still unfinished Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.
• The piece includes a part for a battery of cannons or ceremonial field artillery.
• In the United States, the overture is commonly played at Independence Day fireworks displays, a tradition that began with the Boston Pops in the 1970s.