Tchaikovsky's 1812 was written for the consecration of the Kremlin's Cathedral of the Redeemer, which had been built in the early 1880s to celebrate the 1812 victory over Napoleon. It was not performed at that time, however, and was instead premie... read more
Tchaikovsky's existing manuscript and the first published score drop the chorus and call for the booms to be performed by a bombardone, which is the name for a cannon-type sound used in theaters and opera houses. read more
Tchaikovsky’s “1812” Overture is unquestionably one of classical music’s all-time greatest hits, right up there with Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata, Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” concertos, and the “Wedding March” from Wagner’s Lohengrin. read more
Tchaikovsky hadn’t reckoned on a basic logistical flaw: that the arithmetic of exploding cannon shots in time to the music proved trickier than splitting the atom. A time lag between releasing the barrel and the shot sounding made shot-to-score co-ordination impossible. read more