The roots of education are bitter, but the fruits are sweet.
– Aristotle
Watching the 2017 4th of July celebration in Washington, D.C., the year’s events now give a sinister ring to the playing of the 1812 Overture. With the Russian national anthem ringing over the Washington monument, 97% are doubtless unaware of what they are hearing.
Aristotle aside, sometimes education is a curse.
Please share widely!
” There is nothing more frightening that ignorance in action.” GOETHE
Hell, the stupid Trumpists surveyed today don’t even know why we celebrate the Fourth of July !
I know the French national anthem is part of it, but Russia’s too? (though I guess not surprising since the composer was Russian) Personally I’m a big fan of France at the moment, but I’d rather keep the politics out of music. During the run up to war in Iraq I attended a concert which normally featured the 1812, but the director refused to play it this time because he was upset at France’s and Russia’s opposition to W’s march toward war. I told him afterwards I thought that decision was awfully petty because playing the piece had nothing to do with current politics.
Christopher… The 1812 overture is about Napoleons attempt to conquer Russian and Russia’s successful defense of their own country. Tchaikovsky weaves the separate anthems together in symphonic mimicry of the battle.
That’s just naive.
The Soviets didn’t keep politics out of the 1812 overture. There was a rewrite replacing the tzarist anthem with some innocuous tune.
Pretty much everything about our current Independence Day celebration is political (not to mention militaristic to the point of war-mongering).
I’m thankfully now far enough away from the Esplanade that I don’t have to see the heavily-armed military patrolling the streets to “protect” us, and only occasionally have to tolerate the insult of low high-speed and deafening-loud flyby of combat jets.
I’d prefer it if we renamed the holiday something like “burgers-and-beer day” and be done with it.
I would have found your particular story’s person petty too in that example. I’m just sharing my own dismay at how far we have sunk to have the obvious connection slap me in the face. I’ll think of the creepy implications tonight in Boston too, but the juxtaposition of the Washington Monument and the Russian national anthem playing during fireworks over that obelisk at this exact moment in history was beyond disturbing. (That Russian hymn tune is, by the way, one of my favorites.)
Doubtless. But I don’t need to know German to know that Beethovens 9th is about joy.
While many Americans don’t know what they are hearing they do know why they are hearing it: Bostons very own Arthur Fiedler inaugurated the practice some time ago because Tchaikovsky wrote the piece with actual field artillery, that is to say cannons (…. would that be the wind instruments? The percussion section? Or the concussion section?) to which Fiedler substituted fireworks.
However, the 1812 overture, rather than being sinister for containing Russian sentiments, does contain sentiments dear and near to the hearts of all American and that is the resistance to tyranny, in this case Napoleon. Had we not been otherwise engaged in 1812 (in our second war with Great Britain) the US would, at the least, rooted for Russia against Napoleon.
Hard work, too…
I agree with all of what you write here. And, as I mention above, it is one of my favorite hymns and national anthems.
Music, not only absolute music but even to an extent the programmatic aspect to music, can transcend particular affronts and may be viewed and experienced by free people (well, okay, all people) in whatever context those people like.
I was just sharing my honest reaction this particular year. If anything though, like Richard Strauss cultural exile after his death that finally receded, I think I am not going to be alone in this thought is things keep heading where they are headed.
(Poor Tchaikovsky! Of all people to be saddled with the tangerine menace!)
Just a nit — at least during the 1970s (when I went to the Esplanade for the Fourth), there were cannons at the edge of the river in addition to the fireworks. Mr. Fiedler arranged for the cannons to fire at the appropriate time and also arranged for the several churches in the area to ring their bells during the finale.
I think the cannons were lost in later years as budget cuts took their toll.
They’ve had cannons every year I remember, including last night, but I don’t know if there are still church bells.
the actual Russian anthem, with English subs))))
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOAtz8xWM0w