In past posts, I was highly critical of how CBS destroyed our beloved Boston Pops Fourth of July Spectacular. They ripped the guts out of our happy local celebration, banishing the 1812 Overture out of their one hour prime time show. They inserted acts to appeal to a “national” audience (think Toby Keith) and their fireworks (with awful canned music) separated from the Overture by a half hour of drivel.
I write tonight in praise of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Bloomberg, as they combined to present the genuine Pops performance to a national audience. No catering to an audience outside of Boston; tonight we saw a Boston event presented to the nation. It was a job well done.
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Yes, very glad Bloomberg had the whole thing. Gotta say, aside from all the cannons booming and general civilized mayhem, the 1812 Overture — by a Russian composer, celebrating Russian victory over Napoleon, not our own — seemed a little on-the-nose this year. đŸ˜€
Boston Magazine has an alarming piece on this controversy, mainly that now corporations expect a return on investment when it comes to funding their arts. It’s no longer simply part of being a good corporate citizen. I am glad Bloomberg stepped in this year (perhaps due to it’s founder and CEO being a Medford native son), but the longterm future of the Pops is now a question mark.
Mugar also said he got a lot of flack for designing the 1812 Overture sequence, which I have always remembered as the highlight. In the 1970’s when he took over the show there were still enough educated people who were aghast we choose a Russian song to commemorate our national birthday.
Well, it’s just not about America at all. Particularly not with the Russian church-style chorus, the snippets of La Marseillaise … it’s just very out of place. It’s not our War of 1812 – it’s Russia’s.
I have the distinct impression that none of that mattered to Mr. Fiedler and Mr. Mugar when the selected the number — I think they were looking for a piece that had lots of pomp and circumstance, cannons, bells, the whole nine yards.
Perhaps it’s also worth mentioning that the 1975 audience recognized this music from countless Quaker Puffed Rice commercials on Saturday morning cartoon shows in the 1950s. We boomers were just old enough to enjoy the nostalgia evoked by the repurposing.
Oh I am well aware. Which is why I like that the Pops play it-shows we are that American link to the Old World and it’s cultural offerings-but egalitarian enough to share it with the public for free. This is precisely why i hope the Pops can continue. It may be middlebrow to season ticket holders and high brow to Toby Keith fans, but it’s been the gateway drug to classical music for countless young fans. The 1812 overture and the Nutcracker made me a lifelong Tchaikovsky fan. And he was the gateway to Shostakovich.
Next year, Shostakovich 5th on the Esplanade — Battle of Leningrad!
I, for one, welcome our new cultural overlords …
I really have no problem with Mugar and Fiedler pairing the 1812 Overture with the fireworks. It’s now one of those quirky New England things that defines us, like having a public holiday to celebrate the evacuation of Dorchester Heights.
On the other hand, Mugar and CBS divorcing the 1812 Overture from the fireworks, and inserting 30 minutes of national network pablum in between, that leaves me aghast.
I’m glad the 1812 was pushed later and never understood why CBS thought it wouldn’t play with a nationwide audience. Personally, I think it works because it sounds patriotic regardless of country. The only thing I would tweak is to flip the order of 1812 and Stars and Stripes so that the fireworks at the end of 1812 segues right into the main fireworks show. Also, do church bells no longer participate or did Bloomberg just not show them? I like that part of the tradition too.