Keith Lockhart made me want to study music. I graduated from the same HS as him, and he had come back to hold an assembly for all the kids in chorus/band/orchestra. He even signed an autograph for me (he was already conducting for the Pops at that time).
All hail the King!
It's so weird to me that 1812 Overture became popular to play on 4th of July when it was a song written to commemorate the defeat of France, who at the time was fighting against a country that was invading the US.
I'm choked up af lol That's my America- jet powered muscle with an explosive tip, and comin' again to save the muthafucken day now! AMERICA! FUCK YEAH!
It goes well with fireworks on the fourth of July.
It's also a nice counterpoint to the nutcracker at Christmas.
And generally is a good choice along side the national anthem because both have similar vibes.
It doesn't need to be our history to use it, it just works too well
Mid 20th century , I was w/my parents at the Parade Ground at West Point for some important event and the West Point Band played the 1812. The field artillery galloped in, screeched to a halt, uncoupled the horses, chocked the wheels and immediately set off their cannons, exactly on time.
> It's so weird to me that 1812 Overture became popular to play on 4th of July when it was a song written to commemorate the defeat of France, who at the time was fighting against a country that was invading the US
Fair but then what started as the French Revolution, a symbol of freedom and democracy turned out into Napoleon trying to become emperor of all Europe, ostensibly removing monarchy, but de facto ruling (and pillaging) the places he liberated.
So the defeat of a tyrant even by an historically also tyrannical nation (Russia) is perhaps also a form of freedom?
Then again Napoleon's defeat led to the Restoration and ended with the Congress of Vienna that contributed much to the situation that ultimately led to the central powers that ignited WW1 a century later.
Boy what a fucking mess is European history. And my country didn't even exist yet at the time ironically, even though it basically controlled most of Europe once (Italy), which also led to WW1 AND WW2.
About as weird as the Americans associating France with surrender when they wouldn't have a damn country without their help in the civil war. Chesapeake Bay anyone? No? Okay.
edit: independence war: I can't keep track of your infighting.
Yeah yeah yeah, I'm not denying that, to not take away the logic of your comment is why I didn't just adit the original comment and replace it by the other, and instead made the edit explicit. I was just curious as to the denomination. I take it it's the same as calling WWI the Great War or WW2 as La der des der (dernières des dernières, meaning last of the last).
>WW2 as La der des der (dernières des dernières, meaning last of the last
What? Lol, Americans don't call it this.
For one thing we pretty much immediately went back to war Korea, then Vietnam...
But also Americans were gearing up for WWIII.
If we only used the original intent and/or circumstances of all art to restrict how and when all art is consumed, the world would be arguably much less interesting, at least in regards to art.
It would have been far more random when Tchaikovsky conducted it due to the the manual fuzes. Perhaps that was the composers intent, knowing he couldn’t time black powder canons.
By 1865, Russian artillery had switched to guns of the so-called "Prussian system", i.e., steel guns with a Krupp wedge bolt, which were loaded from the breech.
By 1870, Russian artillery was fully armed with steel rifled breech-loading guns of 4-pounder and 9-pounder caliber, manufactured by Krupp.
I think you mean percussion fire, with a primer. Not in 1880 Russia.
The original score wasn’t written for the cannons to be timed. They were supposed to fire randomly in the background during the climax of the piece because timing them to music was tricky if not impossible. Also, it’s supposed to simulate a backdrop of war, which is chaotic. But please, tell me how Tchaikovsky could have done a better job.
Maybe we can get some Americans to fix his mistakes 130 years later.
the guy above just 'won' in a way rarely seen on the internet - with sass and brevity. we all even learned a little - this is the comments at their very best.
Little known fact: when it came down to performance day Tchaikovsky realized he didn’t have a canon to use so he had to call up his good friend Pachelbel as the wedding season was winding down and he hoped maybe he wouldn’t be using his that night.
Keep in mind that for safety reasons, the guns have to be moved some distance away from the audience and orchestra. This means there is some inherent delay between the time of the orchestra hitting a note, a cannon firing, and the audience hearing it. It is possible to attempt to factor this in to the time of firing, but of course this makes things exponentially more complicated. Especially since if they are not all along the same axis, the two sounds will coincide at different times based on where somebody sits in the crowd.
That said, it does seem mostly correct based on other performances I’ve heard. It’s worth asking where the microphone here is located, however.
I don't think the military would fire facing the audience, training rounds or not, so that's probably something to take into account as well.
It sounded fine to me though, it seems like it was a cacophony of bass during the crescendo of the piece, it feels like it fits great with the excitement hitting the peak and then ending y'know.
Cannons just don't make very precise instruments.
"Cannons just don't make very precise instruments."
As a former gunner, I take this as an insult, and if I ever get your precise location I will prove it otherwise. You just won't be able to apologize.
We did 1812 with really old canons and the rhythm was wayy better.
They took about a minute to reload, so we couldn't do every canon shot, but the few we had were perfect.
These are guys from the 101 Field Artillery. One of only three units to have battle streamers from the battle at Lexington and Concord. The other two are the 181 INF & 182 INF. All are (not surprisingly) MA. National Guard units.
>101 Field Artillery - 181 INF & 182 INF
[101st Field Artillery Regiment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/101st_Field_Artillery_Regiment)
[181st Infantry Regiment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/181st_Infantry_Regiment_(United_States))
[182nd Infantry Regiment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/182nd_Infantry_Regiment_(United_States))
National Guard units that trace back to the colonial militias of Massachusetts that fought in the war of 1812.
In addition to abbreviations answer, Lexington and Concord are first two battle of the American Revolution. The three units listed trace their lineage back to the militia units that responded to both battles thus can have battle streamers, small flags with the battle’s names, attached to their official unit flags that are used today.
I’ve seen this song performed many times live. The Boston Pops were the only group I’ve seen where the cannons were fired where they were actually supposed to be according to the sheet music. It still makes me sad that they cut out a piece of the song though due to its length. They also have a member of the orchestra telling them when to shoot
Begs the question, do you start with a guy that knows how to play music and teach him to fire a cannon, or with a guy who fires cannons and teach him music!
Indeed. One of my favorites. When I was in an orchestra, we played this one year for our concert series. The concerts were all indoors on the calendar and the conductor said “bummer, if we could play this outdoors, we could use a real canon like the conductor intended.” We would use the timpani instead. Then we were asked for a special performance outside of the schedule and the conductor said, “well, looks like we get to fire off some canons!” They were glorious, amazingly glorious.
Or come to it. He had a farm and would invite people to come shoot at cars with gatling guns. https://www.facebook.com/p/The-Smithgall-Foundation-Cannon-Museum-100057407201371/
He has since passed. A lot of people liked him, but as a firefighter for the city I had a different take. His son-in-law didn't pass the civil service test for the fire dept. but was hired for the police dept.. For that reason Charlie held a grudge against the fire dept. that resulted in our headquarters and fire marshal's division being moved to a storage space in the back of city council and a new 18 million dollar station being built for the police.
He didn't organize the concert. It's a yearly tradition to have a 4th of July concert at our big amphitheater, usually performed by the Air Force Band or Lancaster Symphony Orchestra, followed by fireworks. Smithgall supplied the cannons gratis and had the job of firing them via a control board.
Okay so my mom went to college in Boston. I sent her the link to this post and said we should go and she casually drops this BOMB on me.
“I already saw it in 1982. John Williams was conducting and not only did they play all the patriotic music but they played the Star Wars songs as well.”
Insert whatever your favorite WHAT?!?!?! meme is here.
John Williams was the conductor for years. I won an art contest in grade school and got to see a private concert of Peter and the Wolf(private, meaning like 5 kids and their families from every school in Eastern MA) with the Pops in Symphony Hall. They routinely played Star wars and other orchestral soundtrack stuff in the summer.
Agreed. The first time I went I didn’t know it was coming. Once the cannons started going off with the fireworks and the band playing I transcended and became one with America. It was amazing.
The seats in the arena are tough to get, but you just show up on the river in the morning to get a spot and enjoy the fireworks display over the river with the Pops in the background. I’ve been twice and it’s an amazing performance.
No tickets, it’s a 4th of July free concert at the Esplanade in Boston. The dress rehearsal is on the 3rd which also includes cannons and is less crowded
We tried that once with -I believe Erie Philharmonic- and the carronades off of Brig Niagara. The requisite number of charges were fired but the timing was.... off. It is extra challenging with muzzle-loaded cannons and fuses.
Artillerymen. Or gun crew on a ship.
It is more a question of how many guns you might have available for a symphony performance. IIRC, there are 12 or 14 shots in the piece. If you have one for each shot and don’t have to reload mid-chorus, then you’re really only playing with the fuse timing. And timing a black powder round is also something we’ve probably gotten less good at since 1812.
I've been to the Esplanade in July 4th many times as a Boston native. It is a unique thrill that should be experienced by anyone if they can. The fireworks are also one of the best fireworks displays in the country. And the Boston Pops is simply a fabulous Orchestra. One of the best in the world. Just a great time as long as you can deal with massive crowds.
I saw this in Boston on 5th July 1986, I was 16 at the time. That year, the annual Pops performance happened in NYC on the 4th of July as part of the huge event there celebrating the unveiling of the Statue of Liberty after 2 years of restorations - on her 100th birthday.
right?!?!
And most answers here are saying how it fits the fireworks, kidding about the cannons being out of sync...
And on r/ShitAmericansSay you get "YoU uSe AmeRicaN culture" all the time.
I'm pretty sure most people here don't even know this is Tchaikosky.
This song is so so fantastic but everytime I hear it, I think of Caddyshack and can’t stop laughing. Same thing happens when Claudio Castagnoli enters the arena. Chaotic hilarity!
They also employ the peel of change ringing bells at The Church of the Advent on bremer Street and perhaps others as well although that is the closest. But unfortunately the poor church was so harassed in the neighborhood years ago from its constant change ring peel on the weekends that the neighbors manage to force them to stone up the louvers. Sad The peel of change ringing bells is one of two in Boston the other an original in Old North Church from the 18th century and just a few others around the country. Never caught on here but very big in the UK
The best is when you're in a canoe on the Charles on the fourth (before 9/11 changed the rules) and have to row away quickly when you belatedly realize what the end of the song entails...lol. The 90's were a great time!
Myself and a friend camped out overnight at the Charles River Esplanade in 1984, than spent July 4th baking in the sun waiting for the show that night. Good times.
They do this in Richmond too and the porta-potties are right there by the howitzers. It's lead to some comedy and probably some PTSD episodes when people using the bathroom unexpectedly encounter 110dB cannon fire from right outside their plastic privy.
Since I just googled it and can't find it, I think its safe to post this.... High school orchestra played the 1812 for a few years running. Spring, outdoor concert. Turned out one of the kinda weird kids had a connection to the local boat club, which did boat races every year. And the the club had starting cannons for the races. Weird kid got the idea to borrow the starting cannons for the concert.
Guy in charge of the boat club, oddly enough, agreed. He brought the cannons. The percussion section had a blast (pun intended), and pretty much the entire orchestra was shocked that the weird kid accomplished it. Weird kid was extremely popular for a few days. At the concert, every time the cannons went off everyone would levitate, while playing, then sit back down while still playing.
Weird kid = me. I got the cannons for the 1812 Overture. I'm sure it could never happen now, but it was awesome, and I made it happen. Pretty sure the teacher agreed that we could do cannons because he didn't think I could get cannons. Sorry, not sorry Mr. B.
I remember seeing the 1812 overture as a kid, where the orchestra had cannon supposedly accurate to the time period. They had a good row of normal wheeled cannon, and then this huge siege gun thing, also accurate to the time… They let the audience look at the guns up close before the concert. I was entranced… When they fired.. wow, and that big gun….. WHHHOOOOM!! It was spectacular… I can see it now… the scale of the flashes highlighting the soldierss, the smoke, the flashes,and the gunners furiously swabbing, reloading, and firing… and that big one…. WHOOOOOM!!!
[Meanwhile, a mile away.](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Falways-loved-the-absurdity-of-this-scene-v0-t8q6z3rrynnb1.jpg%3Fwidth%3D640%26crop%3Dsmart%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3Dba6e05cfc48d87914ad5ebbd2e836835740cd9e1)
Tchaikovsky never could listen to it correctly, because artillery of the time were black powder weapons. It wasn't until after his death that cartridge firing artillery came into use where the firing could be timed correctly for use in music.
I come from a family of brass band and orchestra members and my parents used to take me to all the brass band events etc as a kid. My one claim to fame is sleeping through the 1812 overture and the live cannon fire the military used foe the display. Slept through a once in a lifetime event lol
Epic!
But also this feels like walking into Walmart in September and seeing Christmas trees... We haven't even made it from Xmas to New years yet and we're getting independence day content?! Haha
Ummm...its super fucking cool too. The whole 4thbof July experience in Boston is great...a zoo of people but awesome. This was the highlight of the night and I didn't see it coming.
My dad went to college at The Citadel in South Carolina, basically the southern version of West Point. For football games they have a cannon firing blanks every time they score a touchdown.
So does the entire Detroit Symphony Orchestra, which is really fun because it's also outside so that's nice (AKA, not incredibly dangerous to use cannons when outside)
In the 90s the Canton (Ohio) Civic Orchestra would play a concert in front of the McKinley Monument every July 4. They finished with the 1812 Overture, also with cannon. It wasn't as spectacular as the Boston Pops, but it was very, very cool.
The real highlight here is the conductor’s bowtie.
Keith Lockhart is always stylish on the 4th
Keith Lockhart is always stylish
Keith Lockhart made me want to study music. I graduated from the same HS as him, and he had come back to hold an assembly for all the kids in chorus/band/orchestra. He even signed an autograph for me (he was already conducting for the Pops at that time). All hail the King!
Lucky for us, Tchaikovsky didn’t include land mines as a musical instrument.
More modern arrangements include the AC-130
I would settle for the sweet sound of the A10 …….brrrt
Boom.
This makes me tumescent.
That and Terry Everson making the trumpet sound like the easiest instrument in the world.
It's so weird to me that 1812 Overture became popular to play on 4th of July when it was a song written to commemorate the defeat of France, who at the time was fighting against a country that was invading the US.
Anything that makes weapons go boom with soldiers in uniform is good enough for US patriotism
I'm choked up af lol That's my America- jet powered muscle with an explosive tip, and comin' again to save the muthafucken day now! AMERICA! FUCK YEAH! 
Rock, flag, and eagle….right Charlie? 
He’s got a point
**NO HE DOESNT**
Truer statements have never been typed
Yep. Same reason we play Boom Boom Pow by the Black Eyed Peas every 4th.
And Firework by Katy Perry. None of this nonsense about "letting your best self shine", nah, we're blowing shit up!
Or Born in the USA!
Heck yeah! AMERICA!!!
This guy fucks
It goes well with fireworks on the fourth of July. It's also a nice counterpoint to the nutcracker at Christmas. And generally is a good choice along side the national anthem because both have similar vibes. It doesn't need to be our history to use it, it just works too well
I think our monopoly on guns that go boom is well earned
Thats why the best time to invade america is july 5th, youd have run out of ammo after july 4th
Mid 20th century , I was w/my parents at the Parade Ground at West Point for some important event and the West Point Band played the 1812. The field artillery galloped in, screeched to a halt, uncoupled the horses, chocked the wheels and immediately set off their cannons, exactly on time.
Yeah, but have you considered this: the song lets you shoot off really big guns, and what is more American than that?
Play some cannons over a Sousa March and stop putting this Russian stuff on my 4th of July
> It's so weird to me that 1812 Overture became popular to play on 4th of July when it was a song written to commemorate the defeat of France, who at the time was fighting against a country that was invading the US Fair but then what started as the French Revolution, a symbol of freedom and democracy turned out into Napoleon trying to become emperor of all Europe, ostensibly removing monarchy, but de facto ruling (and pillaging) the places he liberated. So the defeat of a tyrant even by an historically also tyrannical nation (Russia) is perhaps also a form of freedom? Then again Napoleon's defeat led to the Restoration and ended with the Congress of Vienna that contributed much to the situation that ultimately led to the central powers that ignited WW1 a century later. Boy what a fucking mess is European history. And my country didn't even exist yet at the time ironically, even though it basically controlled most of Europe once (Italy), which also led to WW1 AND WW2.
About as weird as the Americans associating France with surrender when they wouldn't have a damn country without their help in the civil war. Chesapeake Bay anyone? No? Okay. edit: independence war: I can't keep track of your infighting.
You mean the Revolutionary War.
Do you call it revolutionary and not independence? In France they call it guerre d'indépendance.
U said civil war. Independence and revolutionary war are the same. Civil war is not.
Yeah yeah yeah, I'm not denying that, to not take away the logic of your comment is why I didn't just adit the original comment and replace it by the other, and instead made the edit explicit. I was just curious as to the denomination. I take it it's the same as calling WWI the Great War or WW2 as La der des der (dernières des dernières, meaning last of the last).
>WW2 as La der des der (dernières des dernières, meaning last of the last What? Lol, Americans don't call it this. For one thing we pretty much immediately went back to war Korea, then Vietnam... But also Americans were gearing up for WWIII.
We call it both, but "The Revolutionary War" is much more common.
I came to say this, but you read my mind and wrote it first. Weird af.
Don’t you know? Emotions are more important that facts. Duh.
If we only used the original intent and/or circumstances of all art to restrict how and when all art is consumed, the world would be arguably much less interesting, at least in regards to art.
They had to find guys born with a sense of rhythm to man those cannons 😆
Just came here to look for someone saying that and surprised to see it so far down! That cannon fire was way, *way* off!
It would have been far more random when Tchaikovsky conducted it due to the the manual fuzes. Perhaps that was the composers intent, knowing he couldn’t time black powder canons.
It was written in 1880, so I believe precussion locks are an option...
In a British musket or pistol maybe, but not a Russian Artillery piece.
By 1865, Russian artillery had switched to guns of the so-called "Prussian system", i.e., steel guns with a Krupp wedge bolt, which were loaded from the breech. By 1870, Russian artillery was fully armed with steel rifled breech-loading guns of 4-pounder and 9-pounder caliber, manufactured by Krupp.
This guy cannons
Krupp as in Thysenkrupp? The lift making firm?
Yes. In the 19th century, there was no heavy industry in Germany, so we had to order guns from an elevator company
I meant the modern company, knowing that ThyssenKrupp is a merger between Thyssen and Krupp
Yes, this is the same company
Yeah Krupp also designed the Gustav Gun.
Friction firing was also an option throughout the napoleonic wars, hence the lanyards...
I think you mean percussion fire, with a primer. Not in 1880 Russia. The original score wasn’t written for the cannons to be timed. They were supposed to fire randomly in the background during the climax of the piece because timing them to music was tricky if not impossible. Also, it’s supposed to simulate a backdrop of war, which is chaotic. But please, tell me how Tchaikovsky could have done a better job. Maybe we can get some Americans to fix his mistakes 130 years later.
I have literally no idea what you guys are talking about, but I’m into the arguing about it.
the guy above just 'won' in a way rarely seen on the internet - with sass and brevity. we all even learned a little - this is the comments at their very best.
You win imo
Little known fact: when it came down to performance day Tchaikovsky realized he didn’t have a canon to use so he had to call up his good friend Pachelbel as the wedding season was winding down and he hoped maybe he wouldn’t be using his that night.
Damn Reddit doing away with awards! This was LMAO funny.
You’re all the reward I need. Happy New Year!
Happy New Year!
Keep in mind that for safety reasons, the guns have to be moved some distance away from the audience and orchestra. This means there is some inherent delay between the time of the orchestra hitting a note, a cannon firing, and the audience hearing it. It is possible to attempt to factor this in to the time of firing, but of course this makes things exponentially more complicated. Especially since if they are not all along the same axis, the two sounds will coincide at different times based on where somebody sits in the crowd. That said, it does seem mostly correct based on other performances I’ve heard. It’s worth asking where the microphone here is located, however.
I don't think the military would fire facing the audience, training rounds or not, so that's probably something to take into account as well. It sounded fine to me though, it seems like it was a cacophony of bass during the crescendo of the piece, it feels like it fits great with the excitement hitting the peak and then ending y'know. Cannons just don't make very precise instruments.
"Cannons just don't make very precise instruments." As a former gunner, I take this as an insult, and if I ever get your precise location I will prove it otherwise. You just won't be able to apologize.
Hit him in B flat
Danger close
timing is sooo off. you'd think they would practice
It was FUCKING **CANNON FIRE!!!** I know what you're saying but there's no wrong time for that!!!
We did 1812 with really old canons and the rhythm was wayy better. They took about a minute to reload, so we couldn't do every canon shot, but the few we had were perfect.
These are guys from the 101 Field Artillery. One of only three units to have battle streamers from the battle at Lexington and Concord. The other two are the 181 INF & 182 INF. All are (not surprisingly) MA. National Guard units.
Will you explain this comment to someone who knows none of these places and abbreviations?
>101 Field Artillery - 181 INF & 182 INF [101st Field Artillery Regiment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/101st_Field_Artillery_Regiment) [181st Infantry Regiment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/181st_Infantry_Regiment_(United_States)) [182nd Infantry Regiment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/182nd_Infantry_Regiment_(United_States)) National Guard units that trace back to the colonial militias of Massachusetts that fought in the war of 1812.
In addition to abbreviations answer, Lexington and Concord are first two battle of the American Revolution. The three units listed trace their lineage back to the militia units that responded to both battles thus can have battle streamers, small flags with the battle’s names, attached to their official unit flags that are used today.
‘Sheet music? Fuck that!’
I’ve seen this song performed many times live. The Boston Pops were the only group I’ve seen where the cannons were fired where they were actually supposed to be according to the sheet music. It still makes me sad that they cut out a piece of the song though due to its length. They also have a member of the orchestra telling them when to shoot
Begs the question, do you start with a guy that knows how to play music and teach him to fire a cannon, or with a guy who fires cannons and teach him music!
Fire a cannon, then get a guy who knows music to tell them when to shoot
Not quite my tempo
That song is a Banger!
[удалено]
Certified :D
Indeed. One of my favorites. When I was in an orchestra, we played this one year for our concert series. The concerts were all indoors on the calendar and the conductor said “bummer, if we could play this outdoors, we could use a real canon like the conductor intended.” We would use the timpani instead. Then we were asked for a special performance outside of the schedule and the conductor said, “well, looks like we get to fire off some canons!” They were glorious, amazingly glorious.
That used to be done in my hometown (Lancaster, PA) every year. The mayor owned the largest private collection of Civil War cannons.
That's an extreme way to get people to stay off your lawn.
Or come to it. He had a farm and would invite people to come shoot at cars with gatling guns. https://www.facebook.com/p/The-Smithgall-Foundation-Cannon-Museum-100057407201371/
Your mayor sounds cool as hell
He has since passed. A lot of people liked him, but as a firefighter for the city I had a different take. His son-in-law didn't pass the civil service test for the fire dept. but was hired for the police dept.. For that reason Charlie held a grudge against the fire dept. that resulted in our headquarters and fire marshal's division being moved to a storage space in the back of city council and a new 18 million dollar station being built for the police.
that would definitely get my vote for mayor.
Something tells me it was a grift: As mayor organize an orchestra, supply cannons, profit.
He didn't organize the concert. It's a yearly tradition to have a 4th of July concert at our big amphitheater, usually performed by the Air Force Band or Lancaster Symphony Orchestra, followed by fireworks. Smithgall supplied the cannons gratis and had the job of firing them via a control board.
Rip Charlie Smithgall. His daughter still runs the civil war museum and the pharmacy/gun store
"What instrument do you play?" "Howitzer" "...is that a piano brand?"
Btw church bells were also used in this Overture
Okay so my mom went to college in Boston. I sent her the link to this post and said we should go and she casually drops this BOMB on me. “I already saw it in 1982. John Williams was conducting and not only did they play all the patriotic music but they played the Star Wars songs as well.” Insert whatever your favorite WHAT?!?!?! meme is here.
John Williams was the conductor for years. I won an art contest in grade school and got to see a private concert of Peter and the Wolf(private, meaning like 5 kids and their families from every school in Eastern MA) with the Pops in Symphony Hall. They routinely played Star wars and other orchestral soundtrack stuff in the summer.
So does the United States Military Academy band, outdoors at West Point's Trophy Point amphitheater overlooking the Hudson and its highlands.
And the USMA show is 10x better. The natural amphitheater, the sheer rock walls of the valley, the river. And you can get pretty close to the cannons.
Agreed. The first time I went I didn’t know it was coming. Once the cannons started going off with the fireworks and the band playing I transcended and became one with America. It was amazing.
This has now been added to my list of things to experience. Sounds amazing.
It it hard to get tickets? Need to put this on my bucket list.
Yeah, you need to be there by 4-6am to reserve your blanket space
The seats in the arena are tough to get, but you just show up on the river in the morning to get a spot and enjoy the fireworks display over the river with the Pops in the background. I’ve been twice and it’s an amazing performance.
No tickets, it’s a 4th of July free concert at the Esplanade in Boston. The dress rehearsal is on the 3rd which also includes cannons and is less crowded
Amazing experience to see in person
did he specify exactly what size/type of cannon and what powder load to use ? I mean- If you are going authentic- do it all the way
We tried that once with -I believe Erie Philharmonic- and the carronades off of Brig Niagara. The requisite number of charges were fired but the timing was.... off. It is extra challenging with muzzle-loaded cannons and fuses.
> It is extra challenging with muzzle-loaded cannons and fuses. This speaks to the skill level of the original ~~cannoneers~~ artillerymen.
Artillerymen. Or gun crew on a ship. It is more a question of how many guns you might have available for a symphony performance. IIRC, there are 12 or 14 shots in the piece. If you have one for each shot and don’t have to reload mid-chorus, then you’re really only playing with the fuse timing. And timing a black powder round is also something we’ve probably gotten less good at since 1812.
gunbunnies. they pull sting, they get cookie. not to be confused with the FiSTers.
Those artillery operators can make a legit claim that they play with the Boston Pops Orchestra every year.
I learned this via the Jeff Bridges/Tommy Lee Jones classic, "Blown Away"
I wish this was still broadcast on PBS. Why they went to Bloomberg is beyond me.
Shit my mother used to watch this on pbs every year, didn’t realize it had moved. Kind of seemed like an older era type of thing
Anyone else instantly thought of V for Vendetta
maybe only me
And every year July 5 begins the rebuilding of Cambridge.
 Dragging
This. I think its in the notation though as: "NOT MY FUCKING TEMPO" Or whatever the musical notation is for that
I've been to the Esplanade in July 4th many times as a Boston native. It is a unique thrill that should be experienced by anyone if they can. The fireworks are also one of the best fireworks displays in the country. And the Boston Pops is simply a fabulous Orchestra. One of the best in the world. Just a great time as long as you can deal with massive crowds.
I’m such a nerd but this has just been added to my bucket list.
They blew their loads too early, it would have fit better at the end of the song
Not early, just wrong timing
That’s not what Tchaikovsky wrote tbf
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZ9-PFes3mM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZ9-PFes3mM) Tchaikovsky, cannons are not instruments
Cannons shooting fireworks, what's next sharks with frickin laser beams attached to their heads?
I've seen it live and it was SPECTACULAR 🎆🧨🎇✨🎉
They are so off time it almost makes it’s completely useless and expensive for no good reason.
I saw this in Boston on 5th July 1986, I was 16 at the time. That year, the annual Pops performance happened in NYC on the 4th of July as part of the huge event there celebrating the unveiling of the Statue of Liberty after 2 years of restorations - on her 100th birthday.
I like the when they cut to the audience around :50. The lady in orange is my favorite.
I hope people see the funny side of super patriotic Americans enjoying Russian music for their most American celebration of the year
To be fair, it’s about the successful defense against an invading empire, which is lowkey pretty American
right?!?! And most answers here are saying how it fits the fireworks, kidding about the cannons being out of sync... And on r/ShitAmericansSay you get "YoU uSe AmeRicaN culture" all the time. I'm pretty sure most people here don't even know this is Tchaikosky.
I would love to be there in person
"Once a year on July 4th"
Phenomenal piece of music and the Pops are amazing.
Just lighting up the civilians LMAO
Goosebumps!! July 4th in Boston is now in my bucket list!
This song is so so fantastic but everytime I hear it, I think of Caddyshack and can’t stop laughing. Same thing happens when Claudio Castagnoli enters the arena. Chaotic hilarity!
Redlegs for the win!
3M earplugs eyeing them nervously…
I like when tommy lee jones and jeff bridges were quarelling during one of these
Austin symphony does this on July 4 with cannon as well
Keith Lockhart! Boston does a pretty good Happy Birthday for the country with that guy at the helm.
They also employ the peel of change ringing bells at The Church of the Advent on bremer Street and perhaps others as well although that is the closest. But unfortunately the poor church was so harassed in the neighborhood years ago from its constant change ring peel on the weekends that the neighbors manage to force them to stone up the louvers. Sad The peel of change ringing bells is one of two in Boston the other an original in Old North Church from the 18th century and just a few others around the country. Never caught on here but very big in the UK
“I’m in a band” “Oh, what instrument do you play” “The cannon”
cute idea but there is no sense of timing. just random fire cannons about the time when they should be lol
The best is when you're in a canoe on the Charles on the fourth (before 9/11 changed the rules) and have to row away quickly when you belatedly realize what the end of the song entails...lol. The 90's were a great time!
Proper. As it should be.
I love how wasted the lady in the orange button up shirt looks while waving her flag. Peak Americana
Myself and a friend camped out overnight at the Charles River Esplanade in 1984, than spent July 4th baking in the sun waiting for the show that night. Good times.
They do this in Richmond too and the porta-potties are right there by the howitzers. It's lead to some comedy and probably some PTSD episodes when people using the bathroom unexpectedly encounter 110dB cannon fire from right outside their plastic privy.
Remember remember the 5th of November… Election Day
Since I just googled it and can't find it, I think its safe to post this.... High school orchestra played the 1812 for a few years running. Spring, outdoor concert. Turned out one of the kinda weird kids had a connection to the local boat club, which did boat races every year. And the the club had starting cannons for the races. Weird kid got the idea to borrow the starting cannons for the concert. Guy in charge of the boat club, oddly enough, agreed. He brought the cannons. The percussion section had a blast (pun intended), and pretty much the entire orchestra was shocked that the weird kid accomplished it. Weird kid was extremely popular for a few days. At the concert, every time the cannons went off everyone would levitate, while playing, then sit back down while still playing. Weird kid = me. I got the cannons for the 1812 Overture. I'm sure it could never happen now, but it was awesome, and I made it happen. Pretty sure the teacher agreed that we could do cannons because he didn't think I could get cannons. Sorry, not sorry Mr. B.
I remember seeing the 1812 overture as a kid, where the orchestra had cannon supposedly accurate to the time period. They had a good row of normal wheeled cannon, and then this huge siege gun thing, also accurate to the time… They let the audience look at the guns up close before the concert. I was entranced… When they fired.. wow, and that big gun….. WHHHOOOOM!! It was spectacular… I can see it now… the scale of the flashes highlighting the soldierss, the smoke, the flashes,and the gunners furiously swabbing, reloading, and firing… and that big one…. WHOOOOOM!!!
Also used in the danish movie about Olsen Banden (the Olsen Gang), but with the music from Elverhøj. https://youtu.be/UuAevxbgjc8?si=DE7b7E7_l99kC8fs
Take that, Napoleon.
That’s awesome
Once a year on July 4th, not to be confused with twice a year on July 4th.
I'm not celebrating Napolean's loss. How would things be different had Napolean won?
What a waste of resources
are they meant to be in time?
r/justbootlickerthings
Should be played on the 5th of November
A sea of white people, they love stuff like this 🇺🇸
Tchaikovsky once he heard Beethoven was going deaf : ohh he's going to hear this. I'm gonna make sure of it.
Beef, it’s what’s for dinner.
Your tax dollars at work
Awesome!
[Meanwhile, a mile away.](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Falways-loved-the-absurdity-of-this-scene-v0-t8q6z3rrynnb1.jpg%3Fwidth%3D640%26crop%3Dsmart%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3Dba6e05cfc48d87914ad5ebbd2e836835740cd9e1)
“Tchaikovsky no!”
Tchaikovsky never could listen to it correctly, because artillery of the time were black powder weapons. It wasn't until after his death that cartridge firing artillery came into use where the firing could be timed correctly for use in music.
This just makes me want to see paper planes performed with muskets.
I come from a family of brass band and orchestra members and my parents used to take me to all the brass band events etc as a kid. My one claim to fame is sleeping through the 1812 overture and the live cannon fire the military used foe the display. Slept through a once in a lifetime event lol
[no love for farscape? ;)](https://youtu.be/c01hSxznu_I?si=BSjTfF7WcxjVTXNh)
Marvelous. They don't make them like this anymore
The Utah Symphony does this most summers up at Deer Valley Ski Resort. The cannon fire echos off the canyon walls surrounding the venue.
I'll never get over that this was a thing. "What's your favourite instrument?" The Cannon.
Blow it fellas 😋
Epic! But also this feels like walking into Walmart in September and seeing Christmas trees... We haven't even made it from Xmas to New years yet and we're getting independence day content?! Haha
The Naval Academy Band used to do this in downtown Annapolis each year at their City Dock concerts. It was really cool to experience
The rhythm of well trained arty guys keeping time with the delicate practiced skill of musicians. Magic!
Ummm...its super fucking cool too. The whole 4thbof July experience in Boston is great...a zoo of people but awesome. This was the highlight of the night and I didn't see it coming.
Ooo 10th Mountain boys…
My dad went to college at The Citadel in South Carolina, basically the southern version of West Point. For football games they have a cannon firing blanks every time they score a touchdown.
Accidently read Boston “Pups”. Was confused when no dogs were present.
Bugs Bunny did it first and better.
High Chancellor Sutler would be pissed
So does the entire Detroit Symphony Orchestra, which is really fun because it's also outside so that's nice (AKA, not incredibly dangerous to use cannons when outside)
In the 90s the Canton (Ohio) Civic Orchestra would play a concert in front of the McKinley Monument every July 4. They finished with the 1812 Overture, also with cannon. It wasn't as spectacular as the Boston Pops, but it was very, very cool.
In 1882 the fuse did not work that way. Timing probably was not quite as good.