Editing 1812 Overture (section)

{{Short description|1880 concert overture by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky}}
{{redirect|The Year 1812|the leap year|1812}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{infobox musical composition
| name              = 1812 Overture
| type              = [[Concert overture]]
| composer          = [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky]]
| image             = 1812 overture.jpg
| image_upright     = 1.2
| caption           = A performance, with [[cannon]] fire, at the 2005 Classical Spectacular in [[Melbourne]], Australia
| key               = [[E-flat major|E{{music|flat}} major]]
| opus              = 49
| composed          = {{Start date|1880}}
| occasion          = Commemoration of the 1812 Russian defense against [[Napoleon]]'s invading {{lang|fr|[[Grande Armée]]}}
| premiere_date     = {{start date|1882|08|20|df=y}}
| premiere_location = Moscow
| premiere_conductor = [[Ippolit Al'tani]]
}}
'''''The Year 1812, Solemn Overture''''', Op. 49, popularly known as the '''''1812 Overture''''',<ref>{{cite web|title=Tchaikovsky Research: The Year 1812, Op. 49 (TH 49)|url=http://en.tchaikovsky-research.net/pages/The_Year_1812|access-date=21 June 2015|archive-date=26 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220326181114/http://en.tchaikovsky-research.net/pages/The_Year_1812|url-status=live}}</ref> is a [[concert overture]] in [[E-flat major|E{{music|flat}} major]] written in 1880 by Russian composer [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky]]. The piece commemorates [[Russian Empire|Russia]]'s successful defense against the [[French invasion of Russia|French invasion]] of the nation in 1812.

The overture's first public performance, under the baton of [[Ippolit Al'tani]], took place in Moscow on {{OldStyleDate|20 August|1882|8 August}},<ref>{{cite book |title=The Great Song Thesaurus |last1=Lax |first1=Roger |first2=Frederick |last2=Smith |year=1989 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-505408-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/greatsongthesaur00laxr/page/230 230] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/greatsongthesaur00laxr/page/230 }}</ref> under a tent, near the still unfinished [[Cathedral of Christ the Saviour]], which also memorialised the 1812 defence of Russia.<ref name="Tchaikovsky: A Listener's Guide">Felsenfeld, Daniel. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=dyrU7NkVZFIC&pg=PA54 Tchaikovsky: A Listener's Guide]'', p. 54. Amadeus Press, 2006.</ref>

The fifteen-minute overture is best known for its climactic volley of [[cannon]] fire, ringing [[chime (bell instrument)|chime]]s, and a [[brass instrument|brass]] [[fanfare]] [[finale (music)|finale]]. It has also become a common accompaniment to [[fireworks]] displays on the [[United States]]' [[Independence Day (United States)|Independence Day]].<ref name="NYT-20220703">{{cite news |last=Hernández |first=Javier C. |title=Amid Ukraine War, Orchestras Rethink '1812 Overture,' a July 4 Rite – Some ensembles have decided not to perform Tchaikovsky's overture, written as commemoration of Russia's defeat of Napoleon's army. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/03/arts/music/1812-overture-russia-ukraine.html |date=3 July 2022 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=4 July 2022 |archive-date=4 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220704100753/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/03/arts/music/1812-overture-russia-ukraine.html/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The ''1812 Overture'' went on to become one of Tchaikovsky's most popular works, along with his ballet scores to ''[[The Nutcracker]]'', ''[[The Sleeping Beauty (ballet)|The Sleeping Beauty]]'', and ''[[Swan Lake]]''.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Cambridge Companion to Modern Russian Culture|author=Robinson, Harlow|editor= Rzhevsky, Nicholas|publisher = Cambridge University Press|year=2012|isbn=978-1-107-00252-4|pages=268}}</ref>