Cleveland bans 1812 overture
NewsThe orchestra’s CEO announced the decision to scrap the Tchaik spectacular in the NY Times:
“Given the way Russia is behaving right now and the propaganda that is out there, to go and play music that celebrates their victory I just think would be upsetting for a lot of people,” said André Gremillet, the president and chief executive of the orchestra. “Everyone would hear that reference, complete with the cannons, to the current war involving Russia. It would be insensitive to people in general, and certainly to the Ukrainian population in particular.”
Is the Marche Slave next?
Deeply stupid and out of time to banish 1812. And don’t forget that during 1812 we can hear La Marseillaise… When I hear that I don’t think about Ukraine I think more about Zubin who recorded that so well with the LA Phil in the 70’s. And. I can’t talk for the dead… but I have big doubts that George Szell would have liked this decision.
Based on George Szell’s comments to TCO audience after the Kent State massacre I suspect he would have learned and performed the Ukrainian anthem before banning the 1812. The current banning is moronic.
You can play the Ukrainian anthem and play after 1812 in a concert. And Don’t forget that the Kiev Ballet house has danced on tour last winter in France some Tchaikovsky music after the start of this fatal war. Let the spectator be intelligent in concert hall is a good option. Tchaikovsky is not reponsable of this war and he don’t have to be a victim or a guilty today.
I should have said rather than instead of before.
Completely imbecilic ignoramuses make these sorts of decisions. Lock them in a room until they’ve read War and Peace, before making such a decision.
I think reading War and Peace will stop them making any decisions for a long while.
You think they could read War and Peace???
Ridiculous.
Good for André Gremillet and The Cleveland Orchestra. 1812 Overture is garbage music that even Tchaikovsky loathed. How it came to be traditionally played during America’s Independence Day celebrations beggars belief. There are plenty of fine American compositions that can be played on this day – and some can even be altered to include cannons.
1812 it’s around 15 mn it’s not Mahler 3 for the length. 1812 is not at all garbage even if it was a thing Tchaikovsky composed on demand. You can play 1812 and some other things.
The 1812 Overture should have been GLOBALLY banned a long, long time ago, for being a lousy piece of music.
It’s an excellent music to hear when you are running like “Pini di Roma” or “Pictures at an exhibition”.
Speaking as a Clevelander, hearing Tchaikovsky doesn’t make me think of Putin any more than hearing Ives makes me think of Biden.
Not to worry, folks, the CSO has programmed the 1812 for the Symphony Ball on 9/24, arguably the most important concert of the season for their donors. While other less corageous orchestras keep caving to political pressures, Muti-Alexander stand as beacons of freedom, refusing to take out the n-word from opera librettos, and programming – with the extraordinary artistic planning leadership of Cristina Rocca – a “Russian blast” for the entire next season, spearheaded by the bombastic and militaristic 1812.
Rumor has it that Muti’s hard core fans are begging him to showcase his Russian awards before these concerts, the order of Friendship received by Putin and the membership of the Russian Academy of the Arts, ran by Putin’s personal sculptor. Muti is very attached to these awards and would not return them to the Russians. And why should he, we may add.
No matter what happens in this mad world, the Muti-Alexander CSO can be counted on to always do the right thing.
By this “logic” we must immediately ban all Russian literature from schools: goodbye Pasternak, Tolstoy, Akhmatova, and Dostoyevsky. Also all Russian language study. And nobody can possibly study Stalinism, for they might actually learn lessons applicable to today.
Why? Are they all celebrating Russian military victories with bells on? Nobody wants to ban Russian music, or even “ban” 1812. They are just not playing this one particular piece right now. If you need that type of music, try on Beethoven’s “Wellingtons Sieg” for size.
Good that you put logic in quotation marks, because your “logic” is not. I suggest you spend more time reading quality Russian lit, and less time posting ridiculous defenses of the 1812 Overture. 1812 is an overexposed chestnut, and we don’t need to hear it again. Especially now.
Why not replace The 1812 with The William Tell Overture, which never fails to charm, surprise & delight every audience?
It’s over- played.
Just as well to give it a rest.
Ahistorical, anachronistic, pandering, and just plain stupid. Welcome to ‘Murka.
I suggest Festive Overture instead.
What’s the big deal about banning it? I just attended another orchestra’s Fourth concert, and it was so nice to hear pieces that haven’t been programmed to death every year. The thousands in attendance were clearly happy with the fresh repertoire.
1812 is also conspicuous by its absence from the Philadelphia Orchestra’s annual “Tchaikovsky Spectacular” at the Mann Center in Fairmount Park (July 21). Apparently, the usual fireworks will accompany the finale of the 4th Symphony.
Electing to not perform the Overture this year is not the same as banning it, or all Tchaikovsky.
What a bunch of F***ing idiots.
What next borsht soup. Do i tell my mother not to make it. Because it is Russian.
It’s OK, Ukrainians eat it too.
Do Beethoven Wellington’s Victory instead. And Handel Royal Fireworks music.
America again!
When are we invited to the next book burning?
When are you holding the next one?
At this time, it is a fair and reasonable decision.
Having performed this piece with various orchestras, oh, three dozen too many times, I note that it never fails to please audiences, and I have never begrudged same for making use of its drawing power. Removing it due to some tenuous connection to Putin’s adventures is a misplaced and unfortunate sentiment.
Napoleon was the Putin of his day. He conquered much of Europe until over expansion and high military losses weakened him and he lost everything. The 1812 Overture celebrates the defeat of Napoleon/Putin and other military dictators.
No: As the music moves along, it decimates la Marseillaise – so it’s only the defeat of France that it celebrates. You can bet Putin listens to it every night before he goes to bed, and again when he awakens, much as Hitler listened to Wagner.
What idiots!
Completely unnecessary. Here in the U.S. citizens think it commemorates our War of 1812. That’s why it’s a July 4 performance staple. Nothing to do with Russia. Idiot celebration programmers.
Silly and seems a product of smug and self satisfied thinking. Still, I suppose it is better not to program it than do what the Soviets themselves did: eliminate the “Bozhe, Tsarya khrani!” (God Save the Tsar) themes that Tchaikovsky inserted (and into marche slav) and replace it with the Soviet anthem. Hearing those soviet recordings is a real eye opener.
Hey, the 1812 Overture for July 4th just got old – OK??? The current war is a valid excuse to give it a rest. But trust me, it will be back – even in Cleveland.
This ridiculous liberal virtue signaling needs to stop.
Honestly, musically speaking not a great loss 😉
Bravo. Well overdue. 1812 overture never had any sane connection to America or its celebration of independence. Hopefully other orchestras will follow suit and disengage this musical piece from Fourth of July celebrations.
Has Cleveland Library yet to burn Pushkin at al….if they don’t know how, they can refer to
files by German experts in the
field,circa 1933
The hypocricy of these people. They don’t seem to raise an eyebrow when they see what happened to Iraq, and the resulting killing of millions of people throughout the middle east.
What nonsense, what has Tchaikovsky got to do with the war. People are so stupid.
The National Symphony Orchestra performed it at its July 4th Concert in D.C.
A most unnecessary decision. Does Putin even know about Tchaikovsky or more importantly, does Tchai know Putin?
Start to ban works , to burn books, everyone knows where it leads. Woke culture is so spread that’s it has become very easy and natural to erase , exclude opinions, history etc…it became a reflex.
What should we do with the entire US culture after indians genocide? Should we still read American books, hear American composers….
And this kind of move only pleases these who initiated it, it has absolutely no effect in real world.
Tchaikovsky is one of my favorite composers, but I can live happily without hearing the 1812 Overture in a concert performance or on a recording.
1812 celebrates a Russian victory. To stop playing this piece of music now, while Russia is waging a war of aggression is sensible, and not very stupid, moronic or imbecile. There is no suggestion of not playing Jevgenij Onegin, Pikovaja Dama, Swan Lake, Nutcracker or any of the symphonies.
As for Marche Slave, as Norman mentions, yes: it probably should not be played either, and for the same reason as 1812. The Marche Slave was written to celebrate the Russian entry into the 1876 Serbo-Ottoman war. The Russian entry into that particular war might be seen as Russia supporting a freedom war for an oppressed country, trying to liberate itself from an oppressive, dictatorial empire. However, in Russian propaganda, their invasion of the Ukraine is described as freeing the Russians in Donbass from Ukrainian oppression.
So both 1812 and Marche Slave should not be programmed for the time being: as these works were written to celebrate Russian military victory and to celebrate Russian military intervention abroad.
In my grandmother’s bookcase I found a smallish book of The World’s Great Composers. Frontispiece portrait featured—you guessed it!—Edward MacDowell, of course. The publication date: late 1917 or 1918. Missing in Action (nowhere mentioned): Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Wagner, Schumann, etc (WW1)
Maybe not “everyone” would hear this piece as a signal to support Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine et al, but this cancellation is an excellent example to virtue signalers everywhere!