Name: Overture 2024
Start: 2024-02-22T18:30:00
Location: University of Houston

Eiki Isomura

Moores School of Music

The Year 1812, festival overture in E♭ major, Op. 49, popularly known as Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, premiered in 1880, is a monumental work in the history of classical music. It commemorates Russia’s resistance against Napoleon’s 1812 invasion, a conflict marked by tactical victories but ultimate defeat for Napoleon, who entered Russia with 600,000 men and returned to France with only 93,000. Beyond its drama and patriotism, the 1812 Overture has transcended its historical context, becoming a global symbol of resistance and national pride. Notably, in the United States, it has evolved into an unofficial anthem of Independence Day, a tradition initiated in 1974 by Arthur Fiedler at the Boston Pops’ July 4th concert.