Word: timpani
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Dates: during 1940-1949
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...from the force of the medium is hard to tell on first hearing. It seemed to me that much of the percussion part was only reinforcement, especially in the first movement. The two elements have a clearer relation to one another, however, in the last two movements, when the timpani picks up a theme from the pianos, or the xylophone introduces one of them for development. Whatever the magic, it is an over-whelming work, and it is not surprising that the enthusiasts were carried away by the superb performance...
...noisy, patriotic hullabaloo is Peter Ilich Tschaikowsky's 1812 Overture. Depicting Napoleon's retreat from Moscow, it ends with a mixture of the Marseillaise, the Imperial Russian anthem and - so reads the score - a terrific salvo of artillery fire. Although most orchestras dub in cymbals and timpani, the 1812 has sometimes been performed with real cannon. Last week in Philadelphia, Conductor Eugene Ormandy's decision to blitz the 1812 gave the Philadelphia Orchestra a cute little publicity story...