August 20th: Today in 1882 Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture has its first performance in Moscow. Intended as a celebration of the Russian victory over Napoleon, this is one of the most easily recognized pieces of classical music. My father bought be a CD player in the early 80s before they were common and I went out and bought two CDs to check the sound quality. One was Beethoven’s Battle Symphony, which had real cannon and musket fire but was pretty forgettable, the other was a version of the 1812 Overture, which turned out to not have real cannons, but was a much better recording. I am not sure I still have the Battle Symphony disc, but I know right where my 1812 Overture disc is.

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