1812 Overture facts

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Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" is considered by some music historians to be the first "diss track" in history. The cannon battery at the climax was likely included to mock the French, referencing Napoleon's retreat from Moscow in 1812—when the Russian army used his own artillery against him.

Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture is considered the first "diss track", as well as being the first recorded use of firearms in a piece of music. These both stem from the cannons at the song's climax, which were representative of the Napoleonic Army's own cannons being turned against them.

In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across. Here are 11 of the best facts about 1812 Overture I managed to collect.

1. Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" depicts the campaign of Napoleon into Russia, and the use of real cannon and the falling melody at the end symbolize the retreat of French army following the Battle of Bordino

2. Cannons are also percussion instruments classified as "Pyrophones" because they are used when performing songs such as the 1812 Overture and For Those About To Rock.

3. Tchaikovsky wrote 16 cannon shots into the score of the 1812 Overture musical piece.

4. The famous Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" (the one from the ending scene from "V for Vendetta") was written to commemorate Russia's defence of its motherland against Napoleon's invading Grande Armée in 1812. That's why you can hear the main phrase of "La Marseillaise" in it's full version.

5. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky hated his composition of the "1812 Overture" despite it making him very wealthy and becoming his most famous work. He called it “very loud and noisy and completely without artistic merit, obviously written without warmth or love."

6. There is a humorous interpretation of the classical masterpiece, "The 1812 Overture" called "The 1712 Overture" with duck calls and the popping of balloons.

7. The music that plays during the saluting on Capital Hill is actually the 1812 overture written by P. Tchaikovsky

8. The 1812 Overture was written in 1880 by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to commemorate Russia's defense of its motherland against Napoleon's invading Grande Armée in 1812, nothing to do with the American War of 1812.