Cannons on the Charles

Leo Bottstein is quoted as saying that "composing blockbuster barn-burners like the "1812 Overture"is not as easy as it seems. Success seems to have eluded no less a figure than Beethoven, who tried it 70 years earlier. His opus, "Wellington's Victory"(sometimes called the "Battle Symphony") was recently featured on an NPR segment dealing with the worst classical compositions in history. I believe it took first place. To be fair, the "1812"and "Wellington's Victory" were both pastiches of already-existing material, and Tchaikovsky had his hearing AND lived in an era of orchestral virtuosity. LvB was no slouch at orchestrating even amidst a blur of tinnitus, but skill in orchestrating didn't come to the fore until shortly after he died and French composer Hector Berlioz came along.