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Boston Pops on WBZ Radio and Ch. 4 - Play only part of 1812 Overture

C

Casablance

Guest
The Boston Pops should be ashamed of itself for messing with the 1812 Overture. They sped through it during the Esplande concert like it was "The Minute Waltz".
They cut out most of the story the music tells of Russia driving out Napoleon from Moscow in the winter of 1812.

In what is a total sham the Boston Pops under Lockhart cut out the most beautiful part of the Overture the Russian Folk songs and dances.

Better Lockhart not play the Overture if he is going to cut it to pieces.
Can't imagine John Williams caving in to such a travesty. But then John Williams is a real composer and conductor and Lockhart is ... well, what is Keith Lockhart ? Cutting up the 1812 would be like cutting out the burning of Atlanta in Gone with the Wind or having Rhett just walk out the door without saying a word.
Frankly, Scarlet this poster does give a damn.

There were several good parts to the concert but they had little to do with Keith Lockhart or the Boston Pops. One was the beautiful and talented Ala (sp?) Brown singing the National Anthem [ maybe Lockhart would have cut that too if he could have gotten away with it].
Another was Jack Williams classy readings although it seems that Lockhart was using the orchestra to drown him out at times. Boston is fortunate to have Jack Williams. A total class act. More time should have been given to the singer whose last name I think was King. She was outstanding but they seem to cut her part out. Finally, Rockapella was great but then again between commercials and hype for CBS 4 their time was cut as well.

Makes one long for the days of A&E and Channel 5's coverage of the Esplande Concert. Their timing was much better and certainly less but not totally non- commercial.

Again, cutting the 1812 Overture is classless. Petr Il'ich Chaikovskii must be spinning.

Finally, it would have been nice if WBZ Radio could have worked out a deal with the soon departing WCRB 102.5 FM to simulcast the broadcast so the it could be heard in FM Stereo.
 
That blows. Luckily I heard it this afternoon on 102.5 and it was played in its entirety. I bet Rossini is rolling over in his grave :eek:
 
i heard the same broadcast as well.That is why the piece was so fresh in my mind. A few years ago it rained and delayed the national feed so they dropped most of the 1812 all together. Of course, this was under Keith Lockhart. Don't think that John Williams would have allowed that either. Is it just my impression but doesn't Lockhart showboat a little too much before the camera? Williams sort of got lost in the conducting which made him the genius that he is.
 
Geesh, did Lockhart beat you up or something when you were a kid? Talk about having animosity towards someone.

The 1812 is one of my favorite pieces, but I didn't get to hear the pops play, although we did get to see the fireworks. The thing you have to remember is that there’s a lot going, perhaps the show was running behind so CBS told them to cut some stuff up in order to time i right when the feed was picked up nationally? Perhaps it was planned out before hand because you have to remember this concert is meant to just be a fun time so a bunch of drunks all around Boston can have a good time watching the fireworks, it's not meant to be a history lesson. I guarantee if you play the 1812 for most people the only part people would recognize is the very end. Sometimes when you have to do concerts like this you have to play for the people, its as simple as that.
 
Yup, the end is near when The Boston Symphony Orchestra has to dumb down for the average American - drunk or sober. :(
 
Living where I do there was zero possibility of hearing The Pops on 'BZ.

Had to rely on TV.

Watched/listened to less than 5-minutes before turning it off in disgust.

The Boston Pops...late and lamented.
 
Lockhart is a total phony! The show has sucked since he took over, and he is way too full of himself.
It was great though to see those famous Boston natives Dr. Phil and his wife add some local flavor.
Just awful, the whole show. awful!
God Bless America...... Oh, I am sorry, you can't use any of those 3 words around Lockhart!
 
CBS and the Boston Poops

Why is it that CBS can't cover the whole concert nationally instead of simply cutting it down to an hour and calling it the Fireworks Spectacular. That name alone really tells you that CBS isn't focusing on the Pops (poops for editing the 1812 Overture) but on the fireworks display. It seems like CBS thinks the the pops won't get ratings but the fireworks display will. That is so pathetic. I really miss Pops Goes The Fourth on A&E. At least WBZ 4 televised the whole concert which shows they actually gave a damn.
 
Two facts: (1) The "1812 Overture" is a pastiche of pre-existing music, not a through-composed piece. (Beethoven needed a few dollars later in life for a court case, so he patched together a pastiche called "Wellington's Victory or The Battle Symphony"). It's no tragedy if such a piece is chopped up for commercial reasons..it IS a tragedy when one movement of a through-composed major artistic composition like the aforementioned LvB's Seventh Symphony is subjected to a hatchet job.. (2) The orchestra on the stage of the Hatch Shell is NOT the Boston Symphony Orchestra, but the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, talented and well-schooled free-lancers from Greater Boston. You may have encountered them if you went to the Boston Ballet's "Nutcracker" last winter. They do what the management of the B.S.O. tells them for sure, but they probably won't be enjoying their golden years as the beneficiary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra's pension plan.
 
And your point is ? Is it okay to cut the 1812 Overture to shreads to fit in more self serving and obnoxious CBS 4 self promotions. Look at us aren't we swell. Of course, we are number 3 in the ratings but we have great teeth and hairs. Screw the music. As an old broadcasting friend would say to me half mockingly after a TV appearance. "Forget what I said. How did I look?" Truer words were never said that sum up the disaster of the CBS 4 crew.


Laurence Glavin said:
Two facts: (1) The "1812 Overture" is a pastiche of pre-existing music, not a through-composed piece. (Beethoven needed a few dollars later in life for a court case, so he patched together a pastiche called "Wellington's Victory or The Battle Symphony"). It's no tragedy if such a piece is chopped up for commercial reasons..it IS a tragedy when one movement of a through-composed major artistic composition like the aforementioned LvB's Seventh Symphony is subjected to a hatchet job.. (2) The orchestra on the stage of the Hatch Shell is NOT the Boston Symphony Orchestra, but the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, talented and well-schooled free-lancers from Greater Boston. You may have encountered them if you went to the Boston Ballet's "Nutcracker" last winter. They do what the management of the B.S.O. tells them for sure, but they probably won't be enjoying their golden years as the beneficiary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra's pension plan.
Click to expand...
 
another_radio_dude said:
Geesh, did Lockhart beat you up or something when you were a kid? Talk about having animosity towards someone.

The 1812 is one of my favorite pieces, but I didn't get to hear the pops play, although we did get to see the fireworks. The thing you have to remember is that there’s a lot going, perhaps the show was running behind so CBS told them to cut some stuff up in order to time i right when the feed was picked up nationally? Perhaps it was planned out before hand because you have to remember this concert is meant to just be a fun time so a bunch of drunks all around Boston can have a good time watching the fireworks, it's not meant to be a history lesson. I guarantee if you play the 1812 for most people the only part people would recognize is the very end. Sometimes when you have to do concerts like this you have to play for the people, its as simple as that.
Click to expand...
I am a plain old everyday radio DJ but I was exposed to classical music at a very early age. My uncle, Dr. Elliott Galkin was considered to one of the major minds of classical music in the later 20th century. Thanks to his generosity I had the opportunity to meet some of the greatest living conductors of the modern age. I visited Tanglewood several times and had the chance to see real, talented musicians and conductors. Dr. Galkin also wrote what is considered to be the most complete study of the history of orchestral conducting ever written. So I have a little bit of background here. There are great conductors..and Williams is one of them. There are pretenders and Lockhart is one of them. The difference is that Williams or Fiedler would have fought for the entire integrity of the broadcast, and quite plainly NOT given in. TV-5/A&E's broadcast was miles ahead of what CBS has done to an excellent celebration. A pox on them and their house!
 
Amen! I wish I could have expressed it as well as you did.
How long does CBS have the contract to broadcast the ruination of the Boston Pops Esplande Concert on the 4th.

Lockhart, the Pretender. How accurate.
 
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