''Liberty Fanfare'' is a composition for

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

by John Williams. Written in 1986, the piece was commissioned to celebrate the Centennial of the Statue of Liberty on

July 4 Events Pre-1600 *362 BC – Battle of Mantinea: The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans. * 414 – Emperor Theodosius II, age 13, yields power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria, who reigned as regent and proclaime ...

that year. However, it was actually premiered a month beforehand, on June 4, when Williams conducted the

Boston Pops The Boston Pops Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in light classical and popular music. The orchestra's current music director is Keith Lockhart. Founded in 1885 as an offshoot of the Boston Sym ...

. The entire piece is approximately five minutes in length and uses both the brass section for the main themes and the strings for providing a recurring, melodious motif. The rhythm is also repeated several times throughout the piece. Before the premiere of the piece, Williams commented that he had "tried to create a group of American airs and tunes of my own invention that I hope will give some sense of the event and the occasion". The composition received generally positive reviews at the time and is still regularly performed as a patriotic piece. Several recordings of the piece are also available.

Partial discography

*1987: ''By Request...The Best of John Williams & the Boston Pops Orchestra'', John Williams and the

Boston Pops Orchestra The Boston Pops Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in light classical and popular music. The orchestra's current music director is Keith Lockhart. Founded in 1885 as an offshoot of the Boston Symp ...

Philips Records Philips Records is a record label founded by the Dutch electronics company Philips. It was founded as Philips Phonographische Industrie in 1950. In 1946, Philips acquired the company which pressed records for British Decca's Dutch outlet in ...

*1988: ''American Jubilee'',

Erich Kunzel Erich Kunzel, Jr. (March 21, 1935 – September 1, 2009) was an American orchestra conductor. Called the "Prince of Pops" by the ''Chicago Tribune'', he performed with a number of leading pops and symphony orchestras, especially the Cincinnati ...

and the

Cincinnati Pops Orchestra The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra is a pops orchestra based in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, founded in 1977 out of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Its members are also the members of the Cincinnati Symphony, and the Pops is managed by the same ...

Telarc Records Telarc International Corporation is an American audiophile independent record label founded in 1977 by two classically trained musicians and former teachers, Jack Renner and Robert Woods. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, the label has had a long associ ...

*1990: ''The Best of John Williams'', the Philharmonic Rock Orchestra - Naxos Records *1998: ''Victory at Sea'' (arranged for concert band), the United States Navy Band - Altissimo! Records *1999: ''Splash of Pops'',

Keith Lockhart Keith Alan Lockhart (born November 7, 1959) is an American conductor. He is the Conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra, the Chief Guest Conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra, and the Artistic Director of the Brevard Music Center in North Caro ...

and the

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

References

External links

''Liberty Fanfare''
- The John Williams web pages. Retrieved June 4, 2006.
Unofficial ''Liberty Fanfare'' website
Allison Schwartz. Retrieved June 4, 2006. {{Authority control 1986 compositions Compositions by John Williams Compositions for symphony orchestra Compositions in D major Statue of Liberty

Partial discography

See also

References

External links