Olympic Hymn | |
---|---|
by Leonard Bernstein | |
Composed | 1981 |
Performed | 23 September 1981 Baden-Baden : |
The Olympic Hymn is a 1981 composition by Leonard Bernstein to a text by Günter Kunert. [1] It was written for the International Olympic Congress of 1981 in Baden-Baden, West Germany. [2] It was premiered by the Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Baden-Baden Youth Choir under conductor David Shallon on 23 September 1981. [3] The piece opened the proceedings of the International Olympic Congress. [1]
The piece is six minutes in length. [3]
The hymn bears some similarity to the song "To Make Us Proud" that formed the finale of Bernstein's 1976 musical 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. [3] The first recording of the Olympic Hymn was made by the Boston Pops Orchestra and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus under John Williams on Williams's 1996 album Summon the Heroes. [4] [1] Lyrics to the piece were written by the German author and poet Günter Kunert. [2] [1]
The piece was the last of Bernstein's compositions to be orchestrated by Hershy Kay. [5]