At the closing ceremonies of the 2024 Olympics in Paris, Swiss pianist and composer Alain Roche played a piano that was vertically suspended in the Stade de France. Roche and French tenor Benjamin Bernheim performed a new version of Gabriel Fauré’s Hymne à Apollon.
In last Wednesday’s (8/7) Classic FM (U.K.), Kyle Macdonald writes, “As the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics enters its final days, we look back at the times when classical music has left a lasting impact on Olympic celebrations. Art competitions were a major part of the modern Olympic Games from 1912 to 1948. Medals were awarded for architecture, literature, music, painting and sculpture, with all works having the theme of sport. And at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics the composition silver medal was won by none other than Czech composer Josef Suk for his march ‘Towards A New Life.’ Arts competitions were abolished two decades later, due to the feeling that it favored professionals who were already established in their creative fields. Classical music as an Olympic sport? We’d be up for its return.” The article discusses notable instances of classical music at the Olympics, including the 1936 Olympics in Berlin (an “Olympics Hymn” by Richard Strauss), the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles (84 pianists played Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue on 84 pianos), the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona (Freddie Mercury + Montserrat Caballé), the 1996 Games in Atlanta (the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra), and more.
