Olympic Hymn (Bernstein)
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| Olympic Hymn | |
|---|---|
| by Leonard Bernstein | |
 The Olympic flag | |
| 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]
