What classical music was used by the russian during the closing ceremonies?

March 1, 2010 10:05 AM

Last night during the closing ceremonies of the Vancouver Olympics, the Sochi presentation included classical music conducted from Vancouver. Can anyone recognize the pieces of music they used?
posted by redyaky to Media & Arts (4 answers total)

Best answer: Do you mean the bit when the Russian conductor in Vancouver led the symphony in Russia?

If so, I believe it was Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 followed by Festive Overture by Shostakovich (I saw clips of the closing online but didn't actually see it when it was on TV, so I'm not sure what things may have been shown on broadcast.)

The orchestra in Vancouver just played the Olympic fanfare...or whatever that John Williams piece that he wrote for 1984 (the Olympics, not the book) was called.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 10:47 AM on March 1, 2010

Response by poster: MCMikeNamara, yes, that is exactly the bit I was looking for. Thanks!
posted by redyaky at 11:13 AM on March 1, 2010

Best answer: Before the Tchaikovsky, they played Sviridov's Time Forward, which was also used in Guy Maddin's The Heart of the World.
posted by Awkward Philip at 11:47 AM on March 1, 2010

I thought I caught a bit of Marche Slave toward the end of the segment... (But Tchaikovsky borrowed from himself a lot, it could have been Symphony No. 6 or something else.)
posted by LolaGeek at 5:24 PM on March 1, 2010