Liberty Fanfare

"Liberty Fanfare" is a composition for orchestra by John Williams. Written in 1986, the piece was commissioned to celebrate the centennial of the Statue of Liberty on July 4 of that year. However, the piece was actually premiered a month beforehand, on June 4, when Williams conducted the Boston Pops. The entire piece is approximately five minutes in length and utilizes 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." [ "Getting ready for a big date", Richard Dyer, "Boston Globe", April 22, 1986, 16:2] The composition received generally positive reviews at the time and is now still played as a patriotic song. Several recordings of the piece are also available.

Notes

References

* [http://www.johnwilliams.org/compositions/libertyfanfare.html Liberty Fanfare] - The John Williams Web Pages, accessed June 4, 2006
* [http://courses.wcupa.edu/frichmon/mue332/fall2000/SchwartzAllison/ Unofficial Liberty Fanfare website] , Allison Schwartz, accessed June 4, 2006