The 2008 Classical Games are about to begin. This year’s games are a series of throw-downs pitting composition against composition, composer against composer, to determine the world’s best in each of 13 events.
 
 
 
 
Opening Ceremonies — Fanfare
Leo Arnaud (France, although he emigrated to America): Olympic Fanfare (Bugler’s Dream)
Jean-Jacques Mouret (France): Suite de Fanfares - Rondeau (aka Masterpiece Theater theme)
Paul Dukas (France): Fanfare to La Peri
Aaron Copland (USA): Fanfare for the Common Man
John Williams (USA): Olympic Fanfare
John Williams (USA): Liberty Fanfare (for the Statue of Liberty)
Leos Janácek (Czech Republic): Sinfonietta - Fanfares (1st movement)

Everyone wants to get in on this round, with John Williams sneaking in two entries to give the USA an equal footing with the French team. Unfortunately, the favorite pet — Arnaud — isn’t used to constant attention and scrutiny, and frankly, neither are Williams’ choices. All three have mass appeal, but just can’t break away from their parent occasions. On the other hand, Mouret is almost washed up, after 30 years of weekly television appearances and countless wedding gigs. Dark horses Dukas and Janácek continue to try to catch up to Copland, with Janácek giving a strong showing, but neither has yet met the challenge.

Team Sports — Opera Overture
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Austria): Le nozze di Figaro, K. 492
Gioachino Rossini (Italy): Il barbiere di Siviglia

In order to preserve a level field, the two contenders were chosen because they both are based on Pierre-Augustin Beaumarchais’ Figaro plays. It’s a close call: both have catchy tunes and sustained energy. They’re neck and neck…but at the last minute Rossini wins, getting a leg up from the number of cartoon-scoring musicians using his music.

Team Sports — Orchestral Adagio
Samuel Barber (USA): Adagio for Strings, Op. 11
Tomaso Albinoni (Italy): Adagio for violin, strings & organ

Scandal! Albinoni is disqualified for doping, with his trainer, modern musicologist Remo Giazotto, providing the “bulk” of the music. The otherwise unchallenged Barber wins by default!

Team Sports — Symphony No. 9
Ludwig van Beethoven (Germany): Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 “Choral”
2nd Movement: Molto vivace
Finale: Presto - Allegro assai
Franz Schubert (Germany): Symphony No. 9 in C major, D944 “The Great”
2nd Movement: Andante con moto
Finale: Allegro vivace
Antonin Dvorák (Czech Republic): Symphony No. 9 in E minor, B. 178 “From the New World”
2nd Movement: Largo
3rd Movement: Molto vivace

This — and the Requiem competition — are the real heart of the games. The number of athletes and skill required to pull off a successful performance are great. The audiences sure do love these works, and so do the musicians, although Schubert isn’t quite winning over the fans the way Dvorák and Beethoven are. Those two sure do know how to create great melodic ideas and really get some excitement going. They even open their Scherzo movements in a similar way. That Dvorák Largo really tugs at the spectators’ heartstrings, but Beethoven is going to walk away with the gold for his glorious finish.

Team Sports — Requiem
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Austria): Requiem, K. 626
Dies Irae
Agnus Dei (completed by Robert Levin)
Giuseppe Verdi (Italy): Requiem
Dies Irae
Agnus Dei

Wow. The impression that these two make is nearly incomparable in the annals of sacred music match-ups, and the combined forces on each team really work hard to maintain that delicate balance of expressive impact and technical interpretation. Both nail the fiery depiction of the final day of reckoning, but take a different approach in the Agnus Dei part of the program. However, as good as Mozart is — and despite the best efforts of whatever team is backing him — his showing in this contest is always subject to the criticism that he could not complete his work. Therefore, Verdi — ever the showman — will come out on top in the end.

Gymnastics — Organ
Johann Sebastian Bach (Germany): Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 - Toccata
Charles-Marie Widor (France): Organ Symphony No. 5 - Toccata

The first of our individual sports competitions. It’s almost over before it begins. Widor makes a valiant effort, including using a more powerful, more technologically advanced instrument, but he just cannot keep up with Bach.

Gymnastics — Violin
Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky (Russia): Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 - Finale: Allegro vivacissimo
Johannes Brahms (Germany): Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77 - Finale: Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo vivace
Ludwig van Beethoven (Germany): Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61 - Rondo: Allegro

One of the most difficult contests. It calls on all the athlete’s dexterity, strength, stamina, and artistry. Each bravely faces the test. Brahms seems to be lagging, staggering under the weight of complex thematic developments. But Beethoven and Tchaikovsky are neck and neck, with the musicians giving it their all, technically and emotionally. Who will it be? It’s almost too close to call…but it sounds like Tchaikovsky has come out on top, winning by a nose!

Gymnastics — Piano
Sergey Rachmaninov (Russia): Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini
George Gershwin (USA): Rhapsody in Blue

Another challenge for the entrants and another close competition. Both are well-known and have captured the hearts of millions of spectators. The Russian entrant has all the formal training of a world-class musician, while the upstart American takes a more free-form approach. Does the distinctive style give him the advantage he needs to pull ahead? It does! Gershwin wins!

Gymnastics — Vocal
Charles Gounod (France): Ave Maria (after Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier Prelude No. 1)
Franz Schubert (Austria): Ellen’s Gesang (”Ave Maria”), D839

This is a contest that is sure to be judged more subjectively than others. Schubertian competitors have the option of using the original German text based on the work of Sir Walter Scott or a traditional Latin text, while with the Gounodists, competition is frequently opened to non-vocalists. Today’s contestants are both vocalists, supported by their organist seconds. Sounds like the judges have gone with the more original composition and the performance by the Schubertians. We’ll see if the Gounodists cry foul and try to have the judges’ scores thrown out.

Gymnastics — Floor Exercises
Maurice Ravel (France): La Valse
Jean Sibelius (Finland): Valse Triste

The artistry, the gracefulness, the attention to every move. Sibelius takes a risk and goes for a melancholy spin on the traditional form. What will the judges make of that? Will they appreciate it for its haunting beauty or find it a bit too ghoulish? Ravel has the expected energy and animation and 3/4 rhythm, but he’s showing some attitude. Will the judges be put off by it or will they reward him for it, jaded by years of listening to the likes of past champions like Strauss and Lanner? It’s official, the judges have gone with Ravel, and Sibelius has to settle for second place.

Track & Field — March
Jeremiah Clarke (England): The Prince of Denmark’s March
Hector Berlioz (France): Rákóczy March
Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky (Russia): Slavonic March, Op. 31
John Philip Sousa (USA): The Stars and Stripes Forever
Edward Elgar (England): Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1
Johann Strauss, Sr. (Austria): Radetzky-Marsch, for orchestra, Op. 228

For the March competition, the field appears to be wide open and the number of contestants is astounding. Most are sentimental favorites in their home countries, but each also seems to have its own international fans. But the scoreboard shows Strauss, Elgar, and Sousa at the top, followed by Tchaikovsky and Berlioz, with Clarke standing in last place.

Water Sports
Claude Debussy (France): La Mer - Dialogue du vent et de la mer
Benjamin Britten (England): Four Sea Interludes - Sunday Morning

Britten has been called in as a backup team member for England because Handel’s Water Music suites — based on Baroque dance forms — aren’t up to facing the picturesque tone poems by Debussy. He dives right in and tries to outdo Debussy by providing one more movement than required. Does his extra effort pay off? It does not! Debussy’s more restrained number of movements still manages to outpace the challenger.

Closing Ceremonies
George Frederick Handel (England): Music for the Royal Fireworks - La réjouissance
Igor Stravinsky (Russia, at the time of this work): Fireworks

To celebrate the conclusion of another year’s games, the final test pits the young Russian against the elder statesman. Stravinsky has the advantage of youthful spirit and idealistic experimentation, but Handel comes to the table with the wisdom of age and a good idea of what will consistently wow the crowds no matter the circumstances (the original event his music accompanied was a spectacle not just for the fireworks, but also for the brawling and the building fire).