American swimmer Michael Phelps once said, "You can't put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get." He should know. He is the most decorated Olympian athlete of all time.
Every four years* the world watches with great anticipation the ultimate human drama of athletic competition: a 2-week multi-national sporting event based on the original Olympic Games. The originals were held in Olympia, Greece, from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. In modern times, more than 200 countries send their top athletes to compete on the world stage for a global audience of approximately 3 billion, as of the 2022 Games.
This summer at the Paris Olympics, more than 10,000 athletes will compete in 329 events in 32 sports, including the first ever breakdancing competition! But while the Olympics host new sports at changing venues all the time, one thing has remained constant since the beginning: music is an inextricable part of the Games.
Spyridon Samaras: The Olympic Hymn (1896)
Over the years a number of pieces were written about and for the Olympics, starting with the very first modern Games. The Greek opera/operetta composer, Spyridon “Spiro” Samaras, was asked by the first president of the International Olympic Committee to write the opening theme for the 1896 Olympics. The Olympic Hymn (also known as the Olympic Anthem) is a choral work with lyrics based on a poem by fellow Greek Kostis Palamas. This rendition has subtitles in English:
This hymn became the “official” Olympics theme in 1958. Since then, it has been played at every Olympics opening and closing ceremonies.
Arnaud: Bugler’s Dream (1958)
Also in 1958, conductor Felix Slatkin asked French-American composer Leo Arnaud to write a piece for Slatkin’s upcoming themed album, "Charge!" Arnaud’s The Charge Suite included a section he called Bugler’s Dream. Starting with the 1964 Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, ABC made Bugler’s Dream their TV theme music for their Olympics coverage. While not commissioned for or by the Olympics, for generations of Americans this is simply “the” Olympics music.
Many recordings you’ll hear of the Arnaud piece are actually reworkings by John Williams, but this is Arnaud’s original orchestration, played here by the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra:
Bugler’s Dream was used for ABC's TV coverage of the Olympics through 1988, when NBC won the broadcasting rights for the Games. NBC did not get the rights for the Arnaud piece immediately, but in 1992 Bugler's Dream returned and has been a part of American Olympics broadcast coverage ever since.
Leonard Bernstein: Olympic Hymn (1981)
Although Spiro Samaras’ piece is the “official” theme, Olympic Committees from host countries have reached out to other composers for theme music for their particular Olympics. For example, in 1981 Leonard Bernstein was asked to write the theme for that year’s International Olympic Congress in Baden-Baden, West Germany. There was a lot at stake for Bernstein in accepting this invitation. The year before were the boycotted Moscow Games, and the Leonard Bernstein Office's official website adds, "It seemed as though the sustainability of the Olympic Games were at stake.”
Bernstein relied on some of the music from the finale to his 1976 musical 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. He wanted the piece to reflect the word “brotherhood,” and used lyrics written by German poet Günter Kunert.
It was first recorded by John Williams and the Boston Pops with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus:
The seriousness with which the world considered the future of the Olympic Games included an opening ceremony of the Congress attended by Pope John Paul II, HRH Prince Philip, and the Secretary General of the United Nations.
Philip Glass: The Olympian: Lighting of the Torch and Closing (1984)
American composer Philip Glass was asked to write an Olympics theme in 1984. The work for orchestra and chorus, The Olympian: Lighting of the Torch and Closing, was performed for the 1984 Games in Los Angeles.
John Williams: Olympic Fanfare (1984)
In addition to Philip Glass’ music, perhaps the most famous Los Angeles-based composer, John Williams, was also commissioned to write a theme for the 1984 LA Olympics. In a New York Times interview that year, Williams said: “A wonderful thing about the Olympics is that young athletes strain their guts to find and produce their best efforts. The human spirit stretching to prove itself is also typical of what musicians attempt to achieve in a symphonic effort. It is difficult to describe how I feel about these athletes and their performances without sounding pretentious, but their struggle ennobles all of us. I hope I express that in this piece.”
John Williams conducts the Boston Pops at a 1987 Tokyo concert:
According to johnwilliams.org, Williams started performing his piece with Arnaud’s Bugler’s Dream as the lead-in in 1996 and has continued performing it this way ever since.
John Williams: Olympic Spirit (1988)
In 1988, NBC asked John Williams for new theme music for their Olympics coverage of the Seoul, South Korea, Games. As in other examples above, this was not music written for the Olympic ceremonies, but it got huge listenership when it aired as part of the TV broadcast.
This is John Williams conducting an NBC studio orchestra:
The recording with the studio orchestra was used not only for the NBC Games coverage, but was also the recording used on the official 1988 Summer Olympics album, “One Moment in Time.”
Andrew Lloyd Webber: Amigos para siempre (1992)
English composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, of Broadway musical fame, was tapped for theme music by the Barcelona Olympics Committee in 1992. He teamed up with lyricist Don Black and wrote Amigos para siempre (Friends for Life). It wasn’t performed until the closing ceremonies, when it was sung by Sarah Brightman and Spanish tenor Jose Carreras:
Just a note, Lloyd Webber and Sarah Brightman had divorced in 1990, but were still friends when he asked her to team up with Carreras for the ceremonies. They remain friends to this day, just like the title of the song.
John Williams: Summon the Heroes (1996)
NBC came calling once again for John Williams in 1996. They asked for a piece to be played at the opening ceremonies for the summer games in Atlanta, Georgia. Here is John Williams conducting the Boston Pops Orchestra:
Williams dedicated the piece to Pops trumpeter Tim Morrison, of whom he said: “(He)...has an American sound and his playing is very touching, very beautiful. There is real serenity in his playing.”
There are numerous other pieces written about and for the Olympics that we can save for a future Part 2. Meantime, enjoy these pieces as your lead-in to the Paris Olympics, coming up July 26 - August 11, 2024!
*Since the modern day founding of the Olympics, the summer and winter games were held every four years and in the same year, but the timing was changed in 1994. It’s still every four years for the return of a particular season’s games, but now the world gets treated to the Olympics every two years as the seasons are staggered and alternate.
CODA: I’ve always loved this ad for NBC’s coverage. I’m not crying... you’re crying...