Other cities have founded their own "pops" orchestras, but the Boston Pops remains the most famous and well-known.
History of the Pops
In 1881, Henry Lee Higginson, the founder of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, wrote of his wish to present in Boston "concerts of a lighter kind of music." The Boston Pops Orchestra was founded to present this kind of music to the public, with the first concert performed in 1885. Called the "Promenade Concerts" until 1900, these performances combined light classical music, tunes from the current hits of the musical theater, and an occasional novelty number. Allowing for some changes of taste over the course of a century, the early programs were remarkably similar to the Boston Pops programs of today.
The Boston Pops Orchestra did not adopt its own official conductor until 1930, when Arthur Fiedler began a fifty-year tenure as the Pops conductor. Fiedler's career as the conductor of the Pops brought worldwide acclaim to the orchestra. He was unhappy with the reputation of classical music as being solely for elite, aristocratic, upper-class audiences. Fiedler made efforts to bring classical music to wider audiences. He instituted a series of free concerts at the Hatch Shell on the Esplanade, a riverside public park along the Charles River. Along with his insistence that the Pops Orchestra would play popular music alongside well-known classical pieces, Fiedler opened up a new niche in popular culture that encouraged popularization of classical music. Under his direction, the Boston Pops allegedly made more commercially available recordings than any other orchestra in the world, with total sales of albums, singles, tapes, and cassettes exceeding $50 million. Of the many musical pieces produced over the years, the Pops' most famous and popular work is Fiedler's production of Leroy Anderson's composition "Sleigh Ride".
Fiedler's respectful easy-listening arrangements on Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Play the Beatles, released in 1971, opened many eyes to the musical qualities of Lennon and McCartney.
Fiedler is most widely remembered in Boston for having begun the annual tradition of the Fourth of July Pops concert and fireworks display on the Esplanade, one of the best-attended Independence Day celebrations in the country with regular estimated attendance of 200,000–500,000 people. (This event is organized by Boston's Fourth of July celebration under the leadership of David Mugar.) Also during Fiedler's tenure, the Pops and local public television station WGBH developed a series of weekly televised broadcasts recorded during the Pops' regular season in Symphony Hall, Evening at Pops.
After Fiedler's death in 1979, the conductorship of the Boston Pops was taken over by Academy Award-winning composer John Williams in 1980. Williams continued the Pops' tradition of bringing classical music to a wider audiences, initiating the annual "Pops-on-the-Heights" concerts at Boston College and adding his own considerable library of well-known movie soundtracks (including the Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies) to its repertoire.
Keith Lockhart assumed the post of principal Pops conductor in 1995. Lockhart continues to conduct the Boston Pops today, adding a touch of flamboyance and a flair for the dramatic to his performances. Williams remains the Laureate Conductor of the Pops and conducts a week of Pops concerts most years. Lockhart brought in numerous pop-music acts to play with the orchestra, including Rockapella, Guster, My Morning Jacket, Aimee Mann and Elvis Costello.
Love theme
The Boston Pops Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where it may rain or storm
Yet I'm safe and warm
For within that summer place
Your arms reach out to me
And my heart is free from all care
For it knows
When seen through the eyes
Of those who are blessed with love
And the sweet secret of
A summer place
Is that it's anywhere
When two people share
All their hopes
All their dreams
All their love
There's a summer place
Where it may rain or storm
Yet I'm safe and warm
In your arms, in your arms
In your arms, in your arms
In your arms, in your arms
The lyrics of The Boston Pops Orchestra's song Love Theme describe a place where two people can come together and find safety and warmth in each other's embrace. This "summer place" may experience bad weather, but the love between two people transforms it into a safe haven. The presence of love makes everything brighter, and even in the midst of storms or gloomy skies, they can find freedom from worries and fear. The "sweet secret" of this summer place is that it is not tied to any particular location, but rather is wherever the two people's love can be shared. The lyrics convey the message that love makes any place a summer place, filled with hope, dreams, and affection.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a summer place
There's a special place, like a vacation spot
Where it may rain or storm
Where the weather could be bad or uncertain
Yet I'm safe and warm
But I feel secure and comfortable there
For within that summer place
Inside that special place
Your arms reach out to me
You hold me tight when I'm there
And my heart is free from all care
And I feel carefree and happy
For it knows there are no gloomy skies
Because I know that even if the weather is bad, I'll still feel happy with you
When seen through the eyes of those who are blessed with love
When you're in love, you see things differently and even bad weather doesn't seem so bad
And the sweet secret of a summer place
The wonderful thing about this place
Is that it's anywhere
Is that it doesn't have to be a specific location
When two people share all their hopes, all their dreams, all their love
As long as two people love each other and share everything, they can create their own special place
In your arms, in your arms, in your arms, in your arms
And the best place for me is in your loving embrace
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MACK DISCANT, MAX STEINER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind