| Olympic Hymn | |
| Composer: | Leonard Bernstein |
| Composed: | 1981 |
The Olympic Hymn is a 1981 composition by Leonard Bernstein to a text by Günter Kunert. It was written for the International Olympic Congress of 1981 in Baden-Baden, West Germany.[1] It was premiered by the Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Baden-Baden Youth Choir under conductor David Shallon on 23 September 1981. The piece opened the proceedings of the International Olympic Congress.
The piece is six minutes in length.[2]
The hymn bears some similarity to the song "To Make Us Proud" that formed the finale of Bernstein's 1976 musical 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.[2] The first recording of the Olympic Hymn was made by the Boston Pops Orchestra and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus under John Williams on Williams's 1996 album Summon the Heroes.[3] Lyrics to the piece were written by the German author and poet Günter Kunert.[1] [4]
The piece was the last of Bernstein's compositions to be orchestrated by Hershy Kay.[5]