Which composer wrote the '1812 Overture'?

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote the 1812 Overture.

The work’s full title is The Year 1812, Solemn Overture, and it was composed in 1880 to commemorate Russia’s defense against Napoleon’s invading Grande Armée in 1812. It is a concert overture rather than an opera or symphony, and its dramatic design traces a broad arc from religious solemnity and national danger to military victory.

Tchaikovsky wrote the piece for celebrations connected with the consecration of Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The score famously calls for cannon fire near the climax, alongside church bells and the Russian imperial anthem. Performances often adapt these forces, using recorded cannon, percussion effects, or other substitutes when actual artillery is impractical.

The overture premiered in Moscow in 1882, conducted by Ippolit Al’tani. Its prominent use of the French national anthem, La Marseillaise, represents Napoleon’s forces rather than French musical authorship. That detail sometimes leads listeners to focus on the patriotic melodies and miss the work’s historical setting: it depicts Russia’s victory over Napoleon, not the Napoleonic invasion itself. The piece remains one of Tchaikovsky’s best-known orchestral works.