As I'm sure you're aware, it's the Fourth of July, a flag-saluting holiday if there ever were one! So on this week's show, we're exploring patriotic tunes of all stripes (and stars) in a show we're calling "National Anthems." Here's our patriotic playlist:

• Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893), 1812 Overture – National anthems often show up in classical music as either a kind of musical synecdoche (the anthem representing the people of that country) or as a way to rouse patriotic fervor. In Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture from 1880, national anthems do both. About 5:45 into the overture, we hear "La Marseillaise," the national anthem of France, representing Napoleon's Grand Armée, the French fighting force that marched into Russia in the year 1812. At the end of the work amid all of the cannon fire, Tchaikovsky quotes "God Save The Tsar," the Russian national anthem, to represent the victory of the Russian people in that battle. However, both of these national anthems are actually anachronistic for 1812. "La Marseillaise" had been banned by Napoleon in 1805 and not reinstated as the French national anthem until 1879. "God Save The Tsar," on the other hand, was not written until 1833.

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• Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924), Madame Butterfly, "Dovunque al mondo" – In Puccini's Madama Butterfly, the opening strain of the American national anthem The Star-Spangled Banner is used as a motif for the lead tenor, navy officer Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton. In his opening aria, which we just heard, Pinkerton outlines his philosophy – that of the roving Yankee who takes his pleasure where he finds it. Although Puccini was using The Star-Spangled Banner in this 1904 opera, it wasn't until 1931 that it was officially adopted as the national anthem of the United States of America. Before then, "My Country Tis of Thee," whose melody was taken from Britain's national anthem, was the de facto anthem of the United States. The Star-Spangled Banner however had been recognized for official use by the US navy in 1889, and so it makes sense that Pinkerton would be introduced with this melody.

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• Hector Berlioz (1803–1869), La Damnation De Faust, Hungarian ("Rakoczy") March – Today, the "Rákóczy March" is simply a popular patriotic tune from Hungary. But up until the 1840s it served as the unofficial Hungarian national anthem during its many struggles for independence. The tune's authorship remains unknown, although it was named after the 18th-century Hungarian prince named Ferenc Rakoczi II, who favored the march. In the early 1700s, Rakoczi led a famous (but unsuccessful) uprising against the House of Hapsburg, the royal family from Austria that ruled the land of Hungary. Ever since then, the Rakoczy March has had strong Hungarian ties. It was a favorite tune of Hungarian Gypsy violinist János Bihari. Johann Strauss II added the march to his Hungarian-themed operetta The Gypsy Baron. Franz Liszt used it as the basis for one of his Hungarian Rhapsodies. And Hector Berlioz used it here in The Damnation of Faust when he decided to set the opera in Hungary.

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• Jean Sibelius (1865–1957), Finlandia – It might come as a surprise to you that Finlandia, the tone poem by Finland's favorite son Jean Sibelius, is not the national anthem of Finland. It's certainly one of the most well-known and loveliest pieces associated with that nation, and it played a big role in rousing the nation when it was fighting for independence from Russia in the early 20th century. No, that distinction goes to a piece of music called "Maamme" by Fredrik Pacius. Pacius was a German composer who lived and worked in Finland for most of his life in the generation before Sibelius. It's Pacius who is often considered the Father of Finnish music. The tune for Sibelius's "Finlandia Hymn" (about 6:00 into the piece) however was used as a national anthem-but not for Finland. In the late 1960s, it served as the anthem for the short-lived Nigerian secessionist state of Biafra.

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https://youtu.be/mBmCcSz6HWw?t=18s

• Franz Joseph Haydn (1732–1809), String Quartet In C Major, Op. 76, No. 3 "Emperor": II. Poco adagio cantabile – The "Deutschlandlied," or Song of Germany, is the current official German national anthem. Germany actually used the music of the British national anthem "God Save the Queen" with different text until 1922. That's when this tune by Haydn was adopted. Haydn originally composed the music in 1797 as the national anthem of Austria, and he was so fond of the tune that he incorporated it into his "Emperor" string quartet. The text for this national anthem comes from a poem by Hoffmann von Fallersleben. In 1922, Germany adopted the first verse of the text for the anthem, beginning with the words "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles." But after some bad associations with a certain regime who tried to take over Europe in the 1930s and 40s, the Federal Republic replaced that familiar verse in 1950 with the third stanza, beginning "Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit" ("Unity, Justice, and Freedom").

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• Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904), Overture: My Home – This overture by Dvořák is drawn from incidental music written for a play about the famous Czech nationalist Josef Kajetán Tyl. Tyl was a journalist, playwright, and actor who attempted to raise Czech national awareness through his work. Due to the political nature of his plays, his work was suppressed by the Austrian authorities after the European revolutionary uprisings of 1848 spread to Bohemia. Tyl was placed under police surveillance and denied permission to work in the theater. He died, broken and impoverished, in 1856. His writings however became a touchstone for Czech nationalists. One of his poems became the text for a Czech folk song called "Kde domov můj" (k'DAY DUH-mohv MOO-ee) or "Where Is My Home?" Dvorak used this folk song in the incidental music for the play from where this overture is drawn. In 1919, "Where Is My Home?" became the official Czech national anthem.

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• Charles Gounod (1818–1893), Marche Pontificale – Alongside his successful operatic career, Gounod wrote a variety of religious music, including 21 masses, three oratorios and many cantatas, motets and small works.  One such smaller scale regious work is the Marche Pontificale, written in 1869 for the anniversary of the coronation of Pope Pius IX.  In 1950, it was combined with words by Antonio Allegra and adopted as the national anthem of Vatican City. Although the march is legally the national anthem of the Vatican City State, the religious community there stresses that the song is not meant to be understood as a national anthem but as a song of community amongst those who see Rome as the judiciary seat of the Catholic Church. The first four lines translate as "O Rome immortal, city of martyrs and saints, O immortal Rome, accept our praises. Glory in the heavens to God our Lord and peace to men who love Christ!".

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https://youtu.be/ql84_4pYGsc

• Francesc Alió (1862-1908), "Els Segadors" – This traditional Catalan folk tune was standardized in 1892 by the Catalan composer Francesc Alió. It serves as the official national anthem of Catalonia, an autonomous community in northwest Spain where Barcelona is located. Catalonia has been fighting for independence from Spain for decades; there was even a highly contentious Catalan independence referendum just last year. While the origins of this Catalan folk song dates all the way back to the mid-17th century, the modern lyrics were written in 1899. The text of the poem, which translated to "The Reapers," is an aggressive declaration of independence, in which the image of the farmer's sickle is invoked repeatedly, both as a tool for reaping grain and for reaping the enemies of Catalonia.Â

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• Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971), arrangement of "The Star-Spangled Banner" – By the breakout of World War II, Boston had become the adopted home of Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. As either an act of patriotism or egotism, Stravinsky decided that he would arrange the Star-Spangled Banner and perform it as a prelude to a much anticipated concert with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The piece received a frosty reception. Although Stravinsky's arrangement might not sound too unusual to our modern ears, critics at the time called it "industrial noise" and unpatriotic. Even so, Stravinsky was determined to feature the arrangement for a live radio broadcast the following evening. A dramatic showdown ensued in which Stravinsky was approached minutes before the concert by the Boston Police, who informed him that if the arrangement was performed he would be arrested. It was apparently unclear right up to the concert's opening what Stravinsky would do, but in the end, he switched out his version for a more traditional arrangement.