Summon the Heroes

1	Summon the Heroes / Boston Pops Orchestra First Recording 6:17
2	O Fortuna / Boston Pops Orchestra From Carmina Burana 2:39
3	Bugler's Dream/Olympic Fanfare and Theme / Boston Pops Orchestra 4:31
4	Ode to Zeus / Boston Pops Orchestra From Canto Olympico 3:42
5	Javelin / Boston Pops Orchestra 8:53
6	Olympic Hymn / Boston Pops Orchestra First Recording 5:22
7	Festive Overture, Op. 96 / Boston Pops Orchestra 6:19
8	Conquest of Paradise / Boston Pops Orchestra 3:38
9	Parade of Charioteers / Boston Pops Orchestra From Ben Hur 3:49
10	Toward a New Life / Boston Pops Orchestra 5:54
11	Chariots of Fire / Boston Pops Orchestra 3:38
12	The Olympic Spirit / Boston Pops Orchestra First Recording 4:06

Barnes & Noble

The spectacle that is the Olympics owes much to its music. Somehow, a long, drawn-out series of sweaty struggles achieves heroic proportions, grandeur even, when accompanied by the sort of rousing movie music of which John Williams is the unquestioned maestro. Here, with the orchestra he led for years, Williams conducts compositions of his own that were commissioned for the Olympics of 1984, 1988, and 1996, as well as works written for earlier Olympic Games by Leonard Bernstein (1981), Josef Suk (1932), Mikis Theodorakis (1992), and Michael Torke (1996). Also included are other pieces with Olympic associations: Shostakovich's Festival Overture (Moscow, 1980) and Vangelis's Chariots of Fire (Sarajevo, 1984), with some of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana and Miklós Rózsa's "Parade of the Charioteers" from Ben Hur thrown in for fun. As we experience the excitement of the opening ceremonies -- the torch lighting, the parade of athletes from all nations -- the boom of kettledrums and the lonely individual trumpet solo help to make our Olympic experience greater than the sum of its televised parts. But then, there's also nothing to stop you from taking Summon the Heroes to the gym and letting it accompany you as you ride that exercise bike to glory. Emily King

All Music Guide

John Williams conducts this uplifting collection of Olympic themes, brimming over with bright fanfares and sweeping pieces culled from mostly contemporary sources. Highlighting the recording is Williams' own "Summon the Heroes," easily recognizable as NBC's primary musical piece during their coverage of the Olympic games. Zac Johnson