Due to the recent discussions on the list, I've been listening to "1812" a
couple of times.  I have no problems with the cymbal clashes, but the whole
thing tends to be too noisy in the end.  The introduction with the choir is
impressive, and then the low basses and celli make a dramatic impact.  The
battle music is not so convincing, it sounds like the French are winning
the battle (where are the russians?), but suddenly a beatiful cantabile
theme appears.  After that the one-sided battle music returns briefly again
rather unconvincingly only to be interrupted by the cantabile theme once
again.  Finally Mr T.  uses the music from the introduction in a brass
setting to conclude the piece.  A logical conclusion, but apart from that
the work is not so well-constructed as one could expect from Mr T.

If you want to listen to some GOOD battle music, I suggest Liszt's
"Hunnenschlacht" (battle of the Huns).

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