It was refreshing to watch the Boston Pops Orchestra's July 4, 1978 concert this morning. As I watched, I kept thinking, "In 1978, the powers that be didn't feel the need to have a celebrity host or pop stars singing with the orchestra. The Boston Pops just put on an enjoyable light Classical concert with an off-screen announcer, and the audience responded enthusiastically." Offenbach's "Overture to Orpheus In Hades," Copland's 'Hoedown' from "Rodeo," and "Pop Goes The Weasel," among other selections, received particularly boisterous cheers. About the only musical concession the orchestra made to then-recent times was performing Walter Murphy's "A Fifth Of Beethoven." Conductor Arthur Fiedler was restrained, as well, only introducing pieces occasionally and keeping his remarks brief.
Current conductor Keith Lockhart has done a fine job for decades with the annual July 4 concerts, and Craig Ferguson and Lockhart's 2009 impromptu "lords of the dance" commercial break interlude during the orchestra's performance of "Shipping Up To Boston" is the most amusing thing I've seen during any Boston Pops performance.
It's also nice, however, to remember a time when people just appreciated a full concert for the music itself and the fireworks--and that was enough.
