Why America plays a Russian tune on Independence Day

Driving the news: The Houston Symphony will round out Friday's free Star-Spangled Salute at Miller Outdoor Theatre with the overture before fireworks light up the skies over Hermann Park.

The intrigue: Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote the piece in 1880 to commemorate the nation's victory over the French during the Napoleonic invasion in 1812, which turned the tides of war.

Yes, but: American symphonies and orchestras nationwide play it on America's Independence Day, often during fireworks, timing larger displays with the score's crescendoes.

Flashback: The Boston Pops first paired the Russian overture with a fireworks show during its 1974 Independence Day concert, the New York Times reported in 1998.

• The coupling was an effort to attract more people to the show by playing the piece — complete with real howitzer cannon fire written into the finale — and pop off fireworks at the same time.
• Two years later, it became a staple when 400,000 people witnessed the performance and fireworks during the 1976 American Bicentennial celebration in Boston.

My thought bubble: "1812 Overture" is one of the earliest pieces of music I distinctly remember. It always gets me hyped, no matter how much it was disparaged by "Frasier."

• It's burned into my memory largely because it played every time you hit a home run on 1992's Cal Ripken Jr. Baseball for the Super Nintendo, a video game I loved as a kid.
• I even have a favorite recording: The Philadelphia Philharmonic's 1959 rendition conducted by Eugene Ormandy.

The bottom line: With a little cognitive dissonance, I'll be enjoying Friday's performance alongside thousands of like-minded Houstonians celebrating Fourth of July.