Saturday 30 December 2017

MUSIC SATURDAY - A VIENNA NEW YEAR

“Vienna is a handsome, lively city, and pleases me exceedingly.” - Frédéric Chopin 

The Vienna New Year’s Concert (Neujahrskonzert der Wiener Philharmoniker) is a concert of classical music performed by the Vienna Philharmonic that takes place each year in the morning of New Year’s Day in Vienna, Austria, and is regarded by many as the most important classical concert worldwide. It was broadcast live around the world to an estimated audience of more than 50 million in 73 countries in 2012 and 93 countries in 2017. The concerts have been held in the “Goldener Saal” (Golden Hall) of the Musikverein since 1939.

The music always includes pieces from the Strauss family (Johann Strauss I, Johann Strauss II, Josef Strauss and Eduard Strauss) with occasional additional music from other mainly Austrian composers, including Joseph Hellmesberger Jr., Joseph Lanner, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Otto Nicolai (the Vienna Philharmonic’s founder), Emil von Reznicek, Franz Schubert, Franz von Suppé, and Karl Michael Ziehrer.

There had been a tradition of concerts on New Year’s Day in Vienna since 1838, but not with music of the Strauss family. From 1928 to 1933 there were five New Year concerts in the Musikverein, conducted by Johann Strauss III. These concerts were broadcast by the RAVAG. In 1939, Clemens Krauss, with the support of Vienna Gauleiter Baldur von Schirach, devised a New Year concert, which the orchestra dedicated to Kriegswinterhilfswerk (Winter War Relief), to improve morale at the front lines. After World War II, this concert survived, as the Nazi origins were largely forgotten, until more recently.

Here is the New Year’s Concert of 1987, with conductor Herbert von Karajan. The program has as follows:
1. Beginning/inicio (2:04): Der Zigeunerbaron: Ouvertüre – Johann Strauß
2. 10:06 – Sphärenklänge: Walzer – Josef Strauß
3. 19:34 – Annen Polka: Polka française – Johann Strauß
4. 23:56 – Delirien-Walzer – Josef Strauß
5. 33:28 – Die Fledermaus: Ouvertüre – Johann Strauß
6. 42:24 – Beliebte Annen-Polka – Johann Strauß
7. 45:52 – Vergnügungszug: Polka schnell – Johann Strauß
8. 48:48 – Pizzicato-Polka – Johann Strauß
9. 51:48 – Kaiser-Walzer – Johann Strauß
10. 1:03:34 – Perpetuum Mobile, Musikalischer Scherz – Johann Strauß
11. 1:06:36 – Unter Donner und Blitz – Johann Strauß
12. 1:10:28 – Frühlingsstimmen: Walzer (Kathleen Battle – Sopran) – Johann Strauß
13. 1:19:18 – Ohne Sorgen: Polka schnell – Josef Strauß
14. 1:21:22 – An der schönen blauen Donau: Walzer – Johann Strauß (Neujahrsgruß nicht anwesend - no se presenta – not given).
15. 1:31:50 – Radetzky-Marsch - Johann Strauß, Vater

1 comment:

  1. Vienna pleases me exceedingly, as well! The choice of music sounds excellent, but it is the Golden Hall of the Musikverein that looks spectacular. [Even knowing what would have happened to all the Jewish musicians and spouses of Jewish wives, had it not been for Wilhelm Furtwängler].

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