New Year Concert Vienna History

The new year s celebration 2021 hosted by hugh bonneville the annual concert premieres friday january 1 2021 at 9 p m.

New year concert vienna history. The vienna philharmonic presents annually at the new year a program consisting of the lively and yet nostalgic music from the vast repertoire of the strauss family and its contemporaries. The orchestra chose an internationally prominent conductor lorin maazel who directed the concerts through 1986. There is a lot of evidence of the glorious role that the city of vienna has played in music history and still plays.

The orchestra performs the same concert programme on 30 december 31 december and 1 january but only the last concert is regularly broadcast on. Already at that time vienna was considered a world city of music. After 1993 1997 2000 2004 and 2018 this year s concert will mark the 6th time that riccardo muti whose close musical partnership with the vienna philharmonic has now extended nearly 50 years conducts this prestigious concert event.

In october 1979 when boskovsky was forced to cancel the new year s concert of 1980 for health reasons the philharmonic made a fundamental change. The concert occurs at the musikverein at 11 15. Each new year s day since 1 january 1941 the vpo has sponsored the vienna new year s concerts dedicated to the music of the strauss family composers and particularly that of johann strauss ii.

A new chapter in the history of the new year s concert. The new year s day concert of classical music in vienna has become an annual tradition but it s not as old as some expect and there is a dark side to its history. The first new year s concert took place in vienna in 1939 with the proceeds going to the nazi s annual charity drive.

Mozart haydn schubert bruckner or mahler. The 2021 vienna philharmonic new year s concert takes place on january 1 2021 under the baton of riccardo muti in the golden hall of the musikverein in vienna. The vienna new year s concert neujahrskonzert der wiener philharmoniker is an annual concert of classical music performed by the vienna philharmonic on the morning of new year s day in vienna austria.

Ring in the new year with great performances from vienna. Clemens krauss conducted the music on that occasion and continued to lead the majority of the concerts until 1954. Ironically the first ever vienna new year s day concert took place not on 1 january but on 31 december 1939 when it was intended primarily as a wartime morale booster.