One more year the rite is fulfilled, starting the new year with background music, that of Vienna Philharmonic New Year’s Concert. This time he returned with all his power to the podium of the Golden Hall of the Musikverein the great german director Christian Thielemannexceptional protagonist for the second time in this popular cultural initiative.
The German maestro, one of the most important of his generation, elevated the repertoire to major levels with his prodigious baton; was definitely the star of an evening that, despite the passing of the years and the repetitiveness of the program – the famous waltzes, polkas and operetta fragments, especially from the Strauss family–, it has surely broken audience records again, which was estimated at about 55 million viewers on the European continent alone. Taking into account that some 90 countries have connected to the Austrian ORF television signal, the figure will be enormous for this initiative in co-production with the European Radio-Television Union. And this essential event since 1941 every January 1 – although it was established in 1939 by the Nazi regime – always becomes the audience leader. In Spain the coverage is surprising: it has been broadcast live on TVE1 and RNE Radio Clásica, with the instructive comments of journalist Martín Llade, although with some technical mishap.
perfect communion
As usual, the main hall of the Vienna Musical Society – the famous Musikverein – was filled with millionaire music lovers (as is known, tickets reach figures that exceed 1,000 euros) in front of a grandiose Thielemann, in perfect communion with a Viennese Philharmonic. in a state of grace. The current owner of the Dresden Opera, who from September 2024 will replace Daniel Barenboim in the musical direction of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, he moved like a fish in water between the pieces of Johann Strauss Sr. and his sons Johann, Josef and Eduardand his son, Johann Strauss III. The Wiener Staatsballett once again joined in the television show, with choreographies by Davide Bombana offered live at the Musikverein itself and in other spaces and gardens in Vienna. The Strauss saga was joined by much less widespread authors, such as Karl Komzák, Joseph Hellmesberger Jr., Carl Michael Ziehrer, Hans Christian Lumbye and of the great symphonist Anton Bruckner. The intermission in the broadcast was dedicated to the latter, who made his debut on this program when his bicentennial was celebrated, with a heartfelt tribute to his immortal music. And the concert was crowned as is traditional, with the three tips, including ‘The Blue Danube’ and the ‘Radetzky March’.
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At the end of the broadcast it was announced that Riccardo Muti will lead the 2025 edition.
Despite its popularity, this year the famous concert was attended by boycott of many music lovers who have shown solidarity with the orchestra conductors. All this due to a comment without the slightest artistic basis by the president of the Philharmonic, Daniel Froschauer, which in 2022 stated in the Press conference prior to the concert that, after 83 editions always with a man at the helm, it can only be directed by a woman “when the time comes”, arguing that to lead the way at this event it is required of “a consecrated artist”, but, above all, of someone “with a lot of experience with our orchestra. “When we have an artistic relationship of about ten years, we normally invite them to the New Year’s Concert,” she said.