The New Year’s Day concert in Vienna
The New Year’s Day Concert in Vienna has been on my bucket list ever since a school friend introduced me to Viennese music at the Royal Festival Hall over 60 years ago. The chance of winning a ticket in the ballot is very slim so perhaps this (probably) once-in-a lifetime experience, after many unsuccessful attempts, of being lucky for the 2024 concert could be regarded as a ‘miracle’?
The concert is held at the Musikverein – the home of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra – in the heart of a seasonally vibrant Vienna. Just walking into the hall takes one’s breath away! It is a wonderful venue – also called the Golden Hall – bedecked for this annual event with beautiful flowers. The acoustics rank with the best in the World.
The concert consists of waltzes, marches, galops, polkas, overtures and quadrilles – mainly by the Strauss family. Before the second encore – the Blue Danube Waltz – the conductor gives a message of hope to the World – precisely what is conveyed in the Scriptures. Finally we have the Radetzky March during which the conductor – Christian Thielemann this year – directs the audience when and when not to clap.
The coverage of the concert on television (to over 90 countries) is excellent, but to actually be present in the Musikverein on New Year’s morning hearing such beautifully played, uplifting music is truly magic.
Mike B