The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra opened 2023 with its iconic New Year’s Concert, filling the Golden Hall of the Wiener Musikverein with a stream of waltzes and polkas. The program delivered a festive mood from the first note, signaling a year of celebration while staying true to the ensemble’s traditional repertoire. For the audience of the night, the performance promised a guided walk through the waltz pedigree of Vienna, delivered with the orchestra’s characteristic precision and warmth.
Under the baton of conductor Franz Welser-Möst, the orchestra presented a lineup of 15 pieces in the main program, drawing on a deep well of classic Viennese dance music. Of those works, 12 came from the Strauss family, highlighting the prolific output of the Strauss lineage—from the patriarch Johann Strauss Sr. to his sons, particularly Josef Strauss, and the trio of brothers who shaped the family’s enduring sound. The evening emphasized the enduring appeal of the Strauss tradition while offering listeners a fresh perspective on familiar melodies through careful orchestral arrangement and interpretive nuance.
Welser-Möst, who has often expressed a deep affinity for Josef Strauss’s music, singled out the second part’s “Pearls of Love” waltz as a highlight of the 2023 concert. The conductor’s affection for this repertoire was reflected in a performance that balanced elegance with a contemporary sense of drama, inviting the audience to experience the dance as both nostalgia and living art.
After two pandemic-disrupted editions in 2021 and 2022, the 83rd edition of the New Year’s Eve Concert resumed under normal conditions, welcoming a full house without sanitary restrictions. The return to a traditional, unimpeded celebration underscored the resilience of this cultural milestone and its role as a nationwide festive ritual in Austria and beyond.
A historic moment occurred on the morning’s tenth track when a girls’ choir made its debut at this event, performing Josef Strauss’s polka “Heiterer Muth” (Joyful Courage). The girls from the Wiener Chorkindern, ages nine to fourteen, joined forces with the renowned Vienna Boys’ Choir, which this year celebrates its 525th anniversary. The moment marked a landmark for the concert, expanding the project’s reach and illustrating the continuity between generations in Vienna’s choral tradition. — Attribution: Wiener Musikverein
As the concert drew toward its emotional close, listeners were treated to two of the most celebrated pieces in the Strauss canon: Johann Strauss Jr.’s “The Blue Danube” and Johann Strauss Sr.’s “Radetzky March.” The performances were greeted with enthusiastic applause that swept through the hall, underscoring the music’s enduring capacity to unite audiences across ages and backgrounds. — Attribution: Wiener Musikverein
Shortly before the curtain fell on the 2023 edition, the Vienna Philharmonic announced that the 2024 concert would be led by German conductor Christian Thielemann, signaling an eagerly anticipated transition that many listeners view as a continuation of the ensemble’s rich artistic lineage. The news fed anticipation for the upcoming program, inviting fans to look ahead to new collaborations while cherishing the tradition that has defined the New Year’s concert for decades. — Attribution: Wiener Musikverein