The Vienna Philharmonic's traditional New Year's concert began under conductor Riccardo Muti as a tribute to the composer Johann Strauss. The 200th anniversary of the birth of the Viennese “Waltz King” will take place in October.
Muti (83) conducted the “Demolirer Polka” and the “Lagoon Waltz” by Johann Strauss, who was born in 1825, with full of lightness and elasticity. These works were framed by pieces by his father of the same name and his brothers Josef and Eduard, which demonstrated the breadth of talent within the Strauss composer dynasty.
Rediscovered waltz composer
For the first time, the program of this Vienna New Year's concert included a composition by a woman. Muti and the Philharmonic rehearsed Constanze Geiger's “Ferdinandus Waltz”. She composed the work when she was twelve, and Johann Strauss's father premiered it in 1848. During her lifetime, Geiger was appreciated as a composer, pianist and actress. Since then, however, it has been almost forgotten.
The concert, which will be broadcast in more than 90 countries, should send a message of harmony, beauty and peace to the world at the beginning of the year, said Muti before the TV event, which was shown on ZDF. This was the seventh time he had conducted the New Year's Concert – the last time, as he announced.
