Neujahrskonzert 2024 [New Year's Concert]

by Wiener Philharmoniker, Christian Thielemann

Overview

One has to hand it to Sony Classical, which placed this performance, given on January 1, 2024, on streaming services by January 12. This year's conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's Concert, which is sold out so far in advance that one has to register a year in advance even to get into the ticket drawing, was Christian Thielemann, making his second appearance at the concert (the first was in 2019). Thielemann is best known for the likes of massive things like Bruckner symphonies and Wagner operas, which might seem to make him an unlikely choice for the festive Neujahrskonzert, but actually, he proves to be fully up to the task. True, the concert is a bit like what one might expect from Thielemann. Eduard Strauss' Polka schnell Ohne Bremse ("Without Brakes"), Op. 238, does, in fact, seem to have some brakes, and Josef Strauss' Delirien Waltz, Op. 212, is never quite delirious. Thielemann even brings in his beloved Bruckner in the form of an orchestral arrangement of the piano four-hands Quadrille, WAB 121, but this is actually effective and sounds fresh. The same is true of a New Year's piece from Denmark, Glædeligt Nytaar, of Hans Christian Lumbye. Best of all, Thielemann delivers a really rousing Strauss II An der schönen blauen Donau ("The Beautiful Blue Danube"), Op. 314, phrased so that it sounds a bit like an operatic scene. In general, Thielemann succeeds here in giving the people what they want (as evidenced by the album's appearance on classical best-seller charts in early 2024), with many standards by members of the Strauss family and others, a few novel pieces, and plenty of Viennese spirit. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	02/16/2024
Label:	Sony Classical
UPC:	0196588589713
Rank:	85854

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Christian Thielemann   Primary Artist,Conductor,Speech/Speaker/Speaking Part
Wiener Philharmoniker   Primary Artist,Orchestra

Technical Credits

Johann Strauss I   Composer
Eduard Strauss   Composer
Karel Komzak   Composer
Rene Moeller   Engineer
Wolfgang Schiefermair   Engineer
Thomas Boessl   Producer,Producer
Hans Christian Lumbye   Composer
Carl Michael Ziehrer   Composer
Friedemann Engelbrecht   Producer
Joseph Hellmesberger   Composer
Wolfgang Doerner   Orchestration
Spoken Word   Composer
Not.Applicable   Composer
Arend Prohmann   Producer
Johann Strauss II   Composer
Anton Bruckner   Composer
Josef Strauss   Composer