Wiener Philharmoniker
Biography
There is perhaps no other musical ensemble more consistently and closely associated with the history and tradition of European classical music than the Vienna Philharmonic. In the course of its history, the musicians of this most prominent orchestra of the capital city of music have been an integral part of a musical epoch which due to an abundance of uniquely gifted composers and interpreters must certainly be regarded as unique.
The orchestra's close association with this rich musical history is best illustrated by the statements of countless pre-eminent musical personalities of the past. Richard Wagner described the orchestra as being one of the most outstanding in the world; Anton Bruckner called it "the most superior musical association"; Johannes Brahms counted himself as a "friend and admirer"; Gustav Mahler claimed to be joined together with the orchestra through "the bonds of musical art"; and Richard Strauss summarized these sentiments by saying: "All praise of the Vienna Philharmonic reveals itself as understatement."
Current album
Neujahrskonzert 2024 / New Year's Concert 2024
Artists Wiener Philharmoniker, Christian ThielemannRelease Date: 01/12/2024
As in previous years, the Vienna Philharmonic’s 2024 New Year’s Concert has been released by Sony Classical in both audio and video formats. Under the baton of Christian Thielemann no fewer than nine of the works from the foot-tapping world of the waltz and polka are featured for the first time on the programme of what remains the most popular event in the world of classical music.
The live recording of the 2024 New Year’s Concert can now be ordered and is available on CD and digitally as well as on DVD, Blu-ray & Vinyl. The Visual album will be released on February 2. There are few concerts in the world that are awaited with as much excitement as the New Year’s Concert from Vienna. This year, it was broadcast to over 90 countries all round the world, reaching an audience of millions of people.
The conductor at the 2024 New Year’s Concert will be Christian Thielemann, the principal conductor of the Dresden Staatskapelle and Daniel Barenboim’s successor at the Berlin State Opera. Thielemann has had close musical links with the Vienna Philharmonic since 2000. He first conducted a New Year’s Concert in 2019 and regularly appears with the orchestra at its subscription concerts in the Vienna Musikverein, at the Salzburg Festival and on tour in Japan, China, Europe and the United States.
Daniel Froschauer, the chairman of the Vienna Philharmonic’s board of directors, stresses the conductor’s important role with the orchestra: “For many years we have enjoyed a close artistic partnership with Christian Thielemann, especially in the field of the symphony. He is one of the orchestra’s conductors to whom we feel an especial affinity. This is the reason why we have again invited him to conduct our New Year’s Concert on January 1st, 2024.”
