The Vienna Philharmonic is preparing for a historic New Year's Concert that will mark the beginning of the commemoration of the bicentennial of the birth of Johann Strauss Jr. The president of the Philharmonic, Daniel Froschauer, expressed his enthusiasm for presenting for the first time a work by Constanze Geiger, a contemporary of Strauss, the Ferdinandus-Walzer. Riccardo Muti, conducting this concert for the seventh time, will be responsible for inaugurating this anticipated event.
Constanze Geiger, a 19th-century Vienna composer and violinist, will be highlighted with her piece Wedding March of Elisabeth, which premiered two days before Emperor Franz Joseph's wedding to Elisabeth of Bavaria. This inclusion marks a milestone in a concert that until now has lacked female representation, both on the podium and in the repertoire. The program will also pay tribute to the 30th anniversary of Austria's accession to the European Union with the performance of Josef Strauss' Transactionen-Walzer.
The event, followed by millions around the world, will be broadcast live from the Golden Hall of the Musikverein, although a woman has never conducted this concert. Only 15% of the orchestra musicians are women, an opportunity that opened in 1997. After 84 editions exclusively featuring music by male composers, the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's Concert will welcome for the first time a female composer, Constanze Geiger, with her waltz Ferdinandus-Walzer as the ninth piece in the program filled with the joyful music of the Strauss family.
