Happy Year of the Cow!
Well, it's actually the Year of the Ox (if you're into the whole Chinese/Japanese astrology/zodiac thing), but Cow is so much funnier...
Of course, no mention of the New Year would be complete without a Neujahrs-Konzert with the Vienna Philharmonic, a tradition since 1939, this year led by the inimitable Daniel Barenboim.
I've written about Mr. Barenboim and his West-Eastern Divan Orchestra - although ostensibly non-political, the ensemble has given him a platform to promote deeper understanding between two opposing factions, and given the current violence in the region, I was wondering if Barenboim would take advantage of the Vienna podium to share his thoughts.
Which he certainly did - while his remarks at the actual concert were limited to a simple wish that 2009 be a "year of peace in the world and of human justice in the Middle East", he did release a statement that was tantamount to a criticism of Israeli air strikes against Palestinians on the Gaza Strip.
While one may not agree with his politics, it's hard not to admire a man who takes a stand on his strongly-held convictions, particularly when those convictions are borne of an understanding of both perspectives (the Israeli-Argentinian conductor is also an honorary Palestinian citizen).
But, as always, the music transcends all. I particularly love "Spharenklange" by the Waltz King's brother, Josef Strauss:
I'm not a huge fan of the sweeping shots of the Alps (and the odd close-ups of alpine lichen), but, hey, it's TV, people! The notion of "Harmony of the Spheres" is a nice one, particularly given the tenor of violence in the world discussed earlier.
And of course, you can't have a New Year's Concert without the obligatory encores - in this case, ALWAYS "Blue Danube" and my favorite, Radetzky March, the perennial opportunity for conductors to ham it up and mug for the audience/camera (not that there's anything wrong with that!!):
Wishing a healthy, happy and unturbulent New Year to all!!
Of course, no mention of the New Year would be complete without a Neujahrs-Konzert with the Vienna Philharmonic, a tradition since 1939, this year led by the inimitable Daniel Barenboim.
I've written about Mr. Barenboim and his West-Eastern Divan Orchestra - although ostensibly non-political, the ensemble has given him a platform to promote deeper understanding between two opposing factions, and given the current violence in the region, I was wondering if Barenboim would take advantage of the Vienna podium to share his thoughts.
Which he certainly did - while his remarks at the actual concert were limited to a simple wish that 2009 be a "year of peace in the world and of human justice in the Middle East", he did release a statement that was tantamount to a criticism of Israeli air strikes against Palestinians on the Gaza Strip.
While one may not agree with his politics, it's hard not to admire a man who takes a stand on his strongly-held convictions, particularly when those convictions are borne of an understanding of both perspectives (the Israeli-Argentinian conductor is also an honorary Palestinian citizen).
But, as always, the music transcends all. I particularly love "Spharenklange" by the Waltz King's brother, Josef Strauss:
I'm not a huge fan of the sweeping shots of the Alps (and the odd close-ups of alpine lichen), but, hey, it's TV, people! The notion of "Harmony of the Spheres" is a nice one, particularly given the tenor of violence in the world discussed earlier.
And of course, you can't have a New Year's Concert without the obligatory encores - in this case, ALWAYS "Blue Danube" and my favorite, Radetzky March, the perennial opportunity for conductors to ham it up and mug for the audience/camera (not that there's anything wrong with that!!):
Wishing a healthy, happy and unturbulent New Year to all!!
Labels: conductors and conducting, fun, holiday music, music and politics
posted by Sarah at
9:59 AM
4 Comments:
Happy New Year, Sarah! I listened to the Vienna Philharmonic on the radio instead of watching on TV, so I missed out on some of the traditional theatrics of this particular concert. I really enjoyed the program, though, and Barenboim's German! I love the "Blue Danube" but you can have the Radetzky March. In Vienna, it usually is met with cheers, clapping, singing, and foot-stomping. They love it more than I've seen American audiences love anything like that.....
Hey Sarah, thanks for the New Year's greetings. When the economy finally returns to some semblance of normalcy, do you think it would be possible to add a New Year's concert...or better yet, a New Year's Eve concert...to the schedule in Minneapolis?
I'm in my late 30's and it's hard for my friends and I to find sane, sensible things to do to enjoy our Holiday. Watching a dumb ball drop at home doesn't excite me, but then again neither does paying double or triple the cost for a plate of food or getting sucked into a crowd of revelers almost half my age.
It seems like just the ticket to put on a show here. You could conduct the program. It would be fun.
There's certainly no reason that we couldn't play a NYE concert. Nothing in our contract says that we get that specific night off. (Or any other specific night, for that matter.) Many orchestras do play NYE shows, and I've always thought it a bit odd that we don't. (The one complication would be that we couldn't actually do a concert that goes to or past midnight without racking up huge overtime costs, but we could certainly do one at regular hours.)
Yes, regular show times would do. I think people would show up. There also seems to be a bit of a void for those of us looking for a regular (or should I say, non-Holiday themed) classical concert, without having to wait through all of December and half of January (I feel some cabin fever setting in already).
The program wouldn't have to be all-Strauss...more like a regular program, but stuff with a lighter feel to it. Some Czech Waltzes, Dvorak Slavonic Dances, Smetana Ma Vlast...off the beaten path, but still fun..
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