New Year's Concert 2013 [Blu-ray]

Welser-Most repeats his 2011 success with another fine concert
This is one of the long series of New Year's Day concerts from Vienna and features the conducting of Franz Welser-Most for the second time. This may not come as too much of a surprise as Welser-Most's Viennese credentials have been recognised and supported by a major bank in Upper Austria for over 25 years as a cultural envoy for upper Austria. This level of commitment to Welser-Most is more than justified by this particular release.

There is an unusual number of first performances in this year's concert, partly to do with the 2013 anniversary celebrations of Wagner and Verdi's bicentenaries. As a result we hear Wagner's Lohengrin Prelude to Act 3 and Verdi's Act 3 ballet music from Don Carlo. In addition there are other references such as J. Strauss II's Melodies Quadrille based on Verdian themes.

Another emphasis in this year's concert is the music of Josef Strauss with seven of his works of which five receive début performances at these concerts. His...

Almost like being there
This is my first blu ray disc and I am quite pleased with the quality of the sound and picture. One of my favorite things is watching the New Years concert on Jan 1. This disc has the straight up concert without the annoying puff pieces shown on PBS. The dance sequences are in the "extra features" and there is a very nice short film featuring Austrian landscapes and some small groups from the orchestra performing some fun music.

Great New Year's Concert from the Wiener Philharmoniker and Conductor Franz Welser-Most
In a concert emphasizing both the festive nature of the music being performed and the music of Josef Strauss, the middle brother, in the Strauss family dynasty of Austrian composers noted for their exceptional compositions of waltzes, polkas and other dances, this year's "New Year's Day Concert", should be noted for both the excellent playing of the Wiener Philharmoniker (Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra) and the fine conducting of Vienna State Opera Music Director - and Cleveland Orchestra Music Director - Franz Welser-Most. Most of the pieces performed include lesser known waltzes and polkas composed by Josef Strauss, regarded by his peers as the "Schubert of Waltz composers", with his best known work, the waltz "Music of the Spheres" among the highlights of the program; if for no other reason this is a concert that should be remembered for emphasizing Josef Strauss' exceptional gifts as a composer, surpassed only by his brother Johann Strauss II. It is followed later by a piece I...

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