The beginnings of this concert go back to the darkest period in the history of (annexed by Nazi Germany) Austria.
Every year, the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Concert is watched live by billions of television viewers around the world.
Among the classic masterpieces of the Strauss family, there is always the famous imperial “Viennese Waltz” (or more precisely “On the Beautiful Blue Danube”) by Johann Strauss the Younger, which always closes the concert, along with his “Radetsky Entry” Johann Strauss the elder (father and son had the same name, but the latter overshadowed the former).
The concert is the great cultural event of the New Year and takes place every year in the “golden hall” of the neoclassical style of the “Muzikferain” Music Hall, known worldwide for its excellent acoustics.
Despite the splendor of the hall and the festive and aristocratic mood of the music, the New Year’s Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic “hides” a dark history, from the country’s Nazi past.
The beginnings of this concert go back to the darkest period in the history of (annexed by Nazi Germany) Austria.
On December 31, 1939 – not New Year’s – the first “Johann Strauss Concert” was organized. The Jewish musicians, however, were fired and displaced. In the midst of this brutality, the Vienna Philharmonic (still under the direction of Clemens Krauss) donated the proceeds of the concert to the Nazi campaign to raise money for the war.
However, the happy music of the younger Johann Strauss was very important to the “Reich Minister of Propaganda” Joseph Goebbels, so he falsified documents stating his Jewish origin to appear as …”Aryan”.
From 1941, the “Johann Strauss Concert” was now held on January 1st.
National Socialist propaganda appropriated it and broadcast it on the “Radio of Greater Germany”.
Kraus oversaw the fledgling institution until the end of the war. After it ended in 1946, the concert was renamed “New Year’s Eve” and in 1948 – after the lifting of the two-year ban on its conducting by the Allies – Krauss returned and conducted seven more concerts until 1954.
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I am Frederick Tuttle, who works in 247 News Agency as an author and mostly cover entertainment news. I have worked in this industry for 10 years and have gained a lot of experience. I am a very hard worker and always strive to get the best out of my work. I am also very passionate about my work and always try to keep up with the latest news and trends.
