The 2011 Vienna Philharmonic New Year's Concert

One of the most anticipated events of the classical calendar, the Vienna Philharmonic's exquisite New Year's Concert brings the musicians of the prestigious orchestra together under the baton of a different influential conductor each year. Centered around a wide variety of dances in the Viennese style—especially the world-famous waltzes of the Strauss family—every edition brims with stately serenity and a hint of mischief, the perfect way to begin your New Year in music.

In the 2011 edition, the Vienna Philharmonic is joined by one of Austria's most celebrated artists, Franz Welser-Möst, renowned for his expertise in Austrian repertoire, especially the works of Anton Bruckner. For the occasion, of course, maestro and orchestra offer up a program full of light and air, far from the grandiose intensity of that Linz-born great. In addition to rousing waltzes and polkas by the Strauss dynasty—Johann Strauss Sr. and Jr., plus Eduard and Josef—we are treated to the first of Liszt's Mephisto Waltzes, as well as works by Joseph Lanner and Josef Hellmesberger Jr.

Photo © Terry Linke