Vienna New Year’s Day audience is the highest since 2014
NewsThe annual Veinna Philharmonic waltz fest, conducted by Franz Welser-Möst for the third time, achieved a 60 percent share of the Austrian television audience, the highest for nine years.
The concert was seen in fewer countries around the world after Russia imposed a cultural boycott, but 90 other nations tuned in. Those viewer numbers are still awaited.
UPDATE: The official estimate is ‘around 50 million worldwide.’
photo: WPhil
Important to note the intelligence of the German and Austrian tv every year to broadcast the concert in Vienna and 5mn after the ski jumping in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Those are two marvelous institutions.
60% of what?
Who watches TV except a diminishing older population … that still watches TV?
Maybe, but concerts turn up on YouTube as well.
A lot of younger people watch DVDs on
Television.
I don’t have cable. I tuned into the PBS 8PM ET broadcast through the PBS app on my Apple TV hardware. Do I count?
Actually the older population (in central Europe) is growing, not diminishing. The median age is ever increasing.
Smart PR people accomodate that, not be in denial about it with a stupid youth cult.
Ok, but who’s the competition been in last 10 years??
Thielemann: too deep for Vienna
Dudamel: haircut does not fit in in Vienna
Nelsons: the Boston Whale
Muti: the tranquilized anti-Kleiber (can’t keep his mouth shut and only uses the right arm as a good bandmaster; does not sell on his looks anymore)
Barenboim: health issues / age
Mehta: health issues / age
In this crowd, it’s smooth sailing for Franz Better-Than-Most.
I never understood why Bernstein was never invited to Vienna to conduct a New Year’s Day concert. The VPO was one of his three favorite orchestras. Anyways, it was enjoyable to have, more than usual, Joseph Strauss’s music on the program this time around.
From what I heard, he was invited in 92, that s why Kleiber conducted it twice….wonder if that s true though…..Boskovsky then Maazel kept the podium, it was only from 87 that the conductor changed, which didn’t let much time to Lenny, it would have been something, Kaiser waltz played like Mahler’s 5th….I suspect Karajan didn’t wait to be invited….
Bernstein died in 1990. I doubt that they decided to invite him in 1992.
Another anti-Muti. “Quelle barbe!”
Well said, WM’s program was bold, filled of rare pépites, not always played with enough character though…. I was expecting a lot from Thilleman and was disappointed because he was- in my opinion not cheerful enough, which was expected but couldn’t reach philosophical depth of this music neither…..
The depth of this music is best probed with an amazing sense of style, seamlessly changing moods, continuity, passion, lightheartedness, a superficial simplicity and quite a few other elusive qualities…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8_DdClkhaw
What were they high on?
Way to go Cleveland !!!!!!
I enjoyed the Vienna concert but I wish that British TV also showed the concert from Venice. Using a VPN I saw the German coverage, which is only one half of the concert, I will not claim one is better than the other but they are complimentary.