Every year there is a New Year’s Day concert from Vienna from the Golden Hall of the Musikverein. This year the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra subjected themselves to daily Covid testing in order to perform the annual concert albeit without an audience in the beautiful hall. Riccardo Muti conducted as he has done several times before. The concert was broadcast to many countries, maybe 90 according to Riccardo Muti. For us here in the UK it was presented bu Petroc Trelawny
The music including an array of polkas, waltzes and gallops by the Strauss family and their contemporaries was uplifting enjoyable and fun. During some of the music we were treated to dancing by Viennese ballet dancers in beautiful Viennese halls. A treat for our ears and our eyes.
Before the final encore , By the Beautiful Blue Danube, Riccardo Muti made a brief speech. In the past he interrupted a performance to stress the importance of maintaining a country’s culture. In this speech he stressed the wonderful power of music to promote peace, hope, brotherhood and above all Love. He described the musicians’ tools as tools of peace in contrast to tools of war and said how important it was for the orchestra to promote these qualities and of their mission to add to the culture of the country and to raise the importance to us all of music. It enriches our souls and is essential for all of us for our well being.
After 2020 how could we doubt the wisdom of those words
Jill Pipe