The close musical collaboration of Daniel Barenboim with the Vienna Philharmonic began in 1965. After 2009 and 2014, the concert on January 1st marks the third time that Daniel Barenboim has conducted this prestigious concert event. The New Year's Concert 2022 will be broadcast in over 90 countries and followed by millions of viewers around the world.
A long tradition of the Philharmonic to present to the new year a program composed of lively and at the same time nostalgic music from the extensive repertoire of the family of Johann Strauss and his contemporaries. These concerts not only delight audiences at the Vienna Musikverein, but also enjoy great international popularity through worldwide television broadcasting, now reaching over 90 countries.
Daniel Barenhoim was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1942 from a Russian Jewish family and was a pianist prodigy who first made a name for himself in the 60s as an interpreter of the classical keyboard repertoire. Barenboim's performances of Beethoven's Sonatas became legendary and he was one of the first musicians in the modern era to revive the idea of performing Mozart's piano concertos without a conductor, instead conducting them from the keyboard – as Mozart himself used to do . In 1967, Barenboim married classical cellist Jaqueline du Pre. They remained married until du Pre's death in 1987. Daniel Barenboim published his book, Music Awakens Time in 2007. He was also made an honorary patron of the Japan Art Association when he received the 2007 Praemium Imperiale in Japan. The award, created to honor artists whose work has had a significant international impact, is awarded with a prize of 15 million yen. At the pinnacle of his profession for over 40 years, Barenboim is renowned for his long-standing relationships with some of the world's finest orchestras: the Chicago Symphony, Berlin Staatskapelle and Berlin Philharmonic, as well as the Berlin Staatsoper Unter den Linden, of which he was artistic director for many years. Although the pianist and conductor is best known for his proximity to the great masterpieces of German-Austrian classical and romantic music – Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, Wagner – he is also a strong advocate of living composers.
But the history of this event is not that ancient but quite obscure. However, the annual performance of waltzes, polkas and marches by Johann Strauss, his three sons and their contemporaries seems timeless. Everything about the event, from its formality, its glamorous and artful humour, to its venue in the almost overwhelmingly opulent Golden Hall of the Musikverein, suggests something that harks back to the heady days of the 19th century. In fact, the story of the New Year's concert is a Nazi invention. The first ever performance took place on New Year's Eve 1939, to raise funds for the Winterhilfswerk, an annual fundraising initiative devised by the National Socialist Party to buy fuel for the needy in the colder months of the year. When the Strausses were alive, the Wiener Philharmoniker were somewhat dismissive of their music. Why would such an advanced and adventurous orchestra want to play popular tunes…They started taking it more seriously in the late 20s, but the idea of a seasonal Strauss gala really caught on when the Nazi Party's cultural commissioners had the idea of a unifying event that could be broadcast live throughout the Third Reich. The concert moved to New Year's in 1941.
When people realized that the war was not going to end quickly, the Blue Danube Waltz and the Fledermaus overture were seen as a useful way to boost morale. When it emerged that Strauss had Jewish ancestry, Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels himself made sure the news was hushed up. When the war ended, it didn't miss a beat: the concerts simply continued, their embarrassing history quietly forgotten. As recently as the 60s, the Vienna Philharmonic hailed a war supporter: Baldur von Schirach, the Nazi gauleiter, or governor, of Vienna who deported tens of thousands of Jews. He was awarded the orchestra's prestigious ring of honor in 1942. Surprisingly, after the medal was lost, he was given a replacement when he was released from Spandau Prison more than 20 years later. This fact emerged after independent historians were granted access to the extensive archive of the Vienna Philharmonic and their often shocking reports on his attitude during and after the war have now been published on the orchestra's website. Since then, the orchestra has rescinded awards given to six prominent Nazis, including von Schirach.
