One of the nice side benefits of living on the West Coast, at least for us old fogies who don't like staying up until midnight,
is the fact that we can watch the live New Year's Eve proceedings from Times Square and still get to bed at a reasonable
hour (only to be woken up when the fireworks start going off in our neighborhoods). A lot of people obviously like to
participate in the revelry of New Year's Eve, which in turn often makes New Year's Day something of a "lost" 24 (or
fewer) hours, spent either sleeping or nursing a nasty hangover. If the United States tends to go a bit overboard on the
evening of December 31, leaving January 1 to the occasional television football game or other entertainments that require
a
perhaps less than copious amount of attention, Europe has long celebrated January 1 with a variety of classical concerts,
none more lauded than the annual fêtes given by the Vienna Philharmonic. Sony started offering these often sumptuous
(if frankly undemanding) performances on Blu-ray last year with New Year's Concert, and they follow suit this year with another collection of easily
accessible (and for the most part extremely familiar) light classical pieces that offer a gracious and relaxing way to
usher in the new year.
The Vienna New Years' concerts have long celebrated the city's history with the Strauss family, and this 2013 outing is
no exception. A cursory list of the concert's repertoire (listed below) shows that this is by and large another Straussian
affair, though as with previous concerts, there are a number of pieces making their New Year debuts. What might
escape first glance at the playlist, however, is that the concert organizers also sought to establish a link with two
vaunted bicentennials which occur in 2013, namely those celebrating the births of Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813) and
Giuseppi Verdi (October 20, 1813).
There are a couple of other "hidden" connections as well which are documented in this release's interesting liner notes
included in the insert booklet. It turns out that there's a fairly tangential but meaningful connection between conductor
Franz Welser-Möst (returning to the New Year's podium after having missed the 2012 concert) and the Strauss family.
One of Welser-Möst's great-great-great grandfather (that's a lot of "greats") built the casino and dance hall
where Johann Strauss the Elder (and Joseph Lanner) often performed, and where Johann Strauss the Younger made
his debut and continued to perform, as did his brother Josef Strauss. The other less obvious connection here is the
attendance of Hedwig Aigner-Strauss, the 90 year old granddaughter of Karoline Anna Strauss and great-grandaughter
of Josef Strauss.
What might surprise some listeners who automatically associate the surname Strauss with the waltz is the variety of
other forms (albeit typically dance) that inform this concert, including a number of fast polkas. There's also some
"comedy relief" of sorts late in the concert during the performance of Johann Strauss the Elder's "Reminiscences of
Ernst, or The Venice Carnival". I won't spoil the joke other than to say it involves Welser-Möst leaving the podium as
well as a number of unexpected props. I have to admit I'm not quite sure what the connection to the actual music
might
be, but it's quite amusing taken on its own merits. As with the 2012 New Year's Concert, this is a very scenic piece, with frequent (albeit very
short) cutaways to various gorgeous glimpses of what I assume is the Austrian countryside. Inside Vienna's incredibly
ornate Musikverein, director Karina Fibich rarely lets any shot last for more than a few seconds (shades of rock videos,
for better or worse), and introduces some absolutely vertigo inducing sequences with what I assume must be one of
those "mini-helicopter" mounted cameras that are a staple of sporting events. Hopefully no one watching this video is
still experiencing "after effects" from their own New Year's Eve revelry.
The Vienna Philharmonic performs the following numbers:
Josef Strauss
"Die Soubrette", Polka Schnell, op. 109 (The Soubrette Quick Polka)
Johann Strauss II
"Kuss-Welzer", op. 400 (Kiss Waltz)
Josef Strauss
"Theater-Quadrille", op. 213 (Theatre Quadrille)
Johann Strauss II
"Aus den Bergen", Watzer, op. 292 (In the Mountains Waltz)
Franz von Suppé
"Leichte Kavallerie", Overture, (Light Cavalry Overture)
Josef Strauss
"Sphären-Klänge", Walzer, op. 235 (Music of the Spheres Waltz)
Josef Strauss
"Die Spinnerin", Polka française, op. 192 (The Spinner French Polka)
Richard Wagner
"Lohengrin", Vorspiel zum Dritten Aufzug (Prelude to Act III)
Joseph Hellmesberger II
"Unter vier Augen", Polka Mazur (Between the Two of Us)
Josef Strauss
"Hesperusbahnen", Walzer, op. 279 (Hesperus' Path Waltz)
Josef Strauss
"Galoppin", Polka schnell, op. 237 (Errand Boy Quick Polka)
Joseph Lanner
"Steyrische Tänze", op. 165 (Styrian Dances)
Johann Strauss II
"Melodien-Quadrille", op. 112 (Melodies Quadrille)
Giuseppi Verdi
"Don Carlo – Prestissimo", Ballettmusic Akt III (Ballet music from Act III)
Johann Strauss II
"Wo die Citronen blüh'n", Walzer, op. 364 (Where the Lemons Blossom Waltz)
Johann Strauss I
"Erinnerung an Ernst oder: Der Carneval in Venedig", Fantasie, op. 126 (Reminiscences of Ernst, or: The Venice
Carnival Fantasia)
Josef Strauss
"Plappermäulchen", Polka schnell, op. 245 (Chatterbox Quick Polka)
Johann Strauss II
"An der schönen blauen Donau", Walzer, op. 314 (By the Beautiful Blue Danube)
Johann Strauss I
"Radetzky-Marsch", op. 228 (Radetzsky March)
New Year's Concert 2013 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Sony Classical with an AVC encoded 1080i transfer in
1.78:1. This is another very nice looking high definition presentation that offers crisp detail which is augmented by the fact
that there is such a glut of camera coverage from every conceivable angle throughout this concert. Some of the close-ups
reveal a wealth of fine detail, including things like fingerprints emblazoned in the varnish of various string instruments. A
couple of the cameras don't seem to have quite the "pop" that most do, including one that is upstage left (looking down
over the doublebasses toward Welser-Möst) and a weird fisheye lens that seems to be down on the floor in the strings
looking up at Welser-Möst, an angle which may in fact be hampered by the klieg lights on the balcony which are
aimed directly at the camera and probably affect the contrast levels. Otherwise, though, this is a commendable effort with
only some very minor combing artifacts revealing its interlaced source.
New Year's Concert 2013 features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.0 surround mix as well as an uncompressed
LPCM 2.0 stereo fold down. (There's actually no talking whatsoever during the concert, and so our specs above, which
state "English", are slightly misleading—we do that to make titles more readily searchable in our database, even if they're
solely musically oriented.) Both of these tracks offer splendid fidelity and clarity, with the surround mix featuring some very
lifelike and enjoyable hall ambience as well as "spill" of the musical content into the rear channels. Sections are all very well
separated, though as might be expected the stereo mix tends to mass the orchestra more toward the center than the
surround mix. Dynamic range is fairly wide, though there's really not much aural bombast to this concert, aside from a few
bursts of percussion here and there.
Honeymoon (1080i; 23:38) is a very appealing short film detailing the travel adventures of a
honeymooning couple, with incredibly scenic locations and a delicious
score by the likes of
Mozart and Elgar.
Sony is establishing its own New Year tradition of sorts, and this second release of the legendary Vienna concerts is as
enjoyable as 2012's. Once again the repertoire is not especially demanding, as befits a less serious, celebratory event, but
that's not to say it isn't hugely enjoyable on its own merits. Welser-Möst conducts fairly minimally (there are large swaths
where he basically just stands there and lets the orchestra play), but the Vienna Philharmonic is in top form and sounds
great in these selections which are by and large "light classical" fare. Once again, cutaways to scenic climes highlight the
visual allure of this release, and some of the supplementary material is outstanding. Recommended.
New Year's Concert 2013: Franz Welser-Möst & The Vienna Philharmonic Blu-ray, News and Updates
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