If that supposed Mayan "prophecy" comes true and we all evaporate into the ether on December 21, 2012, that means
that December 31, 2011 would have been our last collective opportunity to "party like it's 1999," or any subsequent
year (at least until 2012). New Year's Eve is usually a festive time of party going and celebration, and since the advent
of the television era, it's also been a time for concert broadcasts. Our parents and grandparents grew up watching Guy
Lombardo usher in the New Year, but none other than American Bandstand impresario Dick Clark recognized
that Lombardo's demographic obviously skewed toward the more elderly, and that no one was serving the New Year's
needs of a a younger clientele. Thus was born New Year's Rockin' Eve in the early seventies, an idea which has
not only lasted and prospered (currently hosted by Ryan Seacrest with cameo appearances by Clark, who suffered a
devastating stroke a few years ago), but has spawned similar outings on virtually every broadcast and cable news
network in existence. Everyone from Anderson Cooper (with bantering co-host Kathy Griffin) to Fox News mainstay
Megyn Kelly now regularly help usher in the New Year, replete with lots of music, weird "comedy" segments (what was
up with that Cooper Spiderman bit this year, anyway?) and lots of counting down as the big ball drops. For
those with perhaps slightly more patrician tastes, a number of classical concerts have also become tradition over the
years (some, like this Vienna concert, pre-date Lombardo's television era), and they are further removed from midnight
revelry by typically taking place on New Year's Day itself. That's the
case with the mostly Strauss based musical party "hosted" (so to speak) by Mariss Jansons with the Vienna
Philharmonic. Though one would hardly accuse this program of being innovative or in the slightest bit exploratory, it's
fun and even frolicsome as it helps Vienna welcome in the New Year.
A brief review of this concert's set list (included below) will show that this seventy second annual Vienna Philharmonic
New Year's Concert is, in classical music terms, an "easy listening" outing that is meant to be a relaxed, undemanding
way to start the New Year. Most of the music has some connection to either Vienna itself or conductor Jansons, and the
majority of the musical festivities are given over to Vienna's iconic Strauss family. While chestnuts like Johann Strauss
II's "An der schönen blauen Donau" (By the Beautiful Blue Danube) are presented, there is also a wealth of lesser
known pieces by several Strausses performed here, including several which are making their New Year's Concert
debuts. It's worth noting (no pun intended) that even the chestnuts like Danube are given rather fun
interpretations, with lots of tempi changes, elongated phrases and unexpected dynamics.
The concert also features the Vienna Boys' Choir in a couple of fun pieces (though sadly no subtitles are provided to let
us know what they're singing). But the really fun thing about some of these pieces are the "props", which
include everything from train whistles and conductors' uniforms for Copenhagen Steam Railway Galop to
Maestro Jansons himself clobbering some anvils with large hammers on Fireproof!. The concert is also notable
for its visual sweep. Within the absolutely gorgeous confines of Vienna's gilt-filled Musikverein, television director
Karina Fibich enlists some incredible steadicam operators for a variety of fascinating shots, including a crane shot that
seems to float out above the audience from a high balcony, and another shot which is a Phantom of the Opera-
esque look down from a glittering chandelier. Just as imaginatively, there's a lot of "extracurricular" footage here,
including beautiful shots of some of the glories of Vienna, and other nice segments like scenes of the Tirol's Achensee
steam engines during the aforementioned train song.
The concert includes these selections:
Johann Strauss II/Josef Strauss
"Vaterländjacher Marsch" (Patriotic March)
Johann Strauss II
"Rathhaus Ball-Tänze", Walzer op. 438 (Town Hall Ball Dances)
"Entweder – oder!", Polka schnell op. 403 (Either Or)
"Tritsch-Tratsch", Polka schnell op. 214 (Chit Chat)
Carl Michael Ziehrer
"Wiener Bürger", Walzer op. 419 (Viennese Citizens)
Johann Strauss II
"Albion", Polka op. 102
Josef Strauss
"Jokey", Polka schnell op. 278
Joseph Hellmeseberger II
"Danse diabolique" (Diabolic Dance)
Josef Strauss
"Künstler-Gruss", Polka française op. 274 (Artists' Greeting)
Johann Strauss II
"Freuet euch des Lebens", Walzer op. 340 (Enjoy Your Life)
Johann Strauss I
"Sperl-Galopp", op. 42 (Sperl Galop)
Hans Christian Lumbye
"Copenhagener Eisenhahn-Dampf Galopp" (Copenhagen Steam Railway Galop)
Josef Strauss
"Feuerfest", Polka française op. 269 (Fireproof)
Eduard Strauss
"Carmen-Quadrille" op. 134 (Carmen Quadrille)
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
"Panorama aus 'Dornröschen'" (Panorama from "Sleeping Beauty")
"Walser aus 'Dornröschen'" (Waltz from "Sleeping Beauty")
Johann Strauss II/Josef Strauss
"Pizzicato-Polka" (Pizzicato Polka)
Johann Strauss II
"Persischer Marsch" op 289 (Persian March)
Johann Strauss II
"Unter Donner und Blitz", Polka schnell op. 324 (Thunder and Lightning)
"Tik-Tak", Polka schnell op. 365 (Tic-Toc)
"Neujahrsgruss" (New Year's Address )
Johann Strauss II
"An der schönen blauen Donau", Walzer op. 314 (By the Beautiful Blue Danube)
Johan Strauss I
"Radetsky-Marsch", op. 228 (Radetsky March)
New Year's Concert 2012: Vienna Philharmonic, Mariss Jansons is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Sony Classical
with an AVC encoded 1080i transfer in 1.78:1. Many concert Blu-rays have appeared that have been set in Vienna's
sumptuous Musikverein, but few have caught the beauty of this ornate hall with such sharpness and clarity. Colors pop
magnificently throughout this concert and fine detail is exceptional in the many close-ups of the instrumentalists. As noted
above in the main body of the review, the concert also includes a lot of really gorgeous footage taken out and about in
Vienna (and beyond), and those sequences also look great, with superb depth of field and excellent clarity. About the only
thing to complain about in this generally stellar presentation is a slight fuzziness in some of the shots of the orchestra
taken from a faraway balcony.
New Year's Concert 2012: Vienna Philharmonic, Mariss Jansons features two lossless audio options, a DTS-HD
Master Audio 5.0 surround mix and an uncompressed LPCM 2.0 stereo mix. The orchestra sounds magnificent throughout
this concert, though few would label any of the pieces included as true orchestral showcases. This is a largely dance-
movement filled concert, and the orchestra plays with aplomb and precision, and both audio tracks support that precision
effortlessly. Dynamic range is exceptional, especially since Janson coaxes such wide volume changes from his forces.
Fidelity is also spot on, though the Vienna Boys' Choir is just slightly buried in the mix in their featured appearances.
Despite this being "only" a 5.0 mix, there's really fulsome low end throughout the concert.
Musik in der Luft (Music in the Air) (1080i; 23:50) is a short by Von Werner Boote that is incredibly fanciful
and visually captivating. While various spritely tunes are played (everything from Shostakovich to Chick Corea), tourists
board a bus in Vienna while a little girl is carried aloft by a balloon she's holding. Later, various other people also begin
floating as other music plays. This is certainly one of the oddest supplements to ever grace a classical music release, but
it's really quite wonderful and comes highly recommended.
Freut euch des Lebens (Complete Ballet Sequences) (1080i; 8:34)
Guy Lombardo had become the epitome of the "square" by the time Dick Clark came along in the seventies and sought to
shake things up with his Rockin' New Year's Eve outings. But even Lombardo might be thought of as some kind of
post-ironic hipster when compared to Mariss Jansons, or at least the music Jansons programs for this 2012 New Year's
Concert featuring the Vienna Philharmonic. This is the ultimate "square" music, but that doesn't mean it's not highly
enjoyable. Jansons and the Philharmonic are obviously having a ball (Jansons in fact pretty much refrains from even
conducting some of these pieces, simply standing there watching, which is no problem, since the orchestra can no doubt
play many of these warhorses in their sleep). This concert features a lot of "easy listening" classical selections that won't
stretch anyone's ears too far (or far at all), but which provide pleasant listening and in a couple of faces some sort of goofy
fun. The Blu-ray itself offers some stupendously pretty sights, both within and without the gorgeous Musikverein, and with
excellent video and audio, as well as one of the most captivating supplements in recent memory, it comes
Recommended.
New Year's Concert Blu-ray, News and Updates
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