New Year's Concert 2010

Georges Prêtre / Wiener Philharmoniker

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New Year's Concert 2010 Review

by Patsy Morita

This is the official recording of the 2010 Vienna Philharmonic traditional New Year's Day concert, led by conductor Georges Prêtre. Prêtre is known for his opera and operetta conducting, so it's no surprise that he opened the concert with the overture to Die Fledermaus or that a couple of other overtures also found their way into the program. He expanded the list of composers beyond that of the Strauss family and other Austrians -- the historic custom for these concerts -- to include fellow Frenchman Jacques Offenbach and the Danish Hans Christian Lumbye. For those looking for the familiar, however, there are still the favorite waltzes and polkas: Wine, Women and Song; Perpetual Motion; Vienna Bon-Bons; On the Beautiful Blue Danube; and the compulsory finale, the Radetzky March. The complete concert, including Prêtre's New Year's greeting to the audience, is just under two hours of infectious music to celebrate the holiday.

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