On Sunday, December 29, 2013, the traditional concert Salute to Vienna took place at The Music Center at Strathmore in Bethesda, MD. Modeled after the original Neujahrskonzert in Austria’s capital city Vienna, Salute to Vienna takes place in many of North America’s major concert halls around New Year’s Day. For over 19 years, this simultaneously-produced concert series has delighted U.S. audiences with music from Austrian composer Johann Strauss Jr. and his contemporaries.
The show’s program typically features a full orchestra performance, various singers from Europe's finest opera-houses and costumed dancers, who bring those waltzes to life. The concert at the Strathmore this year featured the Strauss Symphony of America under the baton of Viennese conductor Christian Schultz, along with soprano Monika Rebholz and tenor Brian Cheney. Dancers included the Europaballett-St. Pölten and members of the International Champion Ballroom Dancers. More information: http://salutetovienna.com
The Neujahrskonzert in Vienna
The annual concert model, the Viennese Neujahrskonzert, traditionally takes place on January 1, in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein in Austria’s capital city. This year’s concert under the baton of famous conductor Daniel Barenboim included works by Johann Strauss, Josef Strauss and Richard Strauss and was broadcasted in over 90 countries worldwide.
In the U.S. the concert was broadcasted by PBS and moderated by Julie Andrews. The British actress, who famously starred as Maria von Trapp in the popular musical The Sound of Music, already traveled to Vienna in the beginning of December to record preliminary footage for the New Year’s event. Form more information on the Viennese Neujahrkonzert visit http://www.wienerphilharmoniker.at/n