Every year at New Year, the Vienna Philharmonic presents a program consisting of the lively and at the same time nostalgic music from the vast repertoire of the family of Johann Strauß and its contemporaries. This concert is now being broadcasted to over 90 countries worldwide.
The first New Year’s Concert took place during the darkest chapter of the history of Austria and that of the Vienna Philharmonic. In the midst of barbarism, dictatorship and war, at a time of constant worry regarding the lives of members and their families, the Philharmonic sent an ambivalent signal: the net income from a concert dedicated to compositions by the Strauß dynasty which was performed on December 31, 1939, was donated entirely to the National Socialist fund-raising campaign “Kriegswinterhilfswerk”.
Since then, a different conductor has been chosen for every year. This new format began with the unforgettable concert of Herbert von Karajan in 1987, followed by Claudio Abbado (1988, 1991), Carlos Kleiber (1989, 1992), Zubin Mehta (1990, 1995, 1998, 2007, 2015), Riccardo Muti (1993, 1997, 2000, 2004, 2018, 2021), Lorin Maazel (1994, 1996, 1999, 2005), Nikolaus Harnoncourt (2001, 2003), Seiji Ozawa (2002), Mariss Jansons (2006, 2012, 2016), Georges Prêtre (2008, 2010), Daniel Barenboim (2009, 2014, 2022), Franz Welser-Möst (2011, 2013), Gustavo Dudamel (2017), Christian Thielemann (2019) and Andris Nelsons (2020).
The Musikverein, which was inaugurated in 1870, has served as the permanent seat of the Vienna Philharmonic, making it the natural home for the annual tradition from its inception.
New Year’s Concert 2026 with Yannick Nézet-Séguin
- Date: Thursday, January 1, 2026
- Venue: Musikverein, Golden Hall, Vienna, Austria
It has long been a Philharmonic tradition at the New Year to present a program consisting of the lively and at the same time nostalgic music from the vast repertoire of the family of Johann Strauß and its contemporaries. These concerts not only delight the audiences in the Musikverein in Vienna, but also enjoy great international popularity thanks to the worldwide broadcasts that now reach around 50 million viewers in more than 150 countries via television and streaming.
Internationally acclaimed conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin has been Music Director of the Metropolitan Opera in New York since 2018, Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra since 2012, and for 25 years Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Orchestre Métropolitain of Montréal. From 2008 to 2018, he was Principal Conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, where he was appointed Conductor Laureate. He is also an honorary member of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.
Program:
Overtüre to the Operetta “Indigo and the Forty Thieves”
Donausagen. Walzer, op. 446
Malapou-Galoppe, op. 148
Brausteufelchen. Polka schnell, op. 154
Fledermaus-Quadrille, op. 363
Der Karneval in Paris. Galopp, op. 100
Ouvertüre zur Operette “Die schöne Galathée”
Sirenen Lieder. Polka mazur, op. 13 [Arr. W. Dörner]
Frauenwürde. Walzer, op. 277
Diplomaten-Polka. Polka francaise, op. 448
Rainbow Waltz [Arr. W. Dörner]
Københavns Jernbane-Damp-Galop
Rosen aus dem Süden (Roses from the South), Waltz, op. 388
Egyptischer Marsch (Egyptian March), op. 335
Olive Branch Waltz, op. 207
