New Year's Concert (2002) [Import]

Johann Strauss II (Artist), Josef Strauss (Artist), Joseph Hellmesberger II (Artist), Seiji Ozawa (Artist), Wiener Philharmoniker (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 7, 2002)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Philips Import
• ASIN: B00005RIH0
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #42,156 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #52 in Music > Classical > Ballets & Dances > Polkas

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The Vienna Philharmonic New Year's concert remains as musically uplifting and orchestrally ravishing a tradition in 2002 as it's been for many a recent year. The Vienna Philharmonic, of course, can play Strauss waltzes, marches, and polkas in their sleep. Yet under Seiji Ozawa's firm baton in a mink glove, the players sound wide awake at every turn: effortlessly negotiating the Fledermaus Overture's tricky tempo transitions, bringing just the right combination of gravity and pizzazz to rarities such as "Zivio!," "Elisen-Polka Français," and Joseph Hellmesberger II's delightful "Danse Diabolique." Among the better-known items, "Künsterleben" moves with refreshing understatement and subtle lilt. Perhaps Philips's engineering doesn't pack the punch of Teldec's extraordinary 2001 edition with Harnoncourt, but at least the audience's rhythmic clapping during the inevitable "Radetsky-Marsch" encore doesn't overpower the musicians. Great sound, great playing, charming music: how can you go wrong? --Jed Distler

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the finest New Year's Concert in Vienna recordings, April 23, 2002

By 

John Kwok (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: New Year's Concert (2002) (Audio CD)

Seiji Ozawa demonstrates his great affinity for the music of the Strauss family in this latest recording of the annual New Year's Concert in Vienna series. Under his baton the Vienna Philharmonic gives warm, brisk performances of classic works such as Johann Strauss II's "Die Fledermaus" Overture and the "Kunstlerleben" waltz. There are equally memorable performances of lesser known works such as the "Dragonfly" among others. These performances are certainly inspired, even if they fall short of the exquisite playing I heard under Nikolaus Harnoncourt's direction in the 2001 New Year's Concert. The sound quality is quite good, but not nearly as refined as Teldec's for the 2001 concert. Yet I am sure most will be quite pleased with this latest installment of the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's Concert series.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best one in years!, April 5, 2002

By 

Tina Morris "schultheiss" (Rockville, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: New Year's Concert (2002) (Audio CD)

Like his great mentor Herbert von Karajan in 1987, Seiji Oszawa opened his program with the "Fledermaus" overture, an all-time Viennese favorite that had been avoided in recent years by conductors like Harnoncourt and Muti who like digging up the eclectic for a concert that cries for crowd-pleasers. Oszawa finds balance: popular pieces and lesser-played ones, like the "dragonfly". His touch with the orchestra is light, yet the pacing is wonderfully crisp and tight. In a program of waltzes and polkas you want to feel a certain airyness and lightness, and Oszawa finds it. The Vienna Philharmonic is brilliant as always and shines under his baton.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Ozawa is silken and polished, but where's the style?, January 1, 2008

By 

Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: New Year's Concert (2002) (Audio CD)

Seiji Ozawa is popular in Vienna, so it must be that the Viennese don't mind hearing their beloved Strauss played so oddly. Hardly a waltz or polka here sounds natural -- it's all fussed over and micro-managed to the point of frustration. Nothing is allowed to flow -- this is more like the dissection of a waltz than any kind of enjoyment of it.

I'm at a loss why the other reviewers praise this CD so highly; I could hrdly listen all the way through. It's one thing to rethink a composer's music, but for me Ozawa is tinkering pointlessly, and I began to wonder if he could actually conduct this music or had to fall back on originality simply because he was at a loss. In any event, thanks to buyers in Japan, this installment of the annual New Year's concert sold in record numbers. As you'd expect, orchestral execution is wonderful, and the recorded sound is fine. But to what end?