New Year's Concert in Vienna 2007 ~ Mehta

Johann Strauss II (Composer), Johann Strauss I (Composer), Eduard Strauss (Composer), Josef Strauss (Composer), Jr. Joseph Hellmesberger (Composer), Zubin Mehta (Conductor), Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Zubin Mehta
• Composer: Johann Strauss II, Johann Strauss I, Eduard Strauss, Josef Strauss, Jr. Joseph Hellmesberger
• Audio CD (February 13, 2007)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Deutsche Grammophon
• ASIN: B000JFZ9EI
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #188,554 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Zivio!, march for orchestra, Op. 456 (RV 456)

2. Flattergeister, waltz, Op. 62

3. Moulinet Polka, for orchestra, Op. 57

4. Elfenreigen, for salon orchestra

5. Delirien Waltz, for orchestra, Op. 212

6. Einzugs-Galopp, for orchestra, Op. 35

Editorial Reviews

No Description Available.
Genre: Classical Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 13-FEB-2007

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One Of The Finest New Year's Eve Concerts in Recent Memory, February 27, 2007

By 

John Kwok (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: New Year's Concert in Vienna 2007 ~ Mehta (Audio CD)

Without a doubt, this year's New Year's Eve concert (broadcast on PBS here in the United States) was among the finest I've heard from the Wiener Philharmoniker in recent memory. Much to my amazement, Zubin Mehta was truly magnificient in leading the orchestra in lesser known waltzes, polkas and other dances composed by the Strauss family, with most of the concert devoted to the works of Johann Strauss and Josef Strauss. He truly demonstrated much empathy for the music, leading the orchestra in passionate, quite memorable, performances (I had also forgotten how superb a conductor Mehta truly is, and this concert was a splendid reminder of his superb talent as one of our foremost conductors of classical music.). It's reasonable to state that this concert merely reaffirms recent critical praise which the Wiener Philharmoniker has received from a French magazine which listed this orchestra as Europe's finest; clearly the overall quality of the Wiener Philharmoniker's musicianship is exceptional, which this fine DVD merely emphasizes both sonically and visually. From a musicological perspective, the 2007 concert was as intriguing as Nikolaus Harnoncourt's two New Year's Concert series held earlier in this decade, in which the venerable Austrian musicologist and conductor did a fine job in clearing the cobwebs of some of the Strauss family's best known works, and introducing audiences to other elegant, but lesser known, works of theirs. Zubin Mehta apparently adhered to Harnoncourt's philosophy too, with ample popular acclaim earned from the Musikverein's spellbound audience. True to tradition, the concert concluded with a New Year greeting from Maestro Mehta spoken in immaculate, flawless German, followed by the traditional encores of Johann Strauss Jr.'s Blue Danube Waltz and his father's Radetzky March.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mehta brings the true Strauss tone back to Vienna, January 1, 2008

By 

Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: New Year's Concert in Vienna 2007 ~ Mehta (Audio CD)

Since he trained with them as a young condcutor, one could call the Vienna Phil. one of Mehta's home orchestras. He shows real empathy for Strauss style, and I agree with the other reviewers who rate the 2007 New Year's concert as a great improvement over Muti, Maazel, and Jansons. Mehta's previous New Year's concerts on Sony were among his best recordings. This one isn't quite as lively -- his beat has grown stately over the years (too much so in the concluding Blue Danube Waltz) -- but the program is full of happiness and high spirits, which counts for a lot.

So does the inclusion of two rarities that sparkle here: Josef Strauss's Flattergeister Waltz and Johann's Wo di Zitronen blumen Waltz, both delightful in Meht'as experienced hands. DG's sound is very good, and of course the orchestra cannot be bettered in this material. My only caveat is that Mehta, like Muti before him, includes very few familiar numbers and no famous waltz besides the Blue Danube.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best one in recent years, October 4, 2007

By 

Y. Xu "Firmamenter" (Boise, ID USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: New Year's Concert in Vienna 2007 ~ Mehta (Audio CD)

First, I want to say that this is not a "New Year's Eve Concert". The concert takes place at 9am in Vienna annually.
Considering the recent ones: 2004 by Muti, 2005 by Maazel and 2006 by Jansons, the 2007 is the best one. Muti selected too many unfamiliar pieces, though he did a great job anyway on Acceleration, Cachucha, etc. Maazel's day was ruined by not only the tsunami. His violin show-off was a total failure. The trumpeter made an even sillier mistake in the Wienerwald Walzer, when he played the tone which should be later on the score(this mistake has been erased by Deutsch Grammophone in this recording so check out the DVD version). 2006 is good and had much fun, but not very "Viennese".
I prefer the 2007, with pure Viennese sound and fun. Just recall the legendary 1990 performance. Zubin Mehta is definetely the best representative of the Neujahrskonzert in Wien tradition.