Customer Reviews

New Year's Concert in Vienna 2008 ~ Pretre

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Distinguished French operatic conductor Georges Pretre was definitely an odd choice to lead this year's concert at Vienna's venerable Musikverein, but he demonstrates a warm affinity for the Viennese waltz tradition in this rather well-played concert. With the possible exception of the Blue Danube Waltz, I thought Pretre was absolutely superb in conducting the Wiener Philharmoniker, though perhaps it was more the Wiener Philharmoniker, not Pretre himself, who understood quite well the rich musical textures of J. Strauss II's scores. Nonetheless, this has to rank among the better New Year's Concerts in recent memory, even though I regard as more memorable both of Harnoncourt's concerts conducted earlier in this decade, as well as Mehta's exceptional 2007 concert. And yet, as I have noted before, Pretre demonstrates that he is a fine interpreter of the Strauss family's music, which is represented here by works composed not only by Johann Strauss II, but also several pieces - including the traditional encore "Radetzky March" - by his father Johann Strauss I and by his brother Josef Strauss. Following in the wake of Warner Classics (Teldec) and Deutsche Grammophon, Decca has wisely opted to present the entire concert in this two CD package.

I started to listen to classical music by the New Year Concert of the year 2003... after that I tried to collect all the concert in this series. Even though they play almost the same songs year by year... but they sound to me very different... love them all !

A friend of mine turned me on to the New Year's Concerts a few years ago. I started to get these starting with the 2002 Hybrid SACD version. I usually don't catch the live broadcast when it's on PBS, but the few times I have, it has been amazing especially when they show the scenes of Vienna.

This year they had a French conducter and that was evident as one of the songs had the Can Can in it. The rest of the songs were very well selected and sounded very good. I love the tradition of ending every concert with the Blue Danube and the Radetsky March (except for one year when the world was too unpleasant).

Inviting a veeteran French conductor to lead the most Austrian of celebrations was unorthodox, but Georges Pretre does very well. His style, once hectic, has become warm and nostalgic. He picked some French-themed rarities from Johann Strauss's immense output, among them a march dedicated to Napoleon, a waltz and polka for Paris, even the familiar can-can theme from Orpheus in the Underworld lifted from Strauss's rival, Offenbach. The Vienna Phil. plays with extra charm and lightness this year, a welcome contrast to the somewhat plodding affair that Mariss Jansons presided over in 2006; Mehta led a glowing concert last year.

I particularly welcomed the selections from Indigo and the Forty Thieves, a failed Strauss operetta gifted with a wonderful overtrue. As has become customary, Decca offers two CDs for the price of one, recorded in excellent sound. For traditionalists Pretre may seem a tad underpowered in the Emperor and Blue Danube waltzes, but there's so much unfamiliar music here that's totally charming, it hardly matters. In the Sixties and Seventies the New Year's concerts were more echt Viennese, yet I doubt the orchestra has ever sounded as fine as it does today. Who can argue with perfection?