The Vienna Philharmonic gives its annual New Year's Concert

ISTANBUL

It’s been an 80-year tradition for the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra to give New Year’s concert dedicated to the music of the Strauss family, renowned for waltzes including “The Beautiful Blue Danube” and “Radetsky March.”

This year, Latvian conductor Andris Nelsons, who is the music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, led the Austrian orchestra’s iconic New Year’s program on Jan. 1.

The New Year’s concert reached more than 40 million viewers.

The Vienna Philharmonic, which performed in the city’s acclaimed Musikverein building, is considered one of the top orchestras in the world.

First Latvian conductor

The Vienna Philharmonic first turned to a conductor outside of Austria to lead the production in the 1980s.

After French-born Lorin Maazel directed his last show in 1986, the orchestra decided to have a new maestro each year.

Jan. 1’s performance was Nelsons’s first year conducting the New Year’s concert, but he has been associated with the Vienna Philharmonic since 2010.

He has conducted the Vienna Philharmonic at subscription concerts and the Salzburg Festival, as well as on tours around Asia, Europe, and North America.