In Vienna’s New Year’s Concert, the traditional venue for the main performance is the Golden Hall.
The Golden Hall, formally the Great Hall of the Musikverein, is celebrated for its rich decoration, gilded surfaces, caryatids, chandeliers, and exceptional acoustics. Its German name is the Großer Musikvereinssaal. The hall provides the familiar setting seen in international broadcasts of the concert.
The Vienna Philharmonic performs music mainly by the Strauss family, including waltzes and polkas. The concert is held on January 1, although related performances take place on December 30 and December 31. It is broadcast internationally and has become one of the world’s best-known classical music events.
The concert began in 1939, during the period of Nazi rule, and its history is therefore connected to the political circumstances of the era. Today, the event is associated with New Year celebrations worldwide, especially through the closing performance of “The Blue Danube” and the “Radetzky March.”