Which concert, first held on New Year's Day in 1941, is Vienna's best-known classical New Year's tradition?

The Vienna New Year’s Concert, first held on New Year’s Day in 1941, is Vienna’s best-known classical New Year tradition.

The concert is performed by the Vienna Philharmonic in the Musikverein’s Golden Hall. Its program is strongly associated with the music of the Strauss family, especially Johann Strauss II, whose waltzes and polkas helped define the event’s sound and identity.

The concert traditionally ends with three familiar pieces: the “Blue Danube” waltz, a performance of the “Radetzky March,” and greetings for the New Year. Audience members often clap along during the march, although the exact presentation can vary under each conductor.

The first concert took place during the Second World War, a fact that is often omitted when the event is described as an older imperial-era custom. It became an international broadcast tradition after the war and is now watched by television audiences in many countries.