The song traditionally broadcast from Vienna’s Musikverein on New Year’s Day is The Blue Danube.
The Blue Danube is the common English title of Johann Strauss II’s waltz An der schönen blauen Donau. It is a signature moment in broadcasts of the Vienna New Year’s Concert, performed by the Vienna Philharmonic in the Musikverein’s Golden Hall. The concert occurs on January 1, after New Year’s Eve, but the waltz has become part of the wider holiday season.
Strauss composed the work in 1866, and it was first performed publicly in 1867. Its graceful melody helped make it one of the best-known examples of Viennese waltz music.
The Blue Danube is often confused with the Radetzky March, another famous piece associated with the concert. The march usually closes the program, while The Blue Danube is traditionally performed before it. Neither piece is the official national anthem of Austria.