VSO rings in 2025 with Salute to Vienna New Year’s Concert, January 1

Annual tradition to feature soprano Mónika Fischl and tenor Martin Piskorski with the Strauss Symphony of Canada, conducted by Imre Kollár

By emily lyth

Salute to Vienna New Year’s Concert.

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra presents Salute to Vienna New Year’s Concert at the Orpheum on January 1 at 2:30 pm

THE EVER-POPULAR WALTZES of Austrian composer Johann Strauss II will fill the Orpheum with festivity on New Year’s Day at the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s Salute to Vienna show, presented by Attila Glatz Concert Productions.

On January 1, in a tradition that has been around for more than two decades, the VSO will host a team of internationally celebrated performers to ring in the new year with works that pay tribute to the Golden Age of Vienna. Led by Hungarian conductor Imre Kollár (who will keep the mood light by sharing jokes and stories all afternoon long), the Strauss Symphony of Canada with members of the VSO will play a variety of soaring arias, romantic duets, and festive overtures—think such timeless favourites as the “The Blue Danube” waltz.

Salute to Vienna is a recreation of Neujahrskonzert, a famous New Year’s Day concert in Austria that is performed annually by the Vienna Philharmonic at the Musikverein. The show has been held each year for more than eight decades.

At the VSO, joyful touches will make for an equally celebratory concert. Audiences can expect an enlivened atmosphere with bright costumes and lush flowers, while the musicians will be accompanied by renowned dancers and singers. Among this year’s performers are two talented European vocalists, soprano Mónika Fischl and tenor Martin Piskorski.

Fischl, who trained at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, has performed several of the classical prima donna roles in Hungarian and Viennese operetta, including Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus, Sylva in Gypsy Princess, and Hanna in The Merry Widow, to name just a few. Piskorski, meanwhile, being from Austria himself, is equally well-versed in the region’s musical traditions.

Salute to Vienna is nearly sold out, with only a handful of tickets still up for grabs.  

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