New Year's Concert

“Embrace, millions!” Waltz king Johann Strauss is as much a part of the New Year’s transition as the Capricorn is to Graubünden. His rarely performed waltz Embrace, Millions captivates with lyrical beauty and elegance. The title comes from Schiller’s Ode to Joy, which Ludwig van Beethoven also set to music in the finale of his ninth and final symphony. Over two decades earlier, Beethoven completed his first symphony, which is still distinctly classical. The influence of his musical ancestors Haydn and Mozart is evident, as are early innovations that laid the groundwork for his significant oeuvre. The same applies to the virtuosic concert aria Ah! Perfido, which was composed a few years earlier during Beethoven’s only major concert tour in Prague. The festive program is rounded off with music by Josef Strauss, a second member of the legendary Viennese Strauss dynasty, and other sparkling works from operettas and musicals. Maura Wesseling, sopranoPhilippe Bach, conductorKammerphilharmonie Graubünden