The home of the Vienna New Year's Concert – Musikverein

As the New Year is approaching, it is appropriate to write about probably the most famous concert of all - the New Year´s Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra held in the Wiener Musikverein (Viennese Music Association) every January 1.

The concert is performed in the Great Hall (Großer Saal), which is regarded as one of the most beautiful and the most acoustic concert halls in the world. The hall has 1744 seats and standing room for 300 more persons, and it is about 49 m long and 19 m wide.

The building itself is a neoclassical masterpiece built in 1870, on the land provided by the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I. It is located in Vienna 1st district between Karlsplatz and the Ring. Except for the Great Hall that is also called Golden Hall, Musikverein has four more halls named after different materials - the glass, the metal, the stone, and the wood respectively and the second biggest hall named after the composer Johannes Brahms.

The New Year's Concert is held traditionally since 1939, and it includes the works of the Strauss family, with occasional additional pieces from other primarily Austrian composers. Watching this traditional concert of classical music in the morning of New Year's Day became the ritual for millions of families worldwide. It is broadcasted live in almost 100 countries. And if you wish to watch the concert live in the Wiener Musikverein, you will need a bit of luck since you cannot just buy a ticket. Because of the high demand for the tickets, it is necessary to register one year in advance to take part in the lottery for the tickets for the following year.