What started as a wartime mood-lifter with a hint of Nazi PR has pirouetted into classical music’s most glittering annual spectacle. The Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Concert, once a propaganda piece in 1939, is now watched by millions who probably don’t realize they’re toe-tapping to a rebranded tradition. With Strauss waltzes, global fanfare, and even a nod to female composers in 2025, it’s the world’s classiest hangover cure—proof that even the darkest roots can blossom into a cultural bouquet.
Το ΒΗΜΑ, 01 January 2025