From Vienna: The New Year's Celebration 2022

Premieres Saturday, January 1 at 8 p.m. on PBS (check local listings)

Streaming for this program will begin Sunday, January 2 at noon on pbs.org/gperf and the PBS Video app

Great Performances continues its tradition of ringing in the New Year with the Vienna Philharmonic at the world-famous Musikverein. Under the baton of Grammy-winning guest conductor Daniel Barenboim, the Vienna Philharmonic performs a selection of favorite Strauss family waltzes. The concert also features dances from the Vienna State Ballet performing on location at Schönbrunn Palace and its park grounds, as well as a performance by the world-famous Lipizzaner horses from The Spanish Riding School. Great Performances: From Vienna: The New Year’s Celebration 2022 premieres Saturday, January 1 at 8 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings) and streams the following day at pbs.org/gperf and the PBS Video app. 

Great Performances: From Vienna: The New Year’s Celebration 2022 is part of #PBSForTheArts, a multiplatform campaign that celebrates the arts in America. For more than 50 years, PBS has been the media destination for the arts, presenting dance, theater, opera, visual arts and concerts to Americans in every corner of the country. Previous Great Performances programs include Romeo & Juliet from the National Theatre, The Arts Interrupted, San Francisco Reopening Night, and Coppelia. The collection of #PBSForTheArts programs is available at pbs.org/arts and the PBS Video app. Curated conversation and digital shorts are also available on PBS social media platforms using #PBSForTheArts.  

Musical Selections: 

• Johann Strauss Jr. – “Overture to Die Fledermaus” (“Overture to ‘The Bat’”) 

• Johann Strauss Jr. – “Champagne Polka” 
• Carl Michael Ziehrer – “Night Revelers” 
• Johann Strauss Jr. – “Persian March” 
• Johann Strauss Jr. – “A Thousand and One Nights” 
• Eduard Strauss – “Greetings to Prague” 

• Joseph Hellmesberger Jr. – “Elves”* 
• Josef Strauss – “Nymph-Polka”* 
• Josef Strauss – “Harmony of the Spheres” 

Encores 

• Johann Strauss Jr. – “To the Hunt!” 
• Johann Strauss Jr. – “The Beautiful Blue Danube” 
• Johann Strauss Sr. – “Radetzky March” 

* First performance at a New Year’s Concert 

Locations: 

• Riesenrad (Giant Ferris Wheel) 
• Leopold Museum 
• Great Gallery at Schönbrunn Palace 

• Lamberthofer Costume Shop  
• The Lusthaus in the Prater Park 
• Winter Riding Hall  
• Spanish Riding School 
• Imperial Apartments at the Sisi Museum 

• “The 80s. Art of the Eighties” at Albertina Modern 

Notable Talent: 

• Hugh Bonneville, host, actor, Masterpiece: Downton Abbey, “Downton Abbey,” “Downton Abbey: A New Era” 
• Daniel Barenboim, Grammy-winning guest conductor 

• Vienna State Ballet, performing from Schonbrunn 

Noteworthy Facts: 

• This is conductor Daniel Barenboim’s third year conducting the New Year’s Concert, following concerts in 2009 and 2014. 
• This is Hugh Bonneville’s fifth consecutive year acting as host for the New Year’s Concert. 

• Hosted by Earl of Grantham “Downton Abbey” actor Hugh Bonneville, Great Performances: From Vienna: The New Year’s Celebration 2022 follows the “Downton Abbey” film airing Saturday, December 25 on PBS. 
• The Vienna Philharmonic performs approximately 40 concerts in Vienna a year, among them the New Year’s Concert and the Summer Night Concert.  
• This year marks the 125th anniversary of the giant Ferris Wheel in the Prater Park, a favorite site on Vienna’s skyline. 

Series Overview:
Throughout its nearly 50-year history on PBS, Great Performances has provided an unparalleled showcase of the best in all genres of the performing arts, serving as America’s most prestigious and enduring broadcaster of cultural programming. The series is available for streaming simultaneously on all station-branded PBS platforms, including pbs.org/gperf and the PBS Video app, which is available on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Chromecast. PBS station members can view episodes via Passport (contact your local PBS station for details). Great Performances is produced by The WNET Group.  

Throughout its nearly 50-year history on PBS, Great Performances has provided an unparalleled showcase of the best in all genres of the performing arts, serving as America’s most prestigious and enduring broadcaster of cultural programming. Showcasing a diverse range of artists from around the world, the series has earned 67 Emmy Awards and six Peabody Awards. Previous Great Performances programs include Romeo & Juliet from the National Theatre, The Arts Interrupted, San Francisco Reopening Night, Coppelia and From Vienna: The New Year’s Celebration 2022. The Great Performances website hosts exclusive videos, interviews, photos, full episodes and more. The series is produced by The WNET Group. Great Performances is available for streaming concurrent with broadcast on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS Video App, available on iOS, Android, Roku streaming devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO. PBS station members can view many series, documentaries and specials via PBS Passport. For more information about PBS Passport, visit the PBS Passport FAQ website. 

Production Credits:  
From Vienna: The New Year’s Celebration 2022 is a production of Wiener Philharmoniker and ORF in association with The WNET Group. Great Performances is produced by The WNET Group.  For Great Performances, John Walker and Julie Leonard are producers, Bill O’Donnell is series producer and David Horn is executive producer. 

Underwriters:
Corporate support for From Vienna: The New Year’s Celebration 2022 is provided by Rolex. Series funding for Great Performances is also made possible by The Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Arts Fund, the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust, Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III, Jody and John Arnhold, The Starr Foundation, The Philip and Janice Levin Foundation, the Kate W. Cassidy Foundation, the Thea Petschek Iervolino Foundation, the Seton J. Melvin, the Estate of Worthington Mayo-Smith, the Jack Lawrence Trust, Ellen and James S. Marcus, and Lorraine A. Egan and the late Richard T. Egan. 

Websites: http://pbs.org/gperf, facebook.com/GreatPerformances, @GPerfPBS, giphy.com/great-performances, youtube.com/greatperformancespbs #GreatPerformancesPBS #PBSForTheArts