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
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. ![]()
Stir editorial assistant Emily Lyth is a Vancouver-based writer and editor who graduated from Langara College’s Journalism program. Her decade of dance training and passion for all things food-related are the foundation of her love for telling arts, culture, and community stories.
Related Articles
Tribute to one of Canada’s most important large-jazz ensemble vocalists stars two Vancouver greats
Stops include a three-night residency at Austria’s Salzburg Easter Festival, as well as Croatia, Slovenia, Liechtenstein, and Germany
Among the 28-year-old’s recent achievements is winning the Terence Judd-Hallé Award for young pianists on the cusp of international fame
The Winnipeg artist brings experience as a tenor to a Mozart opera reimagined in a 1930s Rockies resort, complete with Mounties and log drivers
Romance, deception, and mistaken identities abound in Gioachino Rossini’s beloved comic masterpiece
Based on Adrian Glynn McMorran’s album of the same name, the show at the Arts Club’s BMO Theatre Centre is more than just a concert
Han-Na Chang conducts Beethoven’s revolutionary Third Symphony
The renowned theatre artist and composer offers a stirring collection of tunes from acclaimed shows such as Children of God and Starwalker
Long-time UBC and CapU faculty member puts on a show featuring dozens of local musicians, plus vocalists Dawn Pemberton and Khari McClelland
The Winnipeg-based artist looks forward to onstage exchanges with diverse musical peers on International Guitar Night
Event hosted by Michael van den Bos features Hollywood film projections and live music by the Laura Crema Sextet
Sonic architecture of Winnipeg’s AO Roberts explores the interplay of performance, installation, and layered auditory experiences
Collaborating with vocalists taught the acclaimed, formerly all-instrumental group new ways of listening and working
Rarely presented in Vancouver, the production blends musical theatre and opera with a philosophically rooted storyline
The adventurous artist sees his upcoming program with Vetta Chamber Music as a way of expressing music’s power to console and cheer, even in dark times
Hosted by the Cellar Music Group at the Shadbolt Centre, festival opens with a special concert by the Vancouver Jazz Orchestra with Champian Fulton and Klas Lindquist
Five emerging conductors lead a program of pieces by both Canadian and American composers, from Amy Beach to Stuart Beatch
Adrian Glynn McMorran’s moving theatre-concert pays tribute to his Ukraine-born grandparents, complete with a choir and traditional instruments
Productions that “push” forms include dance works that play with props and stereotypes, as well as ethereal odes to nature and the northern lights
Musician rises to the challenge of Brahms’s sole Violin Concerto on program that also features guest conductor Han-Na Chang
Under the inspiring title I Fall, I Rise, the concert also features the Focus post-secondary choir and winners of the Young Composers’ Competition
