Christian Thielemann has been named as the conductor for the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra’s (VPO) New Year’s Concert in 2019. It will be the first time the German has led the prestigious event.
Thielemann has worked regularly with VPO since 2000, conducting subscription concerts, leading its 2013 tour of Japan and appearing with the orchestra at the Salzburg Festival. He is currently principal conductor of the Staatskapelle Dresden.
“The deep musical understanding and trust which functioned perfectly from the beginning in the opera has carried over into the concert sector and been very fruitful,” commented VPO chair Daniel Froschauer. “For this reason, we have asked Christian Thielemann to take the baton for the New Year’s Concert on 1 January, 2019.”
VPO’s 2018 New Year’s Concert was lead for the fifth time by Italian conductor Riccardo Muti. The concert broadcast was watched by more than 50 million people in over 90 countries.
