New Year's Eve at the Colorado Symphony features A Night In Vienna

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This New Year's Eve, let the Colorado Symphony transport you to the ballrooms of Vienna

This New Year's Eve, take a beautiful musical journey with the Colorado Symphony and "A Night in Vienna," Denver's iconic New Year's celebration that will transport you to the magical world of 19th century Europe. On Saturday, December 31 at 6:30 p.m., join resident conductorScott O'Neiland the Colorado Symphony for an evening of the music that madeVienna's ballrooms famous – music that continues to thrill audiences worldwide.

The centerpiece of this special celebration is the music of the "Waltz King," Johann Strauss Jr., and his legendary waltzes and polkas, such as the Kaiser-Walzer (Emperor Waltzes) and Unter Donner und Blitz (Thunder and Lightning Polka). The evening would not be complete without concertgoer favorites such as On the Beautiful Blue Danube, plus new surprises that make this New Year's Eve concert a treasured ritual for many music lovers. Thanks to the concert's early start time of 6:30 p.m., concertgoers will have plenty of time later in the evening to stroll down the 16th Street Mall for fireworks and revelries. Tickets are on sale now and start at $37.

Strauss Jr. (1825-1899) composed more than 500 works in his lifetime, including many of the waltzes and polkas that dancers – and music lovers – still adore today. While he became known as a composer of "light music," his significant output of compositions also included operettas and ballets. Of course, Strauss Jr. earned the title "Waltz King" due to the sheer popularity of his waltzes. Once considered an "indecent" and shocking dance, the waltz grew to be wildly popular in his lifetime. Today, Strauss Jr.'s On the Beautiful Blue Danube holds the position of "unofficial Austrian anthem." It is broadcast by most radio and television stations across the country each year on New Year's Eve at midnight.

For centuries, the ballrooms ofViennahave been the centerpiece of New Year’s celebrations as dancers young-and-old sweep across the floor, reveling in polkas, waltzes, and the promise of new beginnings. From the cafés and concert halls to the Imperial Ball inHofburgPalace, these celebrations have branded the city ofViennaas the town of "bon vivants." The romantic, uplifting music ofVienna’s ballrooms has such universal appeal that music lovers now enjoy it on New Year’s Eve at concerts around the world. In fact, the Neujahrskonzert (New Year's Eve concert) by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra is broadcast around the world to an estimated audience of 50 million people in more than 70 countries.

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