Silvesterkonzert der Staatskapelle Dresden by Beethoven, lør. 31 dec. 2022, Fra (2022/2022), Dirigent Christian Thielemann, Semperoper, Dresden, Germany

The custom of celebrating the turn of the year with Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth goes back to Arthur Nikisch: On New Year's Eve 1918, he conducted the symphony for thousands of workers at a "peace celebration" at which the "joyful theme" sounded at exactly midnight. In this way he became the midwife of a tradition that quickly gained a foothold all over the world. Nevertheless, it is worth reliving this most radical symphonic work in music history every time: then you can feel the existential impact of the premiere, when the audience literally caught their breath at the use of human voices in the finale and completely unprepared harmonic turns. Concert duration: approx. 80 minutes, no intermission Broadcast date: December 29, 2022, from 10:15 p.m. on ZDF