Verena Giesinger, born in Vorarlberg, wants to write music history with her concert with the Schmusechor: the 36-year-old is the first woman to conduct the Vienna “New Year’s Concert”. Yet the tradition remains intact: the audience does not have to do without waltzes and strings.
In January the New Year’s concert will take place for the 84th time and for the 84th time the orchestra will be conducted by a man. When asked why this is the case, conductor Franz Welser-Möst replied in an interview: “The New Year’s concert is the most complex thing you can conduct. It’s about expertise.’ He didn’t believe women could do this. This statement provoked Verena Giesinger so much that she offered to conduct the New Year’s concert during a concert of her cuddle choir.
The Viennese cultural center WUK is taking up this challenge and is organizing the first Viennese “New Year’s Concert” on January 6, where a woman will hold the baton. Giesinger will then be on stage with the cuddle choir and other artists.
Hardly any female conductors in the industry
“Although I have been a conductor for nine years, I did not dare to call myself that,” explains the Vorarlberger. “I simply lacked role models,” the musician said of the situation of women in the industry. And will the audience have to make do without the waltz? “No, we have been preparing for weeks and have incorporated elements from the original.” The cuddle choir’s repertoire includes pop songs by the Backstreet Boys.
The Vorarlberger’s greatest wish: “I hope that our concert will be future-oriented and that next year we will see a woman on the stage of the Vienna Philharmonic.”
Tickets are available online from Friday 10am: www.wuk.at
Source: Krone
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