For decades, the Vienna Philharmonic has presented its audiences at the turn of the year with a cheerful yet contemplative program from the rich repertoire of the Strauss dynasty and its contemporaries. This time, Andris Nelsons, a debutant who has been musically associated with the Austrian orchestra since 2010, took the podium at the New Year's Concert on January 1. This year, reference was also made to many anniversaries that will take place in 2020: Nelsons, for example, will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Musikverein building with the waltz "Freut euch des Lebens," and some of Ludwig van Beethoven's contredanse dances will be heard to mark the 250th anniversary of his birth, with a ballet interlude also featured in the television broadcast.