Viennese New Year’s Concert Tuesday 17 January 2012, Rialto Theatre, Limassol, 20:30 Wednesday 18 January 2012, Markideion Theatre, Paphos, 20:30 Thursday 19 January 2012, Strovolos Municipal Theatre, Nicosia, 20:30

Programme:
Festive Viennese music by Johann I and II, Joseph and Eduard Strauss to include the Pizzicato Polka, On the Beautiful Blue Danube Waltz and Radetsky March.

Conductor: John Georgiadis

Tickets available at the Theatres’ box office (Tel. 77777745, 26 932571, 22 313010)
€12 and €7 (18- 26 years old and pensioners)
Free entrance for children and students under 18 years old

Information: 22 463144

THE PROGRAMME:
The origins of the Viennese Waltz can be traced in the Ländler - an energetic couple dance in 3/4 rhythm, which was very popular in Bavaria during the 18^th century. As opposed to the "aristocratic" dances of the time such as polonaises and minuets, this particular dance was about big leaps and jumps while the two dancers kept their bodies as close together as possible. And even though the dance was banned in certain places, Switzerland for example, it was inevitably embraced by the high society in Vienna. The Waltz, as a dance, was certainly more refined and graceful, but equally jolly and spirited.

The Strauss Family was the main contributor to the genre of Viennese Waltz in the 19^th century. The father, Johann Strauss I (1804 - 1849), used to be a member of the Michael Pamer Orchestra, which he abandoned to form another orchestra with Joseph Lanner. It was these two men that basically developed the Viennese Waltz and granted it its well-known sophistication and elegance. As the Austrian music critic Max Graf confessed, "If there exists a form of music that is a direct expression of sensuality, it is the Viennese Waltz. It was the dance of the new Romantic Period after the Napoleonic Wars, and the contemporaries of the first waltzes were highly shocked at the eroticism of this dance in which a lady clung to her partner, closed her eyes as in a happy dream, and glided off as if the world had disappeared. The new waltz melodies overflowed with longing, desire and tenderness." Johann Strauss was the composer of over 300 works, but his fame was overshadowed by the output of his three sons: Joseph, Eduard, and Johann Strauss II in particular, who was deservedly, nicknamed "The King of Waltz".

Johann II was initially discouraged by his father to become a composer, but he rose to an illustrious international career after his father's death. He composed over 15 stage works - mainly operettas - thus his attractive melodies and light-hearted waltzes were not featured only in the dance floor, but they became extremely popular in the concert hall.

Holding the UK's top violin job, that of LSO leader, from the age of 26 presented John Georgiadis with the ideal springboard for launching into a conducting career in the mid 70's, starting with education work with the Liverpool Phil. Feeling the need to acquire a sound technique and good understanding of conducting requirements to stand alongside his already substantial orchestral experience, he decided on the arduous course of eight years of conducting studies with Sergiu Celibidache. He has since conducted concerts and recordings worldwide with many of the great orchestras.  A long standing relationship with his old orchestra, the LSO, has led to concerts and tours at home and abroad as well as recordings, one of which topped the CD sales charts. The annual New Year's Concerts, with the LSO, BBC Concert, London Philharmonic and Royal Phiharmonic Orchestras, which, originally at the Royal Albert Hall, he now conducts at the Barbican. The 2010 December 31st concert was his 34th consecutive year of celebrating the New Year with these Viennese style concerts.  He is Music Director and Conductor of the London Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, founded in 1972 originally as a chamber ensemble. In 2008 he formed the Cinque Ports Ensemble in association with the Deal Festival, his town of residence. A wide ranging and varied career has included other Music Director positions as well, namely Bristol Sinfonia  and Bangkok Symphony, as well as the work with many youth orchestras. He is also a regular guest conductor of the Malaysian Philharmonic.