Riccardo Muti - New Year's Concert 2004 (2014) Hi-Res

Hey, it's the New Year's Concert, so what could be bad? The answer, of course, is "nothing". Sure we could quibble about the various merits of Muti vs. Maazel vs. Ozawa vs. Harnoncourt, or compare Blue Danube Waltzes in microscopic detail. But basically this is the Vienna Philharmonic doing the Strauss family (and friends), and it would take far more time and effort to make them sound bad in this repertoire than Muti has to spend, even if he were bad at it, which he is not. He leads aptly vivacious performances full of charm, and he's got his tendency toward rhythmic stiffness well under control even as he imposes his characteristic discipline in the zippier numbers (the various gallops and marches have a nice snap to their step). In short, the smile in the music comes through, as it must.
On one count, though, I find the recent concerts of both Ozawa and Harnoncourt more interesting: they offer a slightly wider choice of repertoire than does Muti, who sticks mostly to old favorites--but that will be a selling point for some, and even in this instance we do get a few rarities, such as Lanner's Hofball-Tänze and Johann Strauss I's Cachucha-Galopp. So if you're a fan of the Vienna Philharmonic and of its New Year's Concerts in particular, you're surely going to enjoy this, and even if you don't--there's always next year! -- David Hurwitz