Something to think about NYE's concert in Vienna

Back home after a couple of days of travel, I check my Facebook and see many of my people deeply enthusted about the gorgeous music of the classical New Year's Eve concert in Vienna. The concert consists of a first musical part continued by a dancing second part, when couples join and dance the classical Viennaise waltz. 

This year, the big Barenboim - a great musician, but as in the case of many intellectuals, with a problematic political involvement - conducted, another reason for even more people to appreciate this concert. The encores were accepted only since 1945.

As a kid growing up in a communist country, I remember how this concert used to be the main event of the year, with families setting up social gatherings around the time of the broadcast in order to enjoy some glamour in a very grey world. 

Nowadays, it is broadcast in more than 70 countries, with an audience of over 50 million.

For the sake of history, there are a 'couple of dark' episodes of this prestigious moment, that are not always mentioned and probably many more not yet known. 

The first concert took place on 31 December 1939 - the first time when it was not held on the traditional 1st of January as nowadays - in the Large Saal and was conducted by Clemens Krauss. It was approved directly by the propagandist of the IIIrd Reich, Joseph Goebbels (yimakh shemo), as part of the official policy of 'propaganda through entertainment'. The first program played exclusively Johann Strauss, who was accepted despite his Jewish family history (his grandfather was Jew from birth). As in many other cases, they realized that without Jews, there is quite difficult to have a great culture - see also Heine who authorshiped many of the German 'patriotic' poetry, or the Mendelssohn-Bartholdy who put Leipzig on the European musical maps, among others - and the program was accepted. The profits were donated for the war campaign of Germany, through the Kriegsunterhelfwerk. 

The part of the Philharmonie in the events during WWII were hidden for a long time, as the archives were closed to the public till beginning of 2000s. Even after that moment, many historians complain about the restrictive access and the problems in covering the truth of those terrible years. However, based on the available information, historians were able to establish that the Vienna Orchester gave a concert in an SS barrack and that around 47% of its members were members of the Nazi Parti. A number of 13 Jewish players were fired, out of them 7 were murdered at the orders of the attendees of the first Vienna concert. 

As for me, I never thought that this Vienna concert is really such a great cultural event. Johann Strauss and the likes are part of a middle class cultural bibliography that I would rather skip. The fact that a tradition inaugurated in those dark times is praised doesn't surprise me, as European countries are maintaining - more or less aware of the past - not a few customs and traditions with a controversial anti-Jewish history. Should we ignore this and enjoy the music. I really don't think this is the answer, especially when still there is so much hidden behind the gates of this respected Austrian institution.