The Vienna Philharmonic’s 2017 New Year’s concert was broadcast to over 90 countries and watched by more than 50 million viewers. The orchestra goes back to 1842 and has been associated with illustrious conductors including Richard Strauss, Arturo Toscanini, Herbert von Karajan and Leonard Bernstein. Gustavo Dudamel is today’s conducting phenomenon. The music is upbeat, celebratory, and consists largely of waltzes and polkas, with a few bows to romantic interludes (J. Strauss’ Die Nasswalderin) and zestful marches (Lehár’s Nechledil-Marsch). Familiar favorites include Waldteufel’s The Skaters (waltz), Johann Strauss I’s Radetsky March, and Johann Strauss II’s The Blue Danube. His Tik-Tak Polka, Pepita-Polka, and So ängstlich. . . are playful, while his ‘sgibt nur a Kaiserstadt . . .is elegant, and his Rotunde-Quadrillle evokes holiday military drills of soldiers in times of piece. Franz Von Suppé’s Pique Dame Overture moves from threat to gaiety. The works on these two discs capture the wealth and cultural self-confidence of 19th century Vienna, and the hopes, dreams and heady desires that come to the fore on New Year’s Eve.