Anyone here ever seen The Salute to Vienna that shows around the New Years Eve time of year?

It wouldn’t be New Years Day without the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra playing Strauss live from the Great Hall off Karlsplatz. The Philharmonic are considered a national treasure by every age group and class in Austria. And 50 million viewers outside of Austria agree.

Across the square there is a beautiful cafe, the Opera Cafe, decked out in high Jungenstil, huge crystal chandeliers and other incredible decor – carved cherrywood, mahogany, etc., with heavy silver and brass fixtures, and the world’s best pastries, coffee and cognacs. On New Year’s, everyone is in impeccable 1890s formal wear in honor of the Strauss dynasty, the Philharmonic, and the last days of the Austrian Empire. The ladies go all out in their hats, jewelry and formal gowns of the era and the men are all in white ties and tails. You walk into the Opera Cafe after crossing Karlsplatzen in the bitter January cold and you are hit with a wall of warmth of the heat and the rich decor, take a table or booth, wrap your hands around a hot cup of coffee and armagnac and you find yourself in the middle of a Renoir painting. A young couple might suddenly stand up and begin a waltz to the Emperor’s Waltz. This is unusual behaviour for the stoic Viennese, but it is New Years, and it is Strauss.

Since 1982, it was a tradition in my house to have the Philharmonic on the TV on New Year’s—my Swedish wife insisted on it—and nowadays, if I find myself on terra firma on Jan. 1st, I have it on. It is difficult in the states with all the sports fans in the households fighting for TV football time, but it is a much nicer tradition, in my opinion.

Well it’s not showing anywhere in Michigan (not exactly the hotbed of cultural sophistication) or on DirecTV so I’m plum out of luck.

I actually mean the live shows. I didn’t even think about the broadcast on TV. Here is a link to my local one, but there are tour groups all over America that you can see.