New Year's concert of the city of Beckum
festival:philharmonie westfalen inspires
Lively, elegant and with plenty of Viennese charm, the conductor and his international orchestra succeeded in delighting the guests at the sold-out Stadttheater. The concert evening, supported by Sparkasse Münsterland Ost, was a tribute to the great era of operetta and the waltz.
The programme kicked off with the lively overture to Jacques Offenbach's "Orpheus in the Underworld" - a song of praise to operetta full of wit and esprit. This was followed by the charming polka française "Feuerfest" by Josef Strauss, whose resounding blacksmith's hammer has long enjoyed cult status.
The unforgettable compositions by Johann Strauss (son) also formed a focal point of the evening: the spirited Csárdás from the opera "Ritter Pásmán", the sparkling bat quadrille, the exotic waltz fantasy "Tausend und eine Nacht", plus the rousing bandit gallop, the cheerful polka "Die Tauben von San Marco" and the fast-paced polka "Stürmisch in Lieb und Tanz". Each of these titles bears the unmistakable signature of the Waltz King and was performed in an exuberant, virtuoso manner full of joie de vivre.
Festive accents were set by the polka mazur "Brennende Liebe" by Josef Strauss, the "Kopenhagener Eisenbahn Dampf-Galopp" by Hans Christian Lumbye, which captures the tooting and rattling of a railway journey in sound, and the elegant waltz of the ball sirens from Franz Lehár's "Merry Widow". Carl Maria von Weber's lively overture to the musical comedy "Abu Hassan" and the carnival waltz "Carneval in Venice" by Johann Strauss (father) brought the official programme full circle.
But it was only after three encores, which were enthusiastically demanded with never-ending applause, that the musicians were allowed to take their leave, skilfully performing a quadrille as a special interlude between the musical pieces.
And of course, Mayor Michael Gerdhenrich was once again allowed to take up the baton. Conducting the bandit gallop, he once again demonstrated a sure sense of rhythm.
Date for 2027 already set
The City of Beckum's cultural office is already receiving requests for tickets for the 2027 New Year's Concert. And a date has already been set: the New Year's Concert 2027 will take place on Sunday, 17 January 2027. Tickets for the concert go on sale on 26 January 2026.