We went to the Barbican Hall in the city on New Year's Eve for a Viennese night with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra directed by John Georgiadi, so mainly Strauss.
John Georgiadi has been doing these New Year concerts of Viennese music for thirty years now and although we've heard some of his introductions and patter at least a couple of times before, he and the orchestra put on a good show and crucially, he understands the music and makes it fun. It's a bit like an "end of term" party. I remember seventies broadcasts of the now-famous New Years Day concert from Vienna was a bit like this when Willi Boskovsky was directing it: the current New Year's Day programme from Vienna comes over to me as very stuffy.
Anyhow, we enjoyed ourselves with nicely prepared and played music before the interval with rather more fun and games and audience participation after the event. I didn't buy the programme but I think we heard 'Wiener Blut'; 'Champagne Polka'; 'Kissing Polka' (with audience participation); 'Ninetta Waltz' (suggested by the Johann Strauss Society of Great Britain; 'Pizzicato Polka'; 'Ohne Sorgen Polka' and 'Bauern Polka' plus of course the Blue Danube Waltz and the Radetsky March in a special arrangement including Rule Britannia!
Unfortunately the red wine from the Barbican bar was very pubby as well as being expensive, and my several of my neighbours back home carried on with their noisy party celebrations well after midnight. Continuing annoyance where I live...