Riccardo Muti and the Vienna Philharmonic awarded the prestigious Romy Prize

Vienna, May 7th 2021 – Maestro Riccardo Muti and the Vienna Philharmonic have today been awarded the prestigious audience prize “Romy 2021” for the TV-Moment of the year at the 2021 New Year’s Concert. The awards were presented by Dr. Barbara Rett in the presence of General Director Dr. Alexander Wrabetz.

Daniel Froschauer, Chairman of the Vienna Philharmonic, stated, “The Romy Award is a confirmation that, despite the pandemic, we were successful in sending with the music of the New Year’s Concert a message of hope to the world and provide inspiration for our audience. The gratitude of listeners and viewers from around the world is our greatest reward, especially after enduring such difficult times. We are thankful for all of the participants who helped make the concert broadcast possible.”

The television broadcast of the entire Romy awards ceremony took place on May 15 at 8:15 PM on the Austrian channel ORF II and on its website and is available for on demand streaming until May 22, 2021 here.

The prizes were presented during a rehearsal of Riccardo Muti and the Vienna Philharmonic in preparation for the concerts in Italy in honor of Maestro Muti’s 80th birthday.

The concert in La Scala was recorded and is to be broadcast by RAI Italia in close cooperation with the European Broadcast Union (EBU). Broadcast dates will be announced at a later time.

The Program:

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy: Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage, Concert Overture, op. 27
Robert Schumann: Symphony No. 4 in D Minor, op. 120
Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 2 in D Major, op. 73

“Maestro Muti has requested this program for his 80th birthday. The selected masterpieces from the German Romantic era demonstrate the close artistic partnership between him and the Vienna Philharmonic, which had its beginnings 50 years ago. I would like to specifically mention Brahms’ 2nd Symphony, which the Vienna Philharmonic premiered, and which Riccardo Muti has often conducted with our orchestra”, said the Chairman of the Vienna Philharmonic, Daniel Froschauer.