The 1979 Vienna New Year’s Day Concert marked the twenty-fifth occasion that Willi Boskovsky had appeared on the podium, violin in hand. Decca’s live recording of the occasion was also their first digital release. This would thus be a recording of considerable historic significance even if it did not also demonstrate a feeling for the grace and elegance of Viennese dance music that has been evident only intermittently in New Year’s Day Concerts since. Complete with applause, special effects, encores and Boskovsky’s seasonal greetings, this is a treasured souvenir of a justly popular institution, and the programme happily embraces not only the four members of the Strauss family but also Suppe and Ziehrer. The recording seemed of staggering clarity at the time, and it still does so. At mid price this reissue represents a considerable bargain, even with a booklet that, as submitted for review, has vital pages missing.'