SCO 26/27: Viennese New Year

The Scottish Chamber Orchestra are back at Usher Hall on New Year's Day, 1 January 2027, for their annual Viennese New Year concert. It's a tradition they return to every year, and this one is billed as a celebration of a traditional Viennese New Year: the idea is that you step into the elegance of a Viennese ballroom, with sweeping waltzes, gallops and polkas conjuring the golden age of Vienna. It's the kind of afternoon that's as much about the atmosphere as the music, and it's a long-standing fixture in the SCO's calendar.

On the podium is conductor Nil Venditti, and the soprano Jennifer France joins in on the singing. The programme leans into that ballroom feel, so expect the waltzes and polkas that defined the era. It's a light, melodic afternoon, the sort of thing that works well when you're easing back into the world on the first day of the year.

Usher Hall on Lothian Road is the city's main venue for visiting national and international orchestras, and it's been the primary home of the Edinburgh International Festival since 1947. The building dates back to 1896, when Andrew Usher gave £100,000 to the City of Edinburgh to found a concert hall; the Beaux Arts building was completed in 1914 and remains one of the city's architectural gems, with acoustics that are still praised as some of the best in Europe. It's a proper concert hall, and it suits a full orchestra like the SCO.

The concert starts at 3pm on 1 January 2027 at Usher Hall, Lothian Road, Edinburgh West EH1 2EA.