Hungarian city celebrates American independence with New Year’s concert

The Szegedi Symphony Orchestra will celebrate the approaching 250th anniversary of the adoption of the United States Declaration of Independence at its New Year’s concert on 5 January, director Sándor Gyüdi announced to MTI.

Szeged New Year’s concert celebrating US Declaration of Independence

The conductor recalled that, in keeping with a tradition launched in the mid-19th century, the Szeged symphonists have previously staged New Year’s concerts. In the early 2000s, they often performed as guests in Germany during this period, and during a Spanish tour they even gave a New Year’s concert on the African continent, in Ceuta.

However, at the Szeged National Theatre on 5 January, audiences will not hear the repertoire of the world’s most-watched musical event today—the Vienna New Year’s Concert, which began in 1939 and draws primarily from the works of the Strauss family. Instead, the programme will feature compositions by American composers, the director revealed, according to the Hungarian News Agency.

Judit Gera, director of American Corner Szeged, explained that to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration’s adoption, the US Embassy in Budapest is organising cultural events both in the capital and across the country. The four American Corners operating in regional cities—offering local residents free English-language cultural and educational programmes—are joining the festival series.

Copland, Gershwin, and Bernstein