As the orchestra’s exclusive partner since 2008, Rolex also opted to become the annual concert’s exclusive sponsor the following year. Thanks to the power of broadcasting and streaming, the yearly show is seen in over 90 countries, bringing the joy and pleasure of classical music to countless fans.
As expected, the Vienna Philharmonic’s annual New Year’s concert, now on its 84th edition, delighted listeners and fans the world over. The highly esteemed symphony orchestra kicked off the beginning of the year at the Golden Hall of Vienna’s Musikverein with this much-loved tradition.
As always, the program trained a spotlight on the joyous music of Johann Strauss, his family and contemporaries. This year, the guest conductor was German maestro Christian Thielemann, who wielded the baton at this prestigious concert for a second time.
Based on the company’s belief in supporting creativity as a beacon of hope and inspiration, Rolex became the exclusive partner of the orchestra − acknowledged to be one of the world’s finest − in 2008 and opted to become an exclusive sponsor of the New Year’s concert the following year. Thanks to broadcasts in more than 90 countries and streaming on medici.tv, millions are now able to share and derive pleasure from the event that carries the joys of music to a world beyond borders.
In the coming year, following on from the iconic New Year’s performance, will be a series of other prestigious Vienna Philharmonic concerts sponsored by Rolex. These include a concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall on 1 March; the Summer Night Concert on the grounds of Vienna’s Schönbrunn Palace on 7 June; a concert at Madrid’s Auditorio Nacional de Música on 1 October; at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris on 5 October; and at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), the supreme palace of performing arts in China, in Beijing on 4 and 5 November.
The continuous pursuit of excellence, symbolized by the word “perpetual” underpins every aspect of Rolex’s activities from watchmaking to its many partnerships. This commitment to always reach the pinnacle of performance and achievement drives the company to support outstanding individuals and organizations in the arts and culture through its Perpetual Arts Initiative.
By embracing a wide range of the arts − from music, architecture and cinema to dance, literature, theatre and visual arts in its mentoring programme − Rolex confirms its long-term engagement with global culture and artistic excellence.
New Zealand soprano Dame Kiri Te Kanawa became the first artist to represent the brand as a Testimonee in 1976. Over the decades, she was joined by many of the world’s greatest musicians, artists and performers, along with celebrated institutions, festivals and orchestras.
Among the artists that Rolex partners through the Perpetual Arts Initiative are Italian mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli, French tenor Benjamin Bernheim, Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel, Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flórez, German tenor Jonas Kaufmann, English-Italian conductor Sir Antonio Pappano, Welsh bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel, Mexican tenor Rolando Villazón, Bulgarian soprano Sonya Yoncheva, Yuja Wang, from China, Hélène Grimaud, from France, Canadian singer and Grammy Award-winner Michael Bublé and British-American sitarist Anoushka Shankar.
As well as the Vienna Philharmonic, along with the Salzburg and Whitsun Festivals, Rolex supports many of the foremost cultural institutions from around the world. They include Vienna’s own Musikverein, the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, London’s Royal Opera House, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Opéra national de Paris, the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Beijing, the Opéra de Monte-Carlo and the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg.
