In 2011, the Berliner Philharmoniker and their longtime musical director Sir Simon Rattle rang in the New Year together with multi-awarded Russian piano master Evgeny Kissin!

Kissin's musicality, the depth and poetic quality of his interpretations, and his extraordinary virtuosity have placed him at the forefront of today's pianists. Exactly 23 years earlier, Herbert von Karajan had invited the 17-year-old Kissin to the Berliner Philharmoniker's traditional New Year's Concert to perform the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto—a rapturously received performance that helped launch Kissin's wildly successful international career. Back once more in Berlin for the festive occasion, again accompanied by the legendary ensemble, Kissin performed Grieg's electrifying Piano Concerto in A Minor with his typically perfect technique and unerring musicality.

If you weren't on your feet already, stay tuned for a program full of classical's most beloved dances, from Dvořák's Slavonic Dances to Brahms's Hungarian Dances, and passing through Strauss's famed Dance of the Seven Veils from Salomé and the Danse Infernale from Stravinsky's Firebird!

© Photo: Felix Broede