Are there any classical music pieces written especially for New Year's Day?

Question

I know that at many New Year's Day concerts, Strauss is often played. But I don't think that Strauss wrote his music for that purpose. I also know that Bach write Cantatas for New Year's Day.

But are there any other classical pieces written for New Year's celebrations?

Answer 1

Favorite Answer

Having been a programmer of classical concerts for a quarter of a century, I have a huge list of works for Christmas, both familiar and much less familiar. I have no such list for New Year; partly because it is hardly ever celebrated in the way Christmas is (Vienna's New Year's Day concert aside) and partly because, astonishingly, there is almost no music written especially for it.

JS Bach wrote three cantatas for New Year celebrations:

Cantata No 58 "Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid"

Cantata No 153 "Schau, lieber Gott, wie meine Feind"

"Ehre sei dir, Gott, gesungen" (Part V of the Christmas Oratorio)

Apart from those, the only piece I can think of with a tenuous link to New Year is Frank Bridge's wonderful piece for strings "Sir Roger de Coverley - a Christmas Dance" which includes a quote of "Auld Lang Syne" near the end.

Answer 2

Great information here. There are indeed very few, if any pieces done for New Years outside of Bach's Cantatas. I think some Christmas music works through New Year's Day as it is still within what we call "Christmastide" leading to Epiphany. But then, this is not really what I was asking

Answer 3

Benjamin Britten wrote "A New Year's Carol"

Source(s): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWDPKj5Fob4

Answer 4

Johann Abraham Peter Schulz - Piano Sonatina in G and Haydn sonatas are really great.