Austrian maestro Franz Welser-Moest (AFP/Dieter Nagl)

 VIENNA (AFP) – The world-famous New Year's Concert, broadcast as far as Uruguay and Australia and normally sold out a year in advance, will be in fresh hands on January 1, with Austrian conductor Franz Welser-Moest at its helm.

This will be the first time that Welser-Moest, 50, has the honour of conducting the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in its traditional New Year's waltz fest.

The cultural event, broadcast in over 70 countries as well as on the Internet, is expected to draw some 50 million viewers and listeners, from Albania and Australia to India, China, Russia and the United States.

It will also be shown for the second time in high-definition (HD) on the Internet site of Austrian broadcaster ORF (http:/TVthek.ORF.at).

Welser-Moest, only the sixth Austrian to conduct a New Year's Concert, follows in the footsteps of giants such as Herbert von Karajan, Lorin Maazel, Riccardo Muti, Zubin Mehta and Georges Pretre, who conducted this year's event.

But in an interview with AFP, he was also keen to point out his "personal and family links" to the composers whose waltzes are performed in Vienna's gilded Musikverein hall every January 1.

"My great-great-great grandfather owned the famous Hietzing casino, the Cafe Dommayer, where both the Amazonen Polka and the Debut Quadrille were premiered: that was Johann Strauss Junior's first public appearance on October 15, 1844," he said proudly.

The two pieces have thus been included in Saturday's programme.

Selected -- as were his predecessors -- by the Philharmonic's musicians, who have managed the orchestra since 1842, Welser-Moest will be the 15th conductor to lead a New Year's Concert since the first in 1939.

"It is something special: because of the music and because of the orchestra," he noted.

The Austrian, who looks younger than his age and retains a mischievous look behind his glasses, met with success early on, when he was chosen as a conductor at the prestigious Salzburg Festival at the age of 25.

He followed with top positions as musical director at the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Zurich Opera and the Cleveland Orchestra in the United States, where he is due to stay at least until 2018.

Having performed on all the major stages and with some of the finest orchestras, he was nevertheless excited to conduct his first New Year's Concert in Vienna.

"To play this music, which has such depth, with this ensemble, that's really the most exceptional thing for me," he said.

Alongside the old Strauss favourites, the 2011 New Year's concert will bring a few novelties to the programme, such as the First Mephisto Waltz by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt, who celebrates his 200th birthday next year.

The ballet interludes were choreographed by former Paris Opera dancer Jean-Guillaume Bart -- another premiere -- with costumes by South Africa's Johan Engels.

The sumptuous floral decorations in the Musikverein's Golden Hall, on the other hand, will be created for the 30th time by the Italian Riviera town of San Remo.

Aside from a cultural event, the New Year's Concert is also a big money-making operation.

The CDs and DVDs, set for release on January 7 and 14 respectively, always sell well.

As every year, tickets for the performance, which kicks off at 11:15 am (1015 GMT) on January 1, were sold out a year in advance.