Music
2003 Holiday Specials
Don't expect the same-old, same-old when you tune to WNYC for the holidays.
Don't expect the same-old, same-old when you tune to WNYC for the holidays. From Ugandan Jewish music to the howling wolves of Paul Winter's Solstice Celebration, you'll find something to suit your tastes! Below is a complete calendar.
Soundcheck Celebrates
Conductor Nicholas McGegan is making his New York Philharmonic debut conducting Handels Messiah, with the Westminster Symphonic Choir. And, to celebrate the spirit of holiday giving, Soundcheck will examine the long tradition of patronage in the arts. Meet the Composer (MTC) is a national organization that serves composers of every kind of music by commissioning new works and connecting eager patrons with up-and-coming musical talents.
New Sounds: Music for Hanukkah
Music for Hanukkah, featuring the Klezmatics, music by accordionist Ted Reichman, and the Abayudaya project of Jewish music from Uganda. Hear selections from a unique collection of African-Jewish music, rooted in local Ugandan music and infused with rich choral singing, Afro-pop, and traditional drumming with song texts in Hebrew, English, and several Ugandan languages.
Jonathan Schwartz' Christmas Party
It's 33rd Annual Jonathan Schwartz Christmas Show - Literate talk and high-level music with guests including: Linda Ellerbee, Charles Osgood, Jane Monheit, Pete Hamill, Tierney Sutton, Jessica Molaskey, John Guare, Ron Rosenbaum, Marie Brenner, Ellie Renfield, Tony Monte, Jay Leonhart, Loston Harriss, Harry Allen, Bucky Pizzarelli and others!
A Great Miracle Happened There
Rabbi Ismar Schorsch explains that Hanukkah is really the story of a civil war between secular Jews, who identified with their Greek rulers, and a group of zealots, the Maccabees. The miracle of the oil (a day's supply burned for eight days), occurs at the end of the story. It is not the main story.
John Adams' El Nino, A Nativity Oratorio
David Garland hosts this Evening Music special uninterrupted broadcast of the Nonesuch recording with Kent Nagano conducting, and soloists including Dawn Upshaw, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, and Willard White. El Nino will receive its New York premiere at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in March, 2003.
Handel's Messiah REBROADCAST
This performance of Handel's masterpiece is from Boston's Symphony Hall by the venerable Handel and Haydn's Society - the ensemble that gave the American premiere of Messiah in 1818. This is the Society's 148th annual performance of Messiah, performed for over a million concert-goers. New Handel & Haydn Society Music Director Grant Llewellyn, conducts. Produced by NPR and WGBH/Boston.
December
24 at 11PM on 93.9 FM
New Sounds Holiday Music with Phil Kline and the Andy Statman Trio
In what has become a cult holiday tradition, composer Phil Kline and a
band of friends go "electronic caroling" through the streets
of Greenwich Village with a parade of boomboxes. He calls the annual performance
Unsilent Night, and it always manages to turn heads, even among seen-it-all
New Yorkers.
December
24 at 10AM on 93.9 FM and
December 25 at 7PM on 93.9 FM
A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols
The worship service is based on a liturgy created in 1918 by the then-new
dean of King's Chapel. The 34-year-old Eric Milner-White wove together
scripture and song, called on readers of various ages from school and
town, and devised this truly magical progression from prophecy to fulfillment,
from an Old Testament foretelling to a birthday celebration. A boy soprano
begins the Christmas holiday service with the lovely carol, "Once
in Royal David's City."
December
December 25 at 11PM on 93.9 FM
Christmas Music, New Sounds-style
To some, Christmas music has come to mean "Jingle Bell Rock,"
and syrupy Mall Muzak. But there is also plenty of great Christmas music
around, as this special edition of New Sounds demonstrates. Highlights
include excerpts from John Adamss nativity oratorio El Nino, the
California Guitar Trio performing Greensleeves (What Child Is This),
and Silent Night, plus festive selections from Mike Marshall,
Robert Fripp, John Renbourn, and others.December
28 at 7PM on 93.9 FM
The Golden Dreydl: A Klezmer "Nutcracker" for Chanukah
The Golden Dreydl: A Klezmer "Nutcracker" presents public radio
personality Ellen Kushner and the popular Shirim Klezmer Orchestra in
a fresh retelling of an old story. A mysterious party guest gives Sara
a golden Dreydl, a traditional toy, at the annual family Chanukah party.
This Dreydl, however, is under a powerful spell, and it catapults Sara
into a magical world of demons and fools, sorcerers and sages. December
31 at 8PM 93.9 FM
Live from Lincoln Center: NY Philharmonic New Year's Eve Gala Concert
Sir Andrew Davis conducts the NY Phil., with soprano Renee Fleming. Program
includes: Debussy/Prelude to Afternoon of a Faun; Ravel/ Sheherazade;
selections/arias from Carmen and other French operas; Offenbach/Overture
to Orpheus in the Underworld. (Note: this program is not available on
our internet stream.)December
31 at 10PM on 93.9 FM
A Paul Winter Solstice Celebration from St. John the Divine Cathedral
Paul Winters' Winter Solstice Celebration - a 23rd anniversary ecumenical
performance from New York's Cathedral of St. John The Divine, featuring
the joyous vocals of Lucky Moyo (of Zimbabwe's Black Umfolosi), the expressive
percussion of Valerie Dee Naranjo (of "Lion King"), mbira virtuoso
Chris Berry and Paul Winter's soaring soprano saxophone. Join WNYC for
this New York and NPR holiday tradition.
January 1, at 8PM on 93.9 FM
New Year's Day from Vienna 2004 (from NPR)
Riccardo Muti conducts the 2004 edition of the Vienna Philharmonic's annual
concert. In addition to the famous Blue Danube Waltz, this year the VP
delves into the great Waltz era of Vienna--typified by the Strauss family--including
several items being performed for the first time for a New Year's Day
concert. 2004 marks the bicentennial of Johann Strauss Sr, and the concert
features six works by the father of the Strauss family.
Related Holiday Tidbits
December 2, 2003
With Christmas and Chanuka and New Years Day right around the corner, regular guest and food editor extraordinaire Ruth Reichl is back on the Leonard Lopate Show to talk about New York Citys holiday foods. Deborah Voight Sings Holiday Favorites
December 2, 2003
American soprano Deborah Voigt is a regular guest at the world's top opera companies, but on Soundcheck, she offers a glimpse of the more intimate side of her artistry, when she performs a selection of holiday favorites.
Celebrate the holidays with listener favorites, recipes and more from NPR.
-Oh, Christmas Tree
-A Taste of Hanukkah
-Down a Mug of 'Smoking Bishop'
-John Henry Faulk's 'Christmas Story'
Windows 
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