Holiday Specials

8:00am Giving Thanks: A Celebration of Fall, Food & Gratitude

11/28    New for 2019, John Birge hosts a contemporary celebration of gratitude, with classical music and stories of Thanksgiving. This year's "Giving Thanks" also celebrates the Feast Day of St. Cecilia, the patron saint of music. Special guests include John Rutter, with a world premiere of his latest choral work, and conductor Nic McGegan, and offers a remembrance of former guest and U.S. Poet Laureate Donald Hall.

2:00pm Thanksgiving with The American Sound: Let Us Break Bread Together

11/28    A companion is, literally, someone with whom one breaks bread. On this holiday of family and feasting, Thanksgiving with The American Sound pays tribute in American music and meaningful stories to the time-honored tradition of breaking bread with others.

5:00pm Every Good Thing

11/28    Host Elena See shares stories from classical music fans across the country as together they celebrate one of life’s most meaningful gifts: music!

6:00pm Thanksgiving with The American Sound: Pilgrim’s Rest

11/28    Thanksgiving is a time to rest from the labors of life’s journey. Enjoy a restful, refreshing hour of American music.

12:00pm           By and By: Journeying and Gathering

11/30    Since America’s first Thanksgiving, journeying has been one of Thanksgiving’s key ingredients. Whether criss-crossing the country on a series of airplanes, or driving to a Thanksgiving destination, there’s always a sense of leaving where you are in joyful anticipation of gathering wherever those you love most may be. Enjoy an hour of beautiful music for peaceful Thanksgiving journeying and gathering – Stephen Paulus’ gorgeous arrangement of We Gather Together, Robert Ashford’s lovely chamber work Rise and Fall and Peaceful Rest, Anonymous 4 with Shall We Gather at the River, Ning Kam’s sizzling Variations on Amazing Grace and Pulitzer Prize winner Caroline Shaw’s moving By and By.

J.S. Bach’s Saint John Passion was written during his first year in Leipzig, and was first performed on Good Friday 1724, shortly after Bach's 39th birthday. The work narrates the Passion of Christ as told in the Gospel of John.  Recorded in 2014, the Rochester, NY Bach Festival presents Bach’s St. John Passion, recorded at Reformation Lutheran Church with Rochester area-musicians, conducted from the harpsichord by David Chin. Soloists include Pablo Bustos as The Evangelist, Joshua Ooms, as Jesus and Joel Balzun as Pilate.

This spiritual, haunting Vespers program is an a cappella setting of texts taken from the Russian Orthodox All-Night Vigil ceremony, and a unique opportunity to hear this masterpiece performed in Russia by the Moscow State Chorus. Valerie Kahler hosts. 

Sara Schneider, host of Early Music Now presents music for Holy Week from England, Italy, Spain and Germany, from the 16th-18th centuries.

The Vienna Philharmonic presents the 2019 New Year’s Day concert of waltzes, polkas and more from the Golden Hall of the Musikverein.

All new stories for the season with Susan Stamberg and Murray Horwitz.