let our traditions become your traditions...
Monday, December 16th
6:00 am
Early Morning Classics
Gary Gerard joins you for a musical celebration of the birth of Ludwig van Beethoven.
Thursday, December 19th
6:00 am
Early Morning Classics
Beginning today, Gary Gerard gradually introduces more and more holiday music each morning, culminating in an all-Christmas program on December 25th.
8:00 am
Thursday Morning Classics
Parker Prout continues to air Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, which is an amalgam of six cantatas, in installments between December 12th and January 2nd. He will also bring you selections from Handel’s Messiah.
6:00 pm
Classics for Kids
Naomi Lewin hosts a quick, peppy blast of music and information geared toward the younger set. Tonight, the story of The Nutcracker and its enchanting score.
9:00 pm
Good Folk
Dick Hageman presents Christmas Folk, two hours of holiday Americana including John Denver, Odetta, Peter, Paul & Mary, James Taylor and others.
11:00 pm
The New Music Gallery
After Good Folk, stay with Dick Hageman for an hour of contemplative instrumentals including Blackmore's Night (Winter Carols), Kori Linae Carothers (On a Cold Frosty Morning), and Erwilian (Advent).
Friday, December 20th
8:00 am
Friday Morning Classics
Today, and on Saturday Afternoon Classics tomorrow, Gary Fountain shares holiday classical music from Puccini’s bohemians at the Café Momus, a sleigh ride with Frederick Delius, Duke Ellington’s take on The Nutcracker, and a version of Santa Claus is Coming to Town that incorporates all of Chopin’s Études. Also, seasonal works by contemporary composers, including Magnificat by Taylor Scott Davis, the choral work Mary, Mother by Bob Chilcott, the ballet Hansel and Gretel by Claire Cowan, and songs by John Rutter, Oliver Tarney, and Don Macdonald. Interspersed, classical pieces from across the centuries, including new recordings of works by Mozart, Debussy, Dora Bright, and Reynaldo Hahn.
10:00 pm
The Night Café
Will Duchon features jazz vocals for the holiday season from artists of many eras plus greetings recorded by you and your fellow listeners.
Saturday, December 21st
6:00 am
Early Morning Classics
Gary Gerard brings you music to help celebrate, yes celebrate, the first day of winter.
4:00 pm
American Jukebox®
Garrett Stack hosts Angel Hair & Tinsel: Another Baby Boomer's Christmas. Join us for two hours of pop, rock, and soul Christmas favorites. Hits from country artists like Gene Autry, Alabama, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, to rock megastars like The Beach Boys, The Eagles, John Lennon, Stevie Wonder, The Supremes and the Phil Spector's groups, to pop icons like Bing Crosby, Bette Midler and Glen Campbell.
6:00 pm
One Great Song
Tonight host Rich Moran features One Great Holiday Song.
6:30 pm
The Big Band Hall of Fame
Susan Kennedy hosts classics from the big band era which go perfectly with peppermint tea by the fire, mulled wine while decorating the tree, or champagne with the rugs rolled back.
9:00 pm
Turntable For One
H. William Stine celebrates his annual TTFO Christmas Party with holiday songs from his favorite jazz vocalists. Bill tells us many will be ghosts of Christmases past but there will also be a stack of new songs and singers to share.
Sunday, December 22nd
3:00 pm
WMNR Concert Hall
Join Gary Gerard for the complete Bach Christmas Oratorio, performed by the Concentus Musicus Wien, conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt, featuring the Arnold Schoenberg Choir. Today, the first half, parts I to III. Conclusion next week on WMNR Concert Hall.
5:00 pm
Winter Holidays Around the World
Bill McGlaughlin of Exploring Music takes you from 12th Century Christmas Music to Dave Brubeck's La Fiesta de la Posada, with stops at many other eras and genres along the way.
6:00 pm
A Leroy Anderson Christmas
Hosted by conductor Leonard Slatkin and the composer's son, our General Manager Kurt Anderson, the program features performances of Anderson's Christmas music as well as narration by the composer describing how he composed some of his favorite music and what the holiday means to him.
7:00 pm
Analog Masters
Tom Godell presents A Collector's Christmas, featuring rare recordings of music for the season by Handel, Jolivet, Vaughan Williams, Barber, and Humperdinck.
8:00 pm
Vermont Christmas with Counterpoint
Counterpoint is a 12-member choral ensemble led by Robert De Cormier and they bring us holiday vocal music from around the world.
9:00 pm
Millennium of Music
Robert Aubry Davis presents an hour of early music for the season from Spain, 17th century Italy, and recordings by the ensemble Seraphic Fire.
10:00 pm
Early Music Now
Join Sara Schneider for A Star in the East, a feast of Baroque music including the instrumental Noëls by Marc-Antoine Charpentier, a devotional song by Francesca Caccini, one of Bach's Christmas cantatas, and more, including performances by Les Violons du Roy and the English Baroque Soloists.
Monday, December 23rd
12:00 pm
Monday Afternoon Classics
John Ryden plays the Christmas sections of Handel's Messiah for you, Parts I and II, concluding with the Hallelujah Chorus. John also brings you selections from The Nutcracker this afternoon.
9:00 pm
The Voice in Concert
Peter Shimkin presents two hours of vocal works including Star of Bethlehem, Missa Crioia, and the Christmas Cantata.
Tuesday, December 24th
8:00 am
Tuesday Morning Classics
Philip Harris joins you for a morning of holiday music chosen for Christmas Eve Day.
12:00 pm
Tuesday Afternoon Classics
Peter Shimkin brings you Respighi (Boutique Fantasque), Rautavaara (Symphony No. 7 “Angel of Light"), Menotti (Missa O Pulchritudo), Tchaikovsky (Overture to Cherevichki), and Cesar Cui (To the Holy Mother of God).
12:00 pm
Tuesday Afternoon Classics
Michael Salit continues the afternoon with classical repertoire, carols, and holiday classics from the Renaissance through the 21st Century. Selections include Locatelli's Concerto in F minor Op. 8 (The Christmas Concerto) and J. S. Bach's Ave Marie.
6:00 pm
Tuesday Evening Classics
Philip Harris presents the orchestral suite from the opera Christmas Eve by Rimsky-Korsakov, A Ceremony of Carols by Britten, and an hour-long uninterrupted sequence of carols and holiday favorites.
8:00 pm
Evening at the Opera
Peter Shimkin hosts Amahl and the Night Visitors (Menotti) and Hansel and Gretel (Humperdinck).
Wednesday, December 25th
8:00 am
Wednesday Morning Classics
Michael Salit joins you for Christmas morning with four hours of classical music to celebrate the day including Corelli's Concerto Grosso in G minor Op. 6, Poulenc's Four Motets for Christmas and Quilter's A Children's Overture.
12:00 pm
Wednesday Afternoon Classics
Susan Prince joins you for what she describes as "a veritable potpourri of holiday music from around the world!"
3:00 pm
Wednesday Afternoon Classics
An evergreen program from Wendell Rector continues the festivities with favorites like God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, I Wonder as I Wander, and Away in a Manger.
6:00 pm
Wednesday Evening Classics
Diana Blase spends the evening sharing holiday music including Shepherd's Rocking Carol, Villancico de Navidad, and Noel Nouvelet.
8:00 pm
Film Music
Stay with Diana Blase for her annual airing of A Charlie Brown Christmas.
9:00 pm
A Fireside Christmas
Join Will Duchon for his 17th annual celebration of jazz, classical, and world Christmas music. Will celebrates with artists from across the centuries, folk from around the world, jazz vocals, and instrumentals, all chosen for a night by the fireside.
Thursday, December 26th
6:00 pm
Classics for Kids
Naomi Lewin gives a quick musical primer to the younger set on Hansel, Gretel, Clara, and Amahl.
Saturday, December 28th
9:00 pm
Turntable For One
H. William Stine presents his favorite singers, songs, and musical themes from 2024.
Sunday, December 29th
3:00 pm
WMNR Concert Hall
Join Gary Gerard for the Bach Christmas Oratorio, performed by the Concentus Musicus Wien, conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt, featuring the Arnold Schoenberg Choir. Today, the final three cantatas. The program also includes Stravinsky’s The Firebird. Seiji Ozawa leads the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
8:00 pm
A Chanukah Celebration
Jonathan Miller, artistic director of Chicago A Cappella and longtime champion of Jewish choral music, hosts an inspiring and informative show featuring choral music set to Chanukah texts.
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10:00 pm
Early Music Now
Join Sara Schneider for A Child is Born in Bethlehem, which features new releases of seasonal early music.
Tuesday, December 31st
8:00 am
Tuesday Afternoon Classics
Today, and on Wednesday Morning Classics tomorrow, Michael Salit features compositions associated culturally with the holiday, like “fireworks” and “new beginnings.” Michael includes Johannes Brahms’ violin concerto which premiered on January 1, 1879 plus Johann Strauss Jr. (Champagne Polka), Franz Joseph Haydn (Trumpet Concerto), Igor Stravinsky (Fireworks), and George Frideric Handel (Music for the Royal Fireworks).
Wednesday, January 1st
11:00 am
New Year's Day from Vienna
A WMNR tradition continues! Join us live for the annual Vienna Philharmonic New Year's Concert. Under the baton of Maestro Riccardo Muti in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein, the Vienna Philharmonic presents a program of lively and nostalgic music from the vast repertoire of the family of Johann Strauss and their peers.