Every December, an unusual pilgrimage takes place. Thousands of people flock to the small prairie town of Northfield, Minnesota. They're going to hear the annual St. Olaf College Christmas Festival. It's not so much a concert as it is a worship service in music. Even though the school is small, the program has a following across the country, including national broadcasts on public radio and TV. We'll hear highlights from the 2012 St. Olaf Christmas Festival, which took place just last weekend in Northfield.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Peter Tchaikovsky: Gopak from Mazeppa
The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Kurt Masur, conductor
George Gershwin: Finale from Porgy and Bess Orchestral Suite
The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Kurt Masur, conductor
Gewandhaus, Leipzig, Germany
Leonard Bernstein: Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano
The Morgenstern Trio
Kunstraum Klosterkirche, Traunstein, Germany
The Piano Puzzler: This week's contestant is Claudio Buchwald from Bloomington, Indiana
George Gershwin: Porgy and Bess Orchestral Suite
The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Kurt Masur, conductor
Gewandhaus, Leipzig, Germany
Hour 2
Traditional (arranged by Andre Thomas): Keep Your Lamps
Combined Choirs of St. Olaf College, Anton Armstrong, director
St. Olaf Christmas Festival, Northfield, Minnesota
Benjamin Britten: This Little Babe, from Ceremony of Carols
The Manitou Singers, Joy Gunderson, harp, Sigrid Johnson, director
St. Olaf Christmas Festival, Northfield, Minnesota
Alexander Scriabin: Prelude No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 13
Yuja Wang, piano
Bass Performance Hall, Fort Worth, Texas
Ottorino Respighi: Vetrate di Chiesa (Church Windows), P. 150
The Dallas Wind Symphony, Jerry Junkin, conductor
Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas
Kenneth Jennings: O Little Town of Bethlehem
The St. Olaf Choir, Anton Armstrong, director
St. Olaf Christmas Festival, Northfield, Minnesota
Steven Amundson: Angel's Dance
The St. Olaf Orchestra, Steven Amundson, conductor
St. Olaf Christmas Festival, Northfield, Minnesota
Daniel Kantor: Night of Silence
The Combined Choirs of St. Olaf College, St. Olaf Orchestra, James Bobb, conductor
St. Olaf Christmas Festival, Northfield, Minnesota
Modest Mussorgsky: Prelude to Khovanshchina
The Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, Emmanuel Krivine, conductor
Philharmonie, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
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American Public Media’s Performance Today® is America’s most popular classical music radio program and a winner of the 2014 Gabriel Award for artistic achievement. The show is broadcast on hundreds of public radio stations across the country, including at 1 p.m. central weekdays on Minnesota Public Radio. More information about our stations can be found at APM Distribution.
Performance Today® features live concert recordings that can’t be heard anywhere else, highlights from new album releases, and in-studio performances and interviews. Performance Today® is based at the APM studios in St. Paul, Minnesota, but is frequently on the road, with special programs broadcast from festivals and public radio stations around the country. Also, each Wednesday, composer Bruce Adolphe joins host Fred Child for a classical musical game and listener favorite: the Piano Puzzler.
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