Festive Sounds

For many people, the Christmas season begins the first time typical Christmas music plays on the radio. However, the music we enjoy listening to during these days was not always composed specifically for this holiday. We associate Christmas in particular with early, highly emotional memories, and music can revive those feelings. In their festive concert from December 2022, the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, conducted by their chief conductor Pietari Inkinen, performed a mixture of 'genuine' Christmas music and music that is associated with the holiday today. In addition to Hely-Hutchinson's "A Carol Symphony," excerpts from Humperdinck's "Hansel and Gretel" and Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker" were featured, among others.