Euroradio Christmas Music Day

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Every year, the Euroradio Christmas Music Day is eagerly awaited by listeners throughout Europe and beyond. On the Sunday before Christmas, EBU radio organizations contribute live or deferred concerts of music focused on the theme of Christmas. It has been one of the EBU’s most popular offerings ever since it first aired in 1995.

One of the keys to the Day’s appeal resides in its closeness, not only to radio listeners but also to the live audiences at the concert venues, who may enjoy traditional ceremonies or even be asked to sing along with the performers. The potential repertory is vast, ranging from traditional carols to Baroque sacred music and contemporary a cappella works.

2023 Edition

On 17 December 2023, the Euroradio Christmas Music Day once again allowed European listeners to collectively enjoy this shared broadcast marathon of seasonal concerts from 15 EBU organizations in 13 countries. This year’s edition kicked off at 08:00 UTC with the sounds of 16th century Lisbon and ended in Paris with a full performance of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker with Orchestre National de France at 22:00 UTC. Other highlights included live broadcasts from the Royal Concertgebouw, Amsterdam with the Choir of St. John's College Cambridge, a special Christmas commission from Latvia with Sinfonietta Riga as well as the first performance of Bára Gisladottir’s new work by the Danish National Vocal Ensemble. Other Christmas treats on the day covered spirituals and gospels from Vilnius, as well as traditional orthodox polyphony from Sofia, plus Mozart orchestrated Handel’s Messiah from London with the BBC Singers.

This edition has been curated by Edward Blakeman, Head of Music Programmes, BBC Radio 3.

The offer is available in MUS under the reference EURO/2023-2024/N/001-015.

The Euroradio Christmas Music Day would not be possible without the longstanding technical support of BBC Radio 3.

List of concerts

Avres Serva ensemble, from Lisbon 
Mariana Castello-Branco, soprano 
Pedro Massarrão, cello 
Nuno Oliveira, organ, director 
Recorded on 12 December 2023 
RTP (Portugal) 

Cantanti DAI MONTI VERDI, from Sofia 
Recorded in December 2023 
BNR (Bulgaria) 

Choir of St. John's College Cambridge, from Amsterdam 
Christopher Gray, conductor 
Live on 17 December 2023 at 10.00 UTC 
NPO (Netherlands) 

Música Temprana, from Stockholm 
Adrián Rodriguez Van der Spoel, conductor 
Recorded on 9 December 2023 
Swedish Radio 

SWR Vocal Ensemble, from Stuttgart 
Krista Audere, conductor 
Recorded on 9 December 2023 
SWR (Germany) 

Minna Pensola and friends, from Helsinki 
Antti Tikkanen, violin 
Live on 17 December 2023 at 13.05 UTC 
YLE (Finland) 

Sinfonietta Rīga, from Riga 
Daumants Liepinš, piano
Liene Andreta Kalnciema, organ 
Normunds Šnē, conductor 
Live on 17 December 2023 at 14.00 UTC 
Latvian Radio

Danish National Vocal Ensemble, from Copenhagen 
Mads Høck, organ 
Phillip Faber, conductor 
Live on 17 December 2023 at 15.00 
Danish Radio 

Nordic Affect, from Reykjavík 
Recorded on 16 December 2023 
RÚV (Iceland) 

NDR Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, from Hanover 
Michael Hofstetter, conductor 
Recorded on 15 December 2023 
NDR (Germany) 

Vilnius Voices, from Vilnius 
Kristina Žaldokaitė, conductor 
Live on 17 December 2023 at 18.00 UTC 
LRT (Lithuania) 

BBC Singers, from London 
Sofi Jeannin, conductor 
Recorded in December 2023 
BBC (United Kingdom) 

Bavarian Radio Chorus, from Munich 
Munich Radio Orchestra 
Gavin Sutherland, conductor 
Recorded on 6 December 2023 
BR (Germany) 

Ensemble Frizzante, from Brno 
Recorded on 9 December 2023 
Czech Radio 

Orchestre National de France, from Paris 
Fabien Gabel, conductor 
Recorded on 14 December 2023 
Radio France 

Christmas Favourites from Around the World

EBU Music has gathered a playlist of most-loved winter pieces from around Europe, for broadcast in the weeks leading up to/during Euroradio Christmas Music Day: a unique collection of beloved seasonal music selected by 27 EBU radio organizations. See in MUS Part I and Part II.

Details

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Duration
17 December 2023

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