Winter Program Highlights

Beethovenfest December 14–16 From his Classical to his Romantic to his “third” period, enjoy this three day indulgence in the music of Ludwig van Beethoven, finishing on his birthday, December 16th.

Music for the Holiday Season Beginning December 17 WCPE features seasonal favorites from the Classical tradition. Listen for the following specials:

12/17 at 7pm: Christmas Stories

12/19 at 1pm: Away in a Manger: A Musical Creche

12/19 at 7pm: Leroy Anderson Christmas Special

12/20 at 4pm: Christmas Stories

12/21 at Noon: Brass & Choral Holiday Concert with Music of the Baroque

12/21 at 6pm: Celebrating Chanukah

12/23 at 7pm: Away in a Manger: A Musical Creche

12/24 at 7pm: Stars of the Opera Stage

12/31 7pm to Midnight: WCPE’s New Year’s Eve offering waltzes, marches and more…

1/1 at 1pm: New Year’s Day Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony!

Puccini & Mendelssohn December 22 & February 3 WCPE celebrates Puccini’s 150th and Mendelssohn’s 200th this quarter! The WCPE Opera House offers a classic Al Ruocchio presentation of Puccini’s La Fanciulla de West. Tune in on his birthday, December 22nd for a Puccini Celebration, culminating in a total Puccini hour, with scenes and arias from his operas. On February 3, Felix Mendelssohn gets his due on his 200th Birthday Anniversary. Listen for the Italian Symphony, the Violin Concerto, the Hebrides and more! Listen for more as regards birthday drawings for these two masters, offering composer- themed gifts, as well!

Russian Romantics Weekend January 10 & 11 Who are your favorite Russian composers? The Mighty Handful—Balakirev, Mussorgsky, Cui, Borodin and Rimsky-Korsakov? Their students, Glazunov and Rachmaninov? Or neo-classicists such as Tchaikovsky? You’ll hear them all on this special weekend.

Mozart Madness January 25 – 27 Three days would not be enough to perform all of the music written by the Wunderkind, but we’ll have fun featuring his music throughout this three day celebration. Mozart Madness reaches its apex on January 27th, the birth date of the apex of the Classical period.

Simply Strings Weekend February 21st –22nd We pay homage to the branch of the musical family tree known as the Strings. Hear string symphonies, chamber works and solo pieces for the violin, guitar and harp.

WCPE Request Programs The WCPE request line is (919)556-0123. You may always make a request in advance at www.TheClassicalStation.org. Saturday Evening Request Program Saturday nights, 6pm–midnight ET. Call in at 5:30pm ET to make your request.

All Request Friday Usually held on the last Friday of every month, be sure to join in on December 26, January 31 and February 28. Call in at 8:30am ET to make your request.

Valentine’s Day by Advance Request From 9am to 6pm on February 14, we’ll play your Valentine’s Day requests and dedications. Requests must be received by February 7! Email these in advance to TheClassicalStation.org, or mail to PO Box 897, Wake Forest, NC, 27588.

WCPE Opera House with hosts Bob Chapman and Robert Galbraith
Thursdays at 7 pm

A Family Affair Opera Fair

This quarter, the WCPE Opera House presents “Opera for the whole family to enjoy together!” Share your passion for this art form with your entire clan. Turn up the volume, and let rock the walls of the whole house!!! –Robert Galbraith

12/4 Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia Sills, Gedda, Milnes and Raimondi star in this EMI Classics recording, with James Levine leading the London Symphony Orchestra.

12/11 Humperdinck’s Hansel und Gretel This classic children’s tale features Larmore, Ziesak, Weikl, Behrens and Schwarz. Donald Runnicles leads the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in this performance on the Teldec label.

12/18 Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West A classic broadcast hosted by the late Al Ruocchio, presented in honor of the 150th anniversary of Puccini’s birth (Dec. 22). Tebaldi, Macneil and del Monaco star in this London release, led by Franco Capuana.

12/25 Gian Carlo Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors Nothing can be more appropriate for this Christmas Day Opera House! Thomas Schippers conducts, with Rosemary Kuhlmann as the Mother; Chet Allen as Amahl; and David Aiken, Leon Lishne & Andrew McKinley as the Three Kings.

1/1 Johann Strauss Jr.’s Die Fledermaus What a great way to start the New Year, with this fun performance featuring Te Kanawa, Krause, Fassbaender and Gruberova. Andre Previn leads the Vienna Philharmonic and State Opera Chorus in this Philips recording.

1/8 Offenbach’s La Belle Helene Loosely based on the tale of Helen of Troy, this is also a delightful send-up of 19th-century Parisian society. Starring Nancel, Battedou, Tornade, Cochet and Roux, with the Orchestra of the Theatre des Bouffes-Parisiens led by Gerard Calvi, on the Accord label.

1/15 Donizetti’s Don Pasquale Bacquier, Hendricks, Canonici and Quilico star in Donizetti’s comic masterpiece, with the Lyon Opera Orchestra and Chorus. Gabriele Ferro conducts this performance on Erato.

1/22 Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore Another classic from the Ruocchio archives, this D’Oyly Carte production features Reed, Skitch, Hindmarsh and Round on the London label.

1/29 Portman’s The Little Prince Starring Rhodes, McManners, Carlin, White and Garrett. David Charles Abel leads the BBC Concert Orchestra in this performance on Sony Classical.

2/5 Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess A 1976 performance starring Dale, Albert and Marshall. John DeMain leads the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra and Chorus.

2/12 Rossini’s La Cenerentola The Cinderella story starring Larmore, Gimenez, Quilico, Corbelli and Miles. Carlo Rizzi leads the Royal Opera House Orchestra and Chorus, on the Teldec label.

2/19 Haydn’s Il Mondo della Luna Trimarchi, Alva, von Stade and Auger star in this Philips recording, with Dorati leading the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra. A re-broadcast from the Al Ruocchio archives.

2/26 Janacek’s The Cunning Little Vixen Simon Rattle leads the Royal Opera House Orchestra and Chorus in a performance that features Watson, Knight, Tear, Allen and Howell, on the Chandos label.

Great Sacred Music
Sundays, 8 to 11 am Join Ken Hoover for master works from the Middle Ages to today inspired by the great religious and spiritual traditions of the world.

“My idea is that there is music in the air, music all around us; the world is full of it, and you simply take as much as you require.” —Edward Elgar

12/7 On this 2nd Sunday in Advent, we’ll explore the meaning of incarnation with several settings of the text O Magnum Mysterium. Part One of Handel’s Messiah is also featured.

12/14 Celebrate the genius of Beethoven with his early oratorio Christ on the Mount of Olives—an appropriate reminder at this time of year of the ultimate meaning of Christmas. We will also hear Part Two of Handel’s Messiah.

12/21 Glory to God in the Highest is the song the angels sang at the birth of Christ. Hear Puccini’s Missa di Gloria as we celebrate the 150th anniversary of his birth. Also hear Glorias by Vivaldi, Poulenc and Rutter and the Gloria section from selected masses.

12/28 Two cantatas from Bach’s Christmas Oratorio prepare us to great the New Year. We’ll also feature some delicious Christmas left-overs as we prepare for the New Year.

1/4 Hector Berlioz’ oratorio, The Childhood of Christ, will be the featured work, along with several settings of the Simeon’s prayer, “Lord, now let thy servant depart in peace (Nunc dimittis).”

1/11 Celebrate a Russian Romantics weekend with The Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom in the setting by Sergei Rachmaninov, as well as other glorious and ethereal examples of the Russian choral sound.

1/18 Music of African-American composers and performers will be featured this Sunday before Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The finale of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony offers music of peace, hope and brotherhood.

1/25 For Mozart Madness weekend, we bring you a survey of his grandest and most beautiful music, featuring the Requiem, Ave verum Corpus, Laudate Dominum and more.

2/1 Aquarians—Delius, Schubert and Mendelssohn—are featured. Schubert’s Mass No. 6, excerpts from Delius’ A Mass of Life and Mendelssohn favorites make this a special program.

2/8 Explore The Mass, its meaning and history, with examples from Gregorian Chant to the present. Join us for a program designed to bring you the best choral and organ music by the greatest composers of all time.

2/15 This Sunday after Valentines Day invites us to listen to sacred music that glorifies human love and exalts Divine love. Palestrina’s settings of The Song of Songs is just one feature.

2/22 We celebrate the anniversary of the birth of George Frederick Handel—February 23, 1685—one day early with his dramatic and descriptive oratorio, Judas Maccabaeus.

Preview
Sundays, 6 - 9 pm

Hosts Deana Vassar and Paul Jordan introduce you to the latest releases in classical music, survey arts events for the upcoming week and share interviews with today's classical music luminaries.

Peaceful Reflections
Sundays, 9 pm to midnight

12/7 December 12 is feast day for the Virgin of Guadalupe. Chanticleer, the male choral ensemble, “An Orchestra of Voices,” sings Matins for the Virgin of Guadalupe.

12/14 In many churches Advent, from the Latin verb meaning “to come to,” is a time of preparation for Christmas. Enjoy Advent carols, hymns and anthems which are quietly joyful and full of anticipation of the great miracle of Christmas.

12/21 The theme of our Christmas show is Carols From Around The World. Anonymous 4, Polyphony and the Choirs of Trinity College and King’s College, Cambridge will offer music of the season.

12/28 Hear the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, performing continuously since 1898, perform Johann Sebastian Bach’s Christmas Oratorio. This is considered one of the finest recordings available.

1/4 Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber (1644–1704) is one of those composers whose music languished unnoticed, almost forgotten for centuries. Tune in to hear the Missa Salisburgensis for 53 voices, written to celebrate the 1100th anniversary of Salzburg Cathedral.

1/11 Whenever we play the music of the 11th century Abbess Hildegard von Bingen, listeners are amazed at the ecstatic nature of her compositions. A Feather on the Breath of God features hymns and sequences sung by Gothic Voices with Emma Kirkby.

1/18 Meet Tomaso Ochando, 17th-century organist of the Cathedral of Valladolid (modern Morelia) in Mexico. His music is typical of the sort of thing the Spanish nobility brought with them from the Old World: elegant, stylish pieces in a high Baroque style.

1/25 While Malcolm Archer was organist at Wells Cathedral, he and his choir recorded a magnificent 5-CD set entitled The English Hymn. Enjoy Jerusalem the Golden, Volume 2 of the set, featuring great 19th-century hymns.

2/1 For many, The Choir of King’s College is the epitome of perfection when it comes to the interpretation of English choral music. Enjoy this evening’s program featuring anthems by British composers.

2/8 Zacatecas native Ernesto Elorduy (1854–1913) studied with Clara Schuman and Anton Rubenstein. In 1892 he returned to Mexico City to teach at the conservatory there. Pianist Jozef Olechowski performs music of Elorduy from the album Alma y Corazon.

2/15 Tudor composer William Byrd (1534– 1623) left hundreds of compositions written primarily for the Latin liturgy of the Church of England. Hear his Mass for Five Voices, which represents the epitome of the genre.

2/22 Music by Estonian composer Arvo Part (1935–). His Berliner Messe was written in 1990–91 for the 90th German Catholic Conference. The brilliant Canadian choral conductor Noel Edison directs the Elora Festival Singers.