Euroradio Christmas Music Day

Waldemar Blazej Nowak / EyeEm

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.

The call for the 2023 edition is currently underway, with the deadline for proposals on Friday 30 June. The details for this year’s Euroradio Christmas Music Day will be published in the summer.

2022 Edition

In 2022, the Euroradio Christmas Music Day allowed European listeners to discover, or rediscover, season’s classics from 15 EBU organizations in 11 countries, with an audience who reached listeners from all over the world thanks to 359 broadcasts from 41 EBU radio organizations based in 30 countries (3 continents). As well as featuring great choral and orchestral repertoire such as the programme offered by the Danish National Vocal Ensemble or a concert spotlighting baroque music from Europe and America in Montreal, last year’s selection also featured hidden gems from all over the world, with traditional songs from Germany or Scandinavia, modern hits reinterpreted and timeless masterpieces like Bach’s Christmas Oratorio.

Finnish Soprano Helena Juntunen performed in Helsinki a concert offered by Yle put together especially for the Euroradio Christmas Music Day. She said: "I'm looking forward to sharing the feeling of a Finnish Christmas with all of you. Christmas in the outer rim of Europe is more melancholic and quiet than Christmas in the middle of the continent. We enjoy every speck of light multiplied by the snow. With these songs we wish warmth, compassion and empathy to the whole of Europe and a Merry Christmas."

Gail Henry, Music Producer at RTÉ lyric fm and chair of the EBU Classical Music Group, and Holger Hettinger, Head of Music at Deutschlandfunk, Cologne, and Deutschlandfunk Kultur, Berlin, and vice-chair of the EBU Classical Music Group, are co-curators of the Euroradio Christmas Music Day.

Gail Henry said: “It was a great pleasure to co-curate the EBU Christmas Music Day offering. Christmas music is always so special and close to our hearts. There is nothing more exciting than to hear such a wonderfully broad and eclectic array of live performances from so many different traditions and styles around Europe. We hope you will all enjoy this day-long festival of Christmas Music, as we come together this festive season, in musical celebration.”

Holger Hettinger said: “It is enchanting how diverse, creative and multi-voiced the theme 'Christmas' is at this year's Euroradio Christmas Music Day. The ingenuity and the creative energy of the musicians, ensembles and orchestras involved make this year's event particularly interesting. Curtain up for a day full of musical surprises and new discoveries, but also full of re-encounters with Christmas classics!”

This offer is available in MUS under the reference EURO/2022-2023/N/001-015.

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

List of concerts

NDR Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, from Hamburg
Diana Damrau, soprano
Matthias Höfs, trumpet
Gianluca Capuano, conductor
Live on 17 December 2022 at 19.00 UTC
NDR (Germany)

Bavarian Radio Chorus, from Munich
Max Hanft, organ
Howard Arman, conductor
Recorded on 11 December 2022
BR (Germany)

L’Harmonie des Saisons, from Montreal
Denise Torre Ormeno, soprano
Philippe Gagné, tenor
Eric Milnes, organ, harpsichord and direction
Recorded on 14 December 2022
Radio Canada

Bach Collegium Barcelona, from Lleida (Catalonia, Spain)
María Espada, soprano
Chamber Choir of the Enric Granados Auditorium
Soloists from the Salvat Bach Grant
Xavier Puig, chorus director
Pau Jorquera, conductor
Recorded on 17 December 2022
Catalunya Música (Spain)

Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra and Children's Choir, from Prague
Vlastimil Kobrle, violin and conductor
Recorded on 15 December 2022
Czech Radio

Danish National Vocal Ensemble and the Copenhagen Royal Chapel Choir, from Copenhagen
Marcus Creed, conductor
Recorded on 10 December 2022
Danish Radio

Helena Juntunen and friends, from Helsinki
Live on 18 December 2022 at 13.05 UTC
YLE (Finland)

Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, from Frankfurt
Michał Nesterowicz, conductor
Recorded on 15 December 2022
hr (Germany)

Vienna Chamber Choir, from Vienna
Michael Grohotolsky, conductor
Recorded on 13 December 2022
ORF (Austria)

German Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, from Saarbrücken
Elsa Benoit, soprano
Sarah Romberger, mezzo-soprano
Pietari Inkinen, conductor
Recorded on 2 December 2022
SR (Germany)

Göteborg Baroque, from Göteborg
Live on 18 December 2022 at 17.00 UTC
Swedish Radio

Amsterdam Sinfonietta, from Utrecht
Johanna Wallroth, soprano
Håkan Hardenberger, trumpet
Tomo Keller, conductor
Recorded on 9 December 2022
NPO (Netherlands)

Radio France Choir and Orchestre National de France, from Paris
Katharina Ruckgaber, soprano
Lucile Richardot, contralto
Julian Prégardien, tenor
Tobias Berndt, baritone
Edward Caswell, chorus director
Václav Luks, conductor
Recorded on 15 December 2022
Radio France

Reykjavík Chamber Orchestra, from Reykjavík
Áshildur Haraldsdóttir, flute
Recorded on 4 December 2022
RÚV (Iceland)

BBC Singers, from London
Owain Park, conductor
Recorded on 18 November 2022
BBC (United Kingdom)

Details

Genre

Duration
17 December 2023

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