As a blanket of snow settled over the region this weekend, St. Louisans woke up with Mariah Carey鈥檚 iconic 鈥淚t鈥檚 TIIIIIIIIIME鈥� jingle ringing in our ears. It鈥檚 officially holiday music season.
While classic songs such as Carey鈥檚 鈥淎ll I Want for Christmas鈥� are a must every December, they aren鈥檛 the only 鈥� or even the best 鈥� jams out there. To suss out some holiday tunes with a different vibe, 漏 2024 外网天堂 reached out to the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Jazz St. Louis.
Spice up your holiday listening experience with the following playlists of songs Jazz St. Louis musicians will perform this season and what St. Louis Symphony Orchestra musicians are listening to.
Then embrace the full musical experience by attending a show at the and .
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra聽
Some of the musicians shared why they chose their musical selection:
St茅phane Den猫ve, music director
鈥淲altz of the Flowers鈥� from 鈥淭he Nutcracker鈥� by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
鈥淚t captures the dreaminess of the Christmas spirit. You have this feeling of coziness and of a fairy tale under the bedcovers. I love it. 鈥楾he Nutcracker鈥� is a piece I can hardly remember hearing at another time of year.鈥�
Julie Thayer, horn
鈥淎惫别 Maria鈥� by Franz Biebl
鈥淔rankly, it reminds me of Christmas because a chorus performed it at a SLSO holiday concert in 2016. It鈥檚 such a beautiful piece.鈥�
Robert Walker, clarinet
鈥淐hristmas Tree鈥� from 鈥淭he Nutcracker鈥� by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
鈥淚 go back to 鈥楾he Nutcracker鈥� around the holidays when I need a kickstart of wintry nostalgia. This particular recording with the Russia-based Mariinsky Theatre has a certain authenticity to it. Because I know I'm hearing musicians who are the direct musical descendants of Tchaikovsky, it makes me feel closer to the true spirit of the work. My favorite movement is the 鈥楥hristmas Tree鈥� because something about it is so evocative. I can see the big fir tree in a cozy, Russian parlor, dimly lit except for the radiance of a crackling Yule log in the fireplace.鈥�
Jennifer Nitchman, flute
鈥淭his is My Box鈥� from 鈥淎mahl and the Night Visitors鈥� by Gian Carlo Menotti
鈥淭his opera tells the story of a poor family and a young shepherd boy being visited by the Three Kings who are following the Star of Bethlehem to bring gifts to 鈥榓 wondrous child.鈥� The [shepherd boy], Amahl, ends up going on the journey with the kings. 鈥楾his is My Box鈥� was my favorite moment of the opera when I was a child.鈥�
Hank Skolnick, associate librarian
鈥淪ir Roger de Coverley鈥� by Frank Bridge
鈥淭his is by far my favorite holiday-related piece of classical music. Written for string quartet or string orchestra, it includes both a Christmas tune and an ingenious quote of 'Auld Lang Syne.' The title is taken from the words to a traditional English folk song 鈥楽ir Roger de Coverley, A Christmas Dance鈥� composed by John Playford in 1685.鈥�
Jonathan Reycraft, trombone
鈥淭roika鈥� from 鈥淟ieutenant Kij茅鈥� (suite) by Sergei Prokofiev
鈥淚t鈥檚 all about those sleigh bells and the melody, which invokes a feeling of winter cheer.鈥�
Jazz St. Louis
Check out Jazz St. Louis鈥� rendition of classic songs on its holiday programming specials:
Nicole Henry will return to Jazz St. Louis for this month鈥檚 programming on Dec. 20 and Dec. 22. You can listen to her previous performance here:
