Holidays 2011 : NPR

Ringing In The New Year With Double Octaves

Pablo Helguera

Deceptive Cadence

Ringing In The New Year With Double Octaves

December 30, 2011 • Fridays are funnier with a classical cartoon at noon, from Deceptive Cadence.

The Santaland Philharmonic Orchestra In Rehearsal

Pablo Helguera

Deceptive Cadence

The Santaland Philharmonic Orchestra In Rehearsal

December 23, 2011 • Fridays are funnier with a classical cartoon at noon, from Deceptive Cadence.

Gil Scott-Heron. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Best Music Of 2011

In Memoriam: Musicians We Lost In 2011

December 23, 2011 • NPR Music remembers the singers, instrumentalists, songwriters and producers who died in 2011. Explore the musical legacies they leave behind.

Does this ring a bell? Match the composers with their compositions that include sleigh bells. Coburn Dukehart/NPR hide caption

toggle caption

Coburn Dukehart/NPR

Deceptive Cadence

Ring My Bells Holiday Puzzler

December 22, 2011 • How well do you know your bells? Match the jingling music with the composer who wrote it.

2011's Guilty Pleasures: Sex, Celebs And Rock 'N Roll

Priscilla Nielsen for NPR

Review

Best Books Of 2011

2011's Guilty Pleasures: Sex, Celebs And Rock 'N Roll

December 22, 2011 • Susan Jane Gilman recommends behind-the-scenes reads about the rich and famous — by a rock star, a hotel concierge, a stuntman and a Brat Packer, all offering backstage passes to their glamorous lives. Entertaining and star-studded, they make for perfect holiday escapism — with a cocktail (or two) in hand.

Indulge Yourself: 2011's Best Celebrity Tell-Alls

Listen · 3:49 3:49

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/143643070/144150380" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

The Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York City. Rhonda R. Dorsett hide caption

toggle caption

Rhonda R. Dorsett

Holiday Music

A Paul Winter Solstice Concert 2011

December 19, 2011 • The saxophonist celebrates the longest night of the year with a Winter Solstice Celebration.

Hear Part One Of The Winter Solstice Celebration

Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/143834363/143600350" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Organist Cameron Carpenter: not your typical holiday celebrant. Michael Hart/courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

Michael Hart/courtesy of the artist

Deceptive Cadence

Five Tastes Of Classical Holiday Cheer

December 19, 2011 • From a postmodern take on caroling to a gloriously loopy 'Sleigh Ride,' videos that sing out with classical holiday cheer.

L-R: Alfredo Rodriguez, Eddie Palmieri, Barry Harris, Jason Moran. Margot Schulman/Kennedy Center hide caption

toggle caption

Margot Schulman/Kennedy Center

Holiday Music

A Jazz Piano Christmas 2011

December 16, 2011 • NPR Music celebrates the holidays with some of the most celebrated pianists in jazz. This year, the Kennedy Center welcomed Eddie Palmieri, Barry Harris, Alfredo Rodriguez and Jason Moran.

Listen Now: A Jazz Piano Christmas 2011

58:34

Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/143590801/143676748" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

New Adventures In Folk: The Best Of 2011

The Head and the Heart. Robertsen Ashman hide caption

toggle caption

Robertsen Ashman

Best Music Of 2011

New Adventures In Folk: The Best Of 2011

Folk Alley

December 16, 2011 • The Head and the Heart is one of many new folk groups that bend tradition while keeping it alive.

DVD Gift Guide: For That Special (Or At Least Nearby) Someone

Warner Home Video

Opinion

Pop Culture Happy Hour

DVD Gift Guide: For That Special (Or At Least Nearby) Someone

December 16, 2011 • Box-set fan Glenn McDonald explains how DVD sets can be the perfect gift for so many different people on your list that you might knock it all out during your next shopping trip — virtual or actual.

A Passion For The Past: 2011's Best Historical Fiction

Priscilla Nielsen for NPR

Opinion

Best Books Of 2011

A Passion For The Past: 2011's Best Historical Fiction

December 16, 2011 • These five outstanding novels take us to unfamiliar eras and exotic locales — ancient Israel, Elizabethan England, 1920s Paris — while confirming our common humanity.

A Passion For The Past: 2011's Best Historical Fiction

Listen · 6:56 6:56

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/143149380/144232010" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Amit Erez/iStockphoto.com

Hanukkah Lights: Stories of the Season

Hanukkah Lights 2011

December 15, 2011 • This annual holiday favorite enters its third decade with a new collection of specially commissioned works inspired by the Festival of Lights. Susan Stamberg and Murray Horwitz read stories about a schoolboy's crisis of confidence, a young woman's unexpected tragedy, and a moment of light for exhausted Marines.

Hanukkah Lights 2011 full, one-hour special

Listen · 1:00:04 1:00:04

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/143590999/143592825" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Fired Up: The Year's Best Science Fiction And Fantasy

Priscilla Nielsen for NPR

Review

Best Books Of 2011

Fired Up: The Year's Best Science Fiction And Fantasy

December 15, 2011 • Science fiction and fantasy books aren't just getting more popular, they're interbreeding with other genres to produce wild new hybrid forms — swapping DNA with literary novels, commenting on current events, morphing into historical science fiction romances, and evolving into hard-boiled detective fantasy.

Fired Up: The Year's Best Science Fiction, Fantasy

Listen · 3:59 3:59

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/143596229/144195809" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

7 Books With Personality: Nancy Pearl's 2011 Picks

Priscilla Nielsen for NPR

Review

Best Books Of 2011

7 Books With Personality: Nancy Pearl's 2011 Picks

December 13, 2011 • NPR's go-to librarian would like you to meet some friends of hers — from six novels and one work of history. As you read, these artfully developed characters will become more and more real. Pearl says that when the stories ended, she was left longing for the people she'd met between the pages.

7 Books With Personality: Nancy Pearl's 2011 Picks

Listen · 7:19 7:19

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/143354443/143630769" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Pickwick were among KEXP's must-hear discoveries of 2011. Jim Bennett for KEXP hide caption

toggle caption

Jim Bennett for KEXP

Best Music Of 2011

5 Artists You Should Have Known In 2011

KEXP

December 12, 2011 • It was hard to keep up with all the great music this year. Catch up with these under-the-radar acts.