RTÉ Radio

Saturday December 24th

Weekend Classics with Frank McNamara (12pm)
Pianist and conductor Frank McNamara presents a laid-back programme of classics and promises a festive 'Spot the Tune' to distract you from the gift wrapping! He'll also be featuring the finalists from the RTÉ lyric fm Choirs for Christmas competition.

Movies and Musicals (2pm)
In a special Christmas Eve edition of Movies and Musicals we bring you 'The John Williams Collection'. Re-live some of the greatest movie music through the epic original orchestrations with the enlarged forces of the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, conducted by David Brophy. (Recorded at the National Concert Hall on the 26th of August 2011)

An Irish Christmas (4pm)
A seasonal session of Irish traditional music and song to celebrate the coming of Christmas and the New Year, introduced by Muireann Nic Amhlaoimh, with the well-known group Danú from 'The Local' in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford.Broadcast as part of the 2011 EuroRadio Special Day of Christmas Music organised by the European Broadcasting Union.

Gloria Special (5pm)
A seasonal session of Irish traditional music and song to celebrate the coming of Christmas and the New Year, introduced by Muireann Nic Amhlaoimh, with the well-known group Danú from 'The Local' in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford.Broadcast as part of the 2011 EuroRadio Special Day of Christmas Music organised by the European Broadcasting Union.

Opera Special (7pm)
La Fille du Régiment by Gaetano Donizetti. This sparkling comedy contains the famous nine high Cs for the hero Tonio that have put a handful of tenors on the international map - very few are equal to the task! The Metropolitan Chorus and Orchestra are conducted by Yves Abel.

Sunday December 25th

Classical Kids (7am)
Classical Kids is back with a special programme on Christmas Day for everyone who's up early opening their presents! Listen in as we take a sleigh ride, dance with some snowmen and hear the story of the enchanted Nutcracker. We'll also have a Christmas sing-along with the RTÉ children's choir, Cór na nÓg. Presented by Ian McGlynn.

Gloria (8am)
Our Christmas morning Gloria special features carols old and new, bells and recorders, Maya Homburger playing Bach, Britten's Ceremony of Carols, New Dublin Voices and our National Chamber Choir. Presented by Tim Thurston.

Aedín Gormley's Sunday Matinée (Midday)
Amidst the mayhem of Christmas Day revelry, Aedín invites you to enjoy a Gilbert and Sullivan Extravaganza with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, conducted by John Wilson, with the Galway Baroque Singers and soloists including Sarah Fox and Richard Suart. The stunning concert features music from Trial by Jury, as well as extended excerpts from Patience, HMS Pinafore and Ruddigore. (Recorded at the National Concert Hall, Dublin on the 23rd of October 2011)

Aedín Gormley's Sunday Matinée (Midday)
Amidst the mayhem of Christmas Day revelry, Aedín invites you to enjoy a Gilbert and Sullivan Extravaganza with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, conducted by John Wilson, with the Galway Baroque Singers and soloists including Sarah Fox and Richard Suart. The stunning concert features music from Trial by Jury, as well as extended excerpts from Patience, HMS Pinafore and Ruddigore. (Recorded at the National Concert Hall, Dublin on the 23rd of October 2011)

Sunday with Gay Byrne (2pm)
A Christmas Gala featuring Jessie Buckley with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra and conductor David Arnold. In this seasonal performance she sings all-time Christmas favourites and jazz standards made famous by Nat King Cole, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and more.(Recorded live at the National Concert Hall on the 22nd of December)

La Nochebuena (6pm)
A rhythmic and regal re-telling of the Christmas story featuring Minnesota's finest early music group, The Rose Ensemble, performing Spanish songs and dances to celebrate Christmas. The programme features serene choral music from 16th-century masters, spirited cantigas for solo voice and harp and lively dances for vihuela, harp and percussion. Presented and produced by Tom Crann and the Rose Ensemble's founder and Artistic Director, Jordan Sramek.

The Magic Carpet (7pm)
Rachel Blech invites lovers of all types of music to buckle up and join her as she sets off on her weekly adventure. Tonight she'll be testing your musical knowledge with a fun on-air quiz.

Nova (9pm)
Nova on Christmas Night journeys backwards and forwards in time with music as old as Perotin and Léonin from 12th century Paris, to contemporary Americans John Adams and Steve Reich, medieval music from 15th century Germany and England, (including the anonymous and appropriate Nova, Nova), and the radio premiere of Arvo Pärt's Vater unser for boy soprano, with the composer himself at the piano.

Monday 26th to Friday 30th of December

Marty In The Morning (7am)
Seasonal music for your early mornings together with regular news, weather and travel updates

Niall Carroll's Classical Daytime (10am)
For the ideal accompaniment to your day, join Niall for four hours of great music from the heart of the classical repertoire. Plus, take time out for the Coffee Concert each morning at 11.00am.

Winter: White Nights (Monday, 7pm)
As the days slowly start to lengthen again, John S. Doyle presents his collage of song, stories, poems and voices that summon up the idea of Winter. John is familiar to RTÉ Radio 1 listeners as a presenter of It Says in the Papers and his 'Autumn: Golden Fields' programme which was broadcast on lyric in September.

The Lyric Concert (Monday, 8pm)
Movie Classics at Christmas. RTÉ Concert Orchestra conducted by Gavan Sutherland Alex Sharpe and Cormac Kenevey (vocals). A selection of Christmas favourites from the world of film including Irving Berlin's White Christmas and Somewhere over the Rainbow from The Wizard of Oz.

The Lyric Concert (Tuesday, 8pm)
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake Ballet. Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, conducted by Valery Gergiev, recorded at the BBC Proms 2011 from the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Jazz Alley (Wednesday, 7pm)
The slack water of the days between Christmas and New Year present a great opportunity to chill out with the blues, reflect on life in the slow lane, on a truly mis-spent youth, and on the perils of just being a 21st century human being trying to get along. Jazz Alley gets The Blues this week. Presented by Donald Helme

The Lyric Concert (Wednesday, 8pm)
Jubilee Concert celebrating 75 years of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. From the Berwald Hall in Stockholm, Sweden. Conducted by Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos

Reels and Deals with Ellen Cranitch (Thursday and Friday, 2pm)
Each year over 2,250 delegates converge on Womex, the highlight of the World Music year. This year the expo/trade fair was held for a third year in Copenhagen and the Irish were there in force under the banner of Culture Ireland.

Grace Notes (Thursday 7pm)
Music from Matt Molloy (flute), Seán Keane (fiddle) and Arty McGlynn (guitar) recorded at the Christmas Concert at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, Cultra, Hollywood, Co. Down on the 16th of December.

The Lyric Feature - Childs Play (Friday 7pm)
Recorded in Kampala, Uganda this radio feature illustrates how music and performance is influencing the community and lives of former 'street children' in this troubled and chaotic city. Made with the support of the 'Simon Cumbers Media Fund'.