Hanukkah

Today's Beautiful Music features two selections. First, the American operatic tenor Jan Peerce sings Oif'n Prepetschok. Second, Shalom Aleichem is performed by Dina Levin, Dima Graziani,Yuri Kaplunovich, Ernest Itzkovich, and Alexey Reznik.

The late American singer and actor Theodore Bikel provides today's Beautiful Music. Born in Vienna in 1924, Bikel's career highlights included performing the role of Tevye in Fiddler On The Roof, and earning a Tony nomination for playing Captain Von Trapp in the original Broadway production of The Sound Of Music.

Today's Beautiful Music is a fun little Hanukkah mashup from the Israel Philharmonic. This was from 2020, and it features chamber music arrangements of the Dreidel Song and Maoz Tzur played by members of the orchestra.

Today's Beautiful Music is a lovely performance of the traditional Hanukkah song MA'OZ TZUR (ROCK OF AGES) by two members of the United States Army Field Band.

During a protest against the war in Gaza on the New Haven Green attended by more than 100 people, a protester climbed the city’s 30-foot menorah to hang a Palestinian flag.

Today's Beautiful Music is a delightfully crafted and skillfully executed Hanukkah-themed parody of the 1975 Queen song, Bohemian Rhapsody. It's fun, and I couldn't resist!

In 1746 George Frideric Handel was commissioned to compose an oratorio for a victory celebration. He based the work on the heroic story of Judah Maccabee – the Jewish leader who defended his country from invasion and whose story informs the celebration of Hanukkah.

Bob Boilen's favorite Hanukkah tradition graces the Tiny Desk, for fun-filled songs about latkes and gelt.

The Jewish Festival of Lights -- Hanukkah -- begins at sundown today. Today's Beautiful Music is a performance of the song OCHO KANDELIKAS (Eight Candles) by Flory Jagoda. Trio Sefardi gave this performance on November 4, 2023 at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT.