It was Christmas morning, and the wife of Richard Wagner awoke to the sound of 13 musicians gathered on the staircase outside the bedroom, playing a new composition—a gift from her husband, and named for their infant son, who had brought them so much joy in the past year. Their child’s name was Siegfried, and Wagner’s Christmas gift was… the Siegfried Idyll.

Other holiday presents include Edvard Grieg’s song “I Love You,” Debussy’s Iberia, and Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, as well as Christmas vocal and instrumental pieces by Mendelssohn, Liszt, and Sibelius.

In this hour, their musical gifts for family and friends—and ultimately for music lovers around the world.

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