Get ready for the holidays with ‘Nutcracker,’ ‘Messiah’ and classical music gifts

What else are you going to do on a cold, wintry, January night? It’s the perfect time to put on some Schoenberg and really listen.

There’s a brand new set of CDs from Sony that will give you hours of 12-tone listening pleasure. Other goodies to buy this holiday season for a loved one (and I hope that includes yourself) include the complete recordings of Carlos Chavez, a stunning debut album from Kansas City-bred violinist Maria Ioudenitch and a new recording from Jordi Savall that wraps medieval Europe, Armenia, Turkey, Syria and Israel in a warm musical embrace.

‘Robert Craft: The Complete Columbia Album Collection’

Here’s the perfect gift for the New Viennese School fan in your life (and don’t we all have at least one): “Robert Craft: The Complete Album Collection.” This remarkable cube contains invaluable recordings by one of the most important conductors of the 20th century. Each of the 44 CDs comes in its own original jacket.

Craft is not as well known as Leonard Bernstein and many other 20th century conductors because he devoted himself to two very niche interests: the Italian Renaissance composer Claudio Monteverdi and 20th century modernist composers. Craft was good friends with Schoenberg and Stravinsky, and both are well-represented in the collection. As a matter of fact, Craft recorded the complete orchestral works of Schoenberg, and they’re all here.

Even though the New Viennese composers wrote their music in the early-to mid-20th century, their music still sounds ultra-modern and provokes faint-hearted listeners. This is music that is challenging, exhausting and well worth grappling with.

Craft’s Monteverdi recordings are top-notch, too. The Vespers recorded in 1967 sounds spectacular, and the madrigal albums are just a delight. (Sony Classical)

‘Carlos Chavez Complete Columbia Album Collection’

Here’s another treasure trove from Sony for fans of 20th century music: “The Carlos Chavez Complete Columbia Album Collection” featuring music by the great 20th century Mexican composer, whose music deserves to be much better known. This compilation should help spread the word.

The sounds of indigenous instruments and rhythms are integral to Chavez’s music and are not just used as some sort of exotic ornament. This is exciting, throbbing, moving music that will reward repeated listening.

The recordings date from the 1960s and ‘70s, and the sound is superb. As with the Craft cube, the individual CDs are in their original jackets. Packaging and notes, as is typical with Sony, are outstanding. (Sony Classical)

Maria Ioudenitch, ‘Songbird’

How about that Ioudenitch family? Tatiana and Stanislav are brilliant pianists, and their daughter, Maria, is a rapidly rising violin superstar. She studied with Ben Sayevich at Park University’s International Center for music and graduated from the Curtis Institute and the New England Conservatory of Music. In 2021, she won three of the most prestigious competitions for violinists: the Ysaÿe International Music Competition, the Tibor Varga International Violin Competition and the Joseph Joachim International Competition

And now Ioudenitch has released her first album, “Songbird,” and it’s an absolute delight.

“Songbird” features a captivating mix of music by romantic era composers like Clara and Robert Schumann, Nikolai Medtner and Richard Strauss. Ioudenitch’s gorgeous string tone is complemented by pianist Kenny Broberg, a former student of Stanislav’s at Park’s ICM and winner of the silver medal at the Fifteenth 15th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and the bronze medal at the XVI International Tchaikovsky Competition. (Warner Classics)

Jordi Savall & Hesperian XXI, ‘Oriente Lux’

When it comes to illuminating the various musical connections between East and West, no one does it better than early music specialist Jordi Savall. His most recent recording, “Oriente Lux,” is one of the finest examples of his East/West fusion and it’s one of his most moving.

On the album, Savall’s usual ensemble, Hesperian XXI, is joined by Orpheus XXI, a group Savall put together in response to the migrant crisis. Orpheus XXI is made up of musicians from countries suffering trauma from war, hunger and natural disasters. These 20 singers and instrumentalists represent Kurdish, Syrian, Bengali, Sudanese, Turkish, Moroccan, Afghan and Armenian musical traditions.

“Oriente Lux” (“Eastern Light”) combines music of Europe and the Levant into a heady mix that makes for a captivating listening. There is music by the German Renaissance composer Michael Praetorius alongside religious songs from the Kurdish Yazidi faith. Sephardic Jewish music, a Savall specialty, sounds beautiful next to sacred chant from Syria.

As the German composer Paul Hindemith once said, “People who make music together cannot be enemies, at least while the music lasts.” (Alia Vox)

Kansas City Ballet — ‘Nutcracker’

Tchaikovsky never could have imagined how his “Nutcracker” would become one of America’s beloved Christmas traditions. Every city seems to have its own version, but Kansas City’s is one of the best. Devon Carney’s eye-popping production for the Kansas City Ballet returns to the Muriel Kauffman Theater Dec. 1 to 24. Carney’s vision honors the work with choreography very much in the classical ballet tradition, while utilizing cutting-edge technology to create a show that will wow the whole family.

Dec. 1 to 24. Muriel Kauffman Theatre, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. 816-931-8993 or kcballet.org.

Kansas City Symphony — Handel’s ‘Messiah’

Not only does Kansas City have a superb “Nutcracker,” the Kansas City Symphony always puts on a terrific “Messiah.” This year, Handel’s oratorio will be performed Dec. 1 to 3 at Helzberg Hall.

Guest conductor Roberto Kale with lead the orchestra and the Kansas City Symphony Chorus directed by Charles Bruffy. There’s a solid line-up of soloists, too: soprano Amanda Woodbury, mezzo-soprano Zoie Reams, tenor Miles Mykkanen and bass-baritone Christian Pursell.

7 p.m. Dec. 1 and 2 and 2 p.m. Dec. 3. Helzberg Hall, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. $30-$95. 816-471-0400 or kcsymphony.org.

Kansas City Chorale — ‘Wintersong’

For a refined and rarefied holiday concert, consider “Wintersong.” The Kansas City Chorale conducted by Charles Bruffy will present this annual holiday concert Nov. 30 at the Rozzelle Court at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. The ticket price includes table seating and wine service. It sounds like a glamorous, sparkling good time.

6 p.m. Nov. 30. Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 4525 Oak St. $125. kcchorale.org

Park ICM Orchestra holiday concert

Parkville looks like a Christmas card this time of year, so what better place for a holiday concert? The Park ICM Orchestra will present “Christmas on the River” Dec. 2 at Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel on the Park University campus.

The orchestra conducted by Steven McDonald will perform a program of holiday favorites and a couple of Johann Strauss chestnuts, which will be roasted on an open fire. You’re encourage to come earlier in the day to enjoy Parkville’s Christmas Walk and then cap things off with a concert that will send you home with a jingle in your step.

7:30 p.m. Dec. 2. Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel, 8700 N.W. River Park Drive, Parkville. Free. icm.park.edu.

Heartland Men’s Chorus — ‘A Very Merry Christmas Pageant’

The annual holiday concert by the Heartland Men’s Chorus is always a tinsel-fest. “A Very Merry Christmas Pageant” Dec. 2, 3 and 10 at the Folly Theater and Yardley Hall promises to maintain the tradition. In this one, 140 singing contestants compete for the coveted Christmas Pageant crown in a program that includes plenty of Christmas kitsch and classic carols, all liberally spiked with holiday high jinks.

7:30 p.m. Dec. 2 and 3:30 p.m. Dec. 3, Folly Theater, 300 W. 12th St. 3:30 p.m. Dec. 10, Yardley Hall, Midwest Trust Center, 12345 College Blvd., Overland Park. $30-$55. hmckc.org.

Musica Sacra

Musica Sacra led by Timothy McDonald will present its 33d annual Ceremony of Lessons and Carols Dec. 2 at Arrupe Hall auditorium on the campus of Rockhurst University. The program always includes rare choral works, as well as beloved carols, with which the audience is encouraged to sing along. McDonald can always be counted on for a classy Christmas concert that hits all the right notes.

7 p.m. Dec. 2. Arrupe Hall auditorium, Rockhurst University, 1100 Rockhurst Road. Free. rockhurst.edu/center-arts-letters/musica-sacra

You can reach Patrick Neas at patrickneas@kcartsbeat.com and follow his Facebook page, KC Arts Beat, at www.facebook.com/kcartsbeat.