Jeannette Sorrell's reminder that migrants, so much a part of the news in our current zeitgeist, are an integral part of the Christmas story -- and an integral part of what America is about, and where our traditions come from -- is given heartwarming affirmation in this inventive, moving event. The music, so brilliantly brought to life in this transcendent display of technical skill and subtle artistry, is like the sounds of our neighbors and, maybe, our ancestors, echoing from one end of the mountain valley to another. The audience, uplifted, seems to exit the hall inspired to be kinder, more mindful, and to embrace the true spirit of the holiday. What a gift.

Presented at Alice Tully Hall, CMS's Baroque Collection combines a museum-worthy curation of pieces representing some of the variety in the music of the time, the variety of musical forms, performance settings (sacred versus secular), and the increasing technical implications of the instruments for which they wrote. This year, the Chamber Music Society has assembled an impressive band of virtuosos to present a sumptuous feast that really immerses the audience in this musical world.

Jaap van Zweden can do delicate too. His inaugural season as Music Director of the New York Philharmonic has burst out of the gate with bombast, shaking the roof of David Geffen Hall with an electric Rite of Spring, Bruckner's behemoth Eighth Symphony, and just last week, Shostakovich's explosive Seventh Symphony. But this week, the Maestro proves he can also maneuver in a lower gear. Joined by German baritone Matthias Goerne, an award-winning interpreter of German lieder commencing his artist-in-residency with the New York Philharmonic, van Zweden has fashioned an intriguing assortment of German and Austrian music, and a revealing peek of his approach to the traditional repertoire.