New, Old and Festive: Music at The Met

As much as we write about pop culture here, we also appreciate the classics, so it's always refreshing when a press release like the one we received earlier today from The Metropolitan Museum of Art announcing its December concert lineup comes through our inbox. What's in store this season? A little classical. Some gospel and jazz. A few holiday treats. (Can you feel that winter magic in the air?!)

For starters, there's Austrian piano man Till Fellner and up-and-coming bass player Morris Robinson. As part of Mr. Fellner's three-year devotion to the complete sonatas of Beethoven, his Dec. 5 performance at the Met will include "Tempest," among other sonatas, followed by “Appassionata” and “Hammerklavier” in March and May, respectively. His stints in New York are just a few bullets on his itinerary, which also covers Europe and Japan.While Mr. Fellner has worked with some of the bigger names in the world of classical music, Mr. Robinson is just starting to make waves among opera connoisseurs. The Atlanta native and all-American football star has taken on roles as Commendatore in Don Giovanni, Ramfis in Aida, and Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte. But Dec. 2 will mark his premiere recital in Manhattan, where he will sample such heavyweights as Mozart, Schubert, and Mussorgsky.

Leading the slew of seasonal acts, the 12 male singers of "A Chanticleer Christmas" mix medieval with jazz and gospel with vocal literature over a series of six performances (Dec. 3, 4, and 7). The carolers will deliver their musical offerings in front of the Met's popular, refurbished Christmas tree, bolstered by some spruced up lighting effects. The site will also play host to three other Christmas concerts: a choir from Central Harlem's Abyssinian Baptist Church (Dec. 10), Burning River Brass (traditional carols accompanied by brass and percussion, Dec. 18), and Lionheart (male a cappella performing “Christmas in Medieval Italy: Il Laudario di Cortona,” Dec. 23). All shows take place at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.