Miró Quartet Hosts Performance Today Holiday Hour On American Public Media, Spotlighting Acclaimed Holiday Album Hearth

Miró Quartet Hosts Performance Today
Holiday Hour On American Public Media,
Spotlighting Acclaimed Holiday Album Hearth

Airing November 15, 2026 on Minnesota Public Radio and
Syndicated through December 31, 2026 on Stations Nationwide
APM Affiliate Stations Subscribe Here

Hearth Album, Released November 28, 2025 on PENTATONE,
Celebrated for Rich and Varied Collection of Traditional Carols and Holiday Favorites,
Reimagined in Original Arrangements by 15 Leading Contemporary Composers

Featuring Arrangements by
Clarice Assad, Alex Berko, Michael Begay, Anna Clyne, Reena Esmail,
Hyung-ki Joo, Gabriel Kahane, Sam Lipman, Karl Mitze, Kevin Puts, Paola Prestini,
Jeff Scott, Derrick Skye, Joel Love, and Michi Wiancko

Stream the Hearth Album:
lnk.to/MiroHearth

“superbly fresh and communicative” – BBC Music Magazine

“Hearth is an invitation to hear Christmas anew – not as a nostalgic repetition, but as a creative celebration of diversity.” – Radioklassik (Austria)

“The work of these fifteen composers, along with Miró Quartet’s excellent playing,
means Hearth melted my heart.” – Cultural Attaché

www.miroquartet.com 

New York, NY (November 10, 2026) – The two-time GRAMMY®-nominated Miró Quartet can be heard this holiday season as hosts of an hour-long special from American Public Media’s Performance Today series, as they spotlight their acclaimed 2025 holiday album Hearth (PENTATONE). Featuring new original arrangements of classic holiday songs by 15 of today’s leading composers, the album was lauded by Violinist.com as the “most worthy exploration of this genre that I have come across – maybe ever.” The Times (UK) wrote of the album that “the ear is tickled and the heart touched by the ingenuity and virtuosity abundantly on display.”

Recorded this fall by the four Miró Quartet artists, this Performance Today special will air on APM’s flagship station, Minnesota Public Radio, on November 15, 2026 at 7:00pm Central Time – and will be available for syndication by APM’s approximately 1,000 affiliate radio stations across the United States from November 16 through December 31, 2026.

“Hosting a holiday hour on Performance Today is the kind of gift you can’t wrap,” said Miró cellist Josh Gindele. “Radio has always brought people together this time of year, and it’s an honor to be part of so many listeners’ holiday traditions."

Drawing from diverse traditions and memories of holidays past, Hearth brings together new arrangements of In Dulci Jubilo, by Clarice Assad; The First Noël, by Kevin Puts; Jingle Bells, by Michi Wiancko; I Wonder as I Wander, by Reena Esmail; Deck the Halls, by Karl Mitze; Ma’oz Tzur (Rock of Ages), by Sam Lipman; In the Bleak Midwinter, by Alex Berko; Mother’s Lullaby, by Anna Clyne; Wexford Carol (Carúl Loch Garman), by Jeff Scott; halfspent (lo, how a rose…), by Gabriel Kahane; O Come, All Ye Faithful, by Michael Begay; Dejlig er Den Himmel Blå (Oh How Beautiful the Sky), by Paola Prestini; We Three, by Derrick Skye; Silent Night, by Joel Love; Songs of Christmas Past, by Hyung-ki Joo.

In curating the album, Miró asked each participating composer to select a piece linked to his or her own heritage and personal associations, yielding an eclectic mix of Medieval melodies, merry holiday classics, Texas fiddle music, West African rhythms, and beyond. “What a delightful assortment of musical presents we received!” wrote Miró violist John Largess in the album notes for Hearth. “We really think the diversity and variety of voices heard and memories shared on this album will represent the many ways we all celebrate and share the holidays together, and the huge range of what the holidays can mean to each one of us… The Miró Quartet is so grateful to all our composer friends for these precious musical gifts, and we are so pleased to share the warmth of our Hearth and our Hearts with you through music during this holiday season.”

The album’s contributing composers also commented on the thought process behind their musical selections and original arrangements. “As a composer, it’s a rare treat to be asked to participate in a project that centers around pure fun and celebration,” wrote Michi Wiancko, who contributed her arrangement of Jingle Bells. “This fun ditty is my little love-note to snow itself, brought to sparkling fruition by the amazing Miró Quartet.” Reena Esmail wrote on infusing her Hindustani roots into the Appalachian carol I Wonder as I Wander, while Gabriel Kahane mused on his early years as a Jewish kid who nonetheless joined in the singing of Christmas songs – introducing him to the cherished work he selected for this project, Lo How a Rose E’er Blooming… (or, halfspent). On Songs of Christmas Past, Hyung-ki Joo’s arrangement bringing together elements of more than 20 favorite carols, the composer wrote: “Perhaps all we need is a musical hearth glowing in every heart, lighting the way to peace all year round.”

Hearth was the Miró Quartet’s fourth album on PENTATONE, following its recording of Beethoven’s Complete String Quartets (2019), the GRAMMY®-nominated Home (2024), and Ginastera String Quartets (2025). Miró has also independently released multiple celebrated recordings for a variety of global labels, earning a 2024 GRAMMY® nomination for Best Choral Performance for House of Belonging, created in collaboration with Austin-based choral group Conspirare.

Hearth Tracklist

1. Clarice Assad – In Dulci Jubilo – Traditional German carol (14th century) [3:23]
2. Kevin Puts – The First Noël – Traditional English carol (first published 1823) [3:02]
3. Michi Wiancko – Jingle Bells – James Lord Pierpont (1857) [3:32]
4. Reena Esmail – I Wonder as I Wander – Appalachian folk song, adapted by John Jacob Niles (1933) [3:17]
5. Karl Mitze – Deck the Halls – Traditional Welsh tune (“Nos Galan”) [5:04]
6. Sam Lipman – Ma’oz Tzur (Rock of Ages) – Traditional Hebrew hymn (lyrics from 13th century; melody from 17th-century German sources) [5:11]
7. Alex Berko – In the Bleak Midwinter – Christina Rossetti (lyrics, 1872) / Gustav Holst (music, 1906) [5:10]
8. Anna Clyne – Mother’s Lullaby – Original composition [5:28]
9. Jeff Scott – Wexford Carol (Carúl Loch Garman) – Traditional Irish carol (possibly 12th century) [5:59]
10. Gabriel Kahane – halfspent (lo, how a rose…) – Based on “Es ist ein Ros entsprungen” (Traditional German carol, 16th century), harmonized by Michael Praetorius (1609) [4:45]
11. Michael Begay – O Come, All Ye Faithful – Attributed to John Francis Wade (18th century) [2:44]
12. Paola Prestini – Dejlig er Den Himmel Blå (Oh How Beautiful the Sky) – Lyrics by N.F.S. Grundtvig (1810), melody by Jacob Gerhard Meidell (1842) [6:28]
13. Derrick Skye – We Three – Based on “We Three Kings” by John Henry Hopkins Jr. (1857) [3:53]
14. Joel Love – Silent Night – Franz Xaver Gruber (music), Joseph Mohr (lyrics), 1818 [3:07]
15. Hyung-ki Joo – Songs of Christmas Past – Original composition [8:23] 

TT: 67:51

Miró Quartet:
Daniel Ching, violin
William Fedkenheuer, violin
John Largess, viola
Joshua Gindele, cello

PTC 5187495

Hearth was recorded at KMFA 89.5, Austin’s Classical Music Radio Station, Austin, TX, USA, May 8-12, 2025.

PRODUCTION TEAM
Executive producers Lynne Dobson, Greg Wooldridge & Joshua Gindele
Recording & Session producer, Recording & Mastering engineer Da-Hong Seetoo
Additional producers Daniel Ching, William Fedkenheuer & John Largess

About Miró Quartet 
The two-time GRAMMY®-nominated Miró Quartet is one of America’s most celebrated string quartets, praised as "furiously committed" by The New Yorker and recognized for its "exceptional tonal focus and interpretive intensity" by the Cleveland Plain Dealer. In more than 30 years as a performing and recording ensemble, the quartet has appeared on the world's most prestigious concert stages, earning accolades from critics and audiences alike. Based in Austin, TX, and thriving on the area’s storied music scene, the quartet takes pride in finding new ways to communicate with audiences of all backgrounds while cultivating the longstanding tradition of chamber music. Since 2003, Miró has served as the quartet-in-residence at the University of Texas at Austin, Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music.

The quartet’s 2026-2027 highlights include appearances at The Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall as well as Music Mondays in New York City. Other recent projects include 30th anniversary performances at Oberlin College, where the quartet was formed; the premiere of a new version of Kevin Puts’ Credo; and collaborations with composers Steven Banks, Tamar-Kali, and Gabriel Kahane, as well as soprano Karen Slack, pianist Lara Downes, clarinetist David Shifrin, and the Isidore String Quartet.

The Miró Quartet’s two newest albums – its holiday album, Hearth, and a recording of Ginastera’s complete String Quartets – were both released in 2025 on PENTATONE to broad acclaim. Among its many previous recordings for a variety of global labels, the quartet was nominated for a 2024 GRAMMY® Award for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance for its album Home (PENTATONE, 2024), featuring two new commissions by Kevin Puts and Caroline Shaw, as well as works by George Walker and Samuel Barber. It was also nominated for a 2023 GRAMMY® Award for its album House of Belonging, created in collaboration with Austin-based choral group Conspirare. 

The Miró Quartet took its name and its inspiration from the Spanish artist Joan Miró, whose Surrealist works – with subject matter drawn from the realm of memory, dreams, and imaginative fantasy – are some of the most groundbreaking, influential, and admired of the 20th century. Visit miroquartet.com for more information.