Giving Thanks: A celebration of fall, food, and gratitude

With music and stories for Thanksgiving, host John Birge creates a thoughtful, contemporary reflection on the meaning of the holiday. Famous French chef Jacques Pepin is this year's special guest on Giving Thanks. His message is as timely as today's headlines:

"Thanksgiving is the greatest example of what a great dinner should be: a meal that welcomes people of all religious, political or ethnic persuasions. The table is the great equalizer, and everyone around that table gets along with one another and enjoys life with family and strangers alike."

Classical music is the heart and soul of the original Giving Thanks. Between the music, no cliches about pilgrims and pumpkin pies. Instead, it's a contemporary celebration of spirit of gratitude. And continuing a Giving Thanks tradition: a spellbinding story from actor Charles Laughton, giving thanks for art that connects us all to the creative spirit.

Whether you up are early in the kitchen, on the road to a family gathering, or relaxing after the feast, Giving Thanks provides the perfect atmosphere for Thanksgiving: the warmth of great music, and truly memorable words.

Hour I

• Traditional: We Gather Together — Boston Pops/John Williams

• Richard Harvey: Concerto Antico: Alborada — London Symphony Orchestra/Paul Daniel; John Williams, guitar

• Hans Zimmer & Richard Harvey: The Little Prince — Studio Orchestra

• Reading: from "Flight to Arras" by Antoine de St.-Exupery

• Traditional: Let Us Break Bread Together — Howard Roberts Chorale; Simon Estes, baritone

• Jacques Pepin on his favorite holiday and childhood

• Alberto Ginastera: Dance of the Wheat — New World Symphony/Michael Tilson Thomas

• Thierry Rougier: Autumn — Xuefei Yang, guitar

• Leonard Bernstein: Candide: Make Our Garden Grow — Boston Pops/John Williams; Tanglewood Festival Chorus

• Jacques Pepin on philosophy and family

• Martin Mailman: Autumn Landscape — Eastman-Rochester Orchestra/Howard Hanson

• Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 6, "Pastoral": Shepherd's Song: Cheerful and Thankful Feelings after the Storm — Academy of St. Martin in the Fields/Neville Marriner

• Francis Poulenc: Pastourelle — Pascal Roge, piano

• Francis Poulenc: Rustic Intermezzo —Academy of St. Martin in the Fields/Neville Marriner

Hour II

• Aaron Copland: Our Town — London Symphony/Aaron Copland

• Reading: from "Our Town" by Thornton Wilder

• George Frideric Handel: Largo — Orpheus Chamber Orchestra

• Reading: from "My America: A Thanksgiving Reflection" by Andrew Sullivan

• Johannes Brahms: Festive and Commemorative Pieces: What Nation Is There So Great — Cambridge Singers

• Jacques Pepin on his favorite cooking music

• Gioachino Rossini: Ouf! Les petits pois (Oh, the little peas) — Stephan Irmer, piano

• Jacques Pepin on what was nearly his last Thanksgiving

• George David Weiss: What a Wonderful World — La Pieta/Angele Dubeau

• Reading: from Kerouac's "The Dharma Bums," Chartres Cathedral story; Psalm 104 by Charles Laughton

• Traditional, arr. Stephen Paulus: We Gather Together — Dale Warland Singers

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