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December is the fourth solo piano album from George Winston. It was recorded during the fall of 1982 and was released at the end of the year. It is a Christmas album, and more generally a tribute to the winter season. The album is a follow up to Winter into Spring from earlier in 1982.

December
Studio album by George Winston
Released	1982
Recorded	September/October 1982
Studio	Different Fur, San Francisco, California
Genre	Folk ambient new age Christmas
Length	38:54 45:25 (20th Anniversary Edition)
Label	Windham Hill, Dancing Cat (rerelease)
Producer	William Ackerman George Winston
George Winston chronology
Winter into Spring (1982) December (1982) The Velveteen Rabbit (1984)
Alternate cover
2013 CD Digipak reissue

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

December is Winston's highest-selling album, having been certified triple Platinum by the RIAA, signifying 3 million copies in shipment.[2] The success of the album, along with several of Winston's other albums from the early 1980s, enabled the record label, Windham Hill, to get international distribution and a higher profile.[3] The album also spent 136 weeks on the Billboard 200, reaching a peak of No. 54 in January 1984, over a year after its original release.[4] In 1987, five years after its release, it reached No. 2 on Billboard's Top Holiday Albums chart.[5]

A 20th Anniversary Edition of the album, with two bonus tracks, was released in 2001. The album was again reissued in 2013 by Valley Entertainment with Dancing Cat Records, Winston's own label. This reissue was packaged in a Digipak and features revised cover art.[6]

Critical reception

AllMusic critic William Ruhlmann commented that December ranks as "the mother of all solo instrumental albums, and with good reason. Mixing traditional carols with Pachelbel's Canon and a few originals, Winston produces a solo piano album of unparalleled—and undeniable—beauty. How can music be simultaneously stirring and soothing, relaxed yet exalted? Millions have found the answer here, and an industry has spent decades trying to duplicate it."[1]

Amazon's editorial staff noted "the album is a classic for a reason—few capture the soft, pensive nature of the season quite like Winston's magnum opus."[7]

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from 1982 vinyl liner notes.

• George Winston — piano

Additional

• Anne Ackerman, William Ackerman — cover design
• Karen Kirsch, Steven Miller — sound engineers
• Jack Hunt — mastering
• Greg Edmonds — photography

Chart

Chart (1984–87)	Peak position
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[8]	49
US Billboard 200[9]	54
US Top Holiday Albums (Billboard)[10]	2
US Top Jazz Albums (Billboard)[11]	5

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[12]	Gold	50,000^
United States (RIAA)[13]	3× Platinum	3,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

На других языках

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[de] December (Album)

December ist das vierte Album des Pianisten George Winston, es wurde 1981 aufgenommen. Derzeit ist es auf dem Label Dancing Cat Records wiederveröffentlicht. Das Musikalbum bildet den Schlusspunkt einer Trilogie mit herbstlichen und winterlichen Motiven, die Winston zwischen 1980 und 1982 bei Windham Hill veröffentlichte. Diese Trilogie bildete einen Grundstein für das aufkommende Musikgenre New Age.[1]

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- [en] December (George Winston album)

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[ru] December

December — четвёртый фортепианный альбом Джорджа Уинстона, следующий после альбома «Autumn». Записан осенью 1982 года (выпущен позднее в том же году).

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