
WNED Classical Blog
Ignite your love of classical music with the WNED Classical Blog! Here you can find classical music news, reviews and analysis from Buffalo and around the world.
WNED Classical is the area’s 24-hour classical music service. The station harbors an ongoing broadcast and production relationship with the Grammy award-winning Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. Tune in for symphonies, operas and concerts by philharmonic orchestras around the world.
WNED Classical broadcast on 94.5 WNED in Buffalo and on 89.7 WNJA in Jamestown and can be streamed on this website and through apps.
Ignite your love of classical music with the WNED Classical Blog! Here you can find classical music news, reviews and analysis from Buffalo and around the world.
WNED Classical Blog
Classical Snack is a new feature here at WNED-Classical. The goal is to provide tidbits of information about classical music that might enhance your listening experience. Each installment of Classical Snack will be a fun-sized treat - like a little candy bar given out at Halloween. They’ll take no more than two or three minutes to digest. Look for a new Classical Snack on the third Friday of each month. In this month's Classical Snack, Marty Wimmer breaks down the elements of music.
And the winner is . . .
The votes have been tabulated and the 2022 WNED Classical Top 100 has been revealed!
Join Classical WNED Saturdays at 1pm for opera featuring exceptional casts and stunning performances. Learn about the operas, composers, cast and companies.
WNED Classical presents “Sacred Classics” every Sunday morning from 7 to 9. Scott Sackett will feature great timeless works for choir and orchestra.
Weekdays at 8:30am and 5:30pm
Listen to WNED Classical every weekday morning at 8:30, as the Buffalo Philharmonic’s Music Director and Conductor JoAnn Falletta joins Mark Swarts in the WNED Morning program for “JoAnn’s Classical Corner!”
Every day, JoAnn will spend a couple of minutes with Mark talking about everything from this season’s highlights at the Buffalo Philharmonic to JoAnn’s insights on all things musical.
Weekdays at 10am
Stratton Rawson stops into Mark Swarts' program at 10 every morning to give us a preview of what he has planned for his Deep Classical program evenings at 10 on WNED Classical.
Each weekday morning at 7:30 WNED Classical will play a requests sent in by a WNED listener. Let us know what you want to hear.
Weekday afternoons at 5pm you'll hear mood music to help release some of the stress that’s accumulated during the course of the day.
WNED Classical is teaming up with the Buffalo Philharmonic and the Buffalo Public Schools for a special Music in the Schools Program.
Peter Hall interviews Joshua Bell and many more people from the Classical Music Industry...
Alex Hughes & Joe Isgar play music for flute and piano in Buffalo Toronto Public Media's performance space in the WNED-Classical studios. The program includes three works for flute and piano by composers who just love the flute, including contemporary American composer Gary Schocker - the most published living composer of flute music in the world.
Program April 29, 2023
1. Fantaisie, Georges Hüe
2. Sonata in C Major, Otar Taktakashvili
I. Allegro Cantabile
II. Aria
III. Allegro Scherzando
3. Regrets and Resolutions, Gary Schocker
Flutist Alex Hughes holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from SUNY Fredonia, and a Master of Music Performance degree from Ithaca College. He has performed extensively throughout Western New York on both flute and oboe, most notably with the Buffalo Philharmonic, Western New York Chamber Orchestra, and Erie County Wind Ensemble. Mr. Hughes currently teaches instrumental music and music history at the Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts.
Pianist Joe Isgar is a Buffalo-based music director, voice teacher, and actor. Recent credits include Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (TOY), The Addams Family (O’Connell and Company), Tick, Tick…Boom (SGT), and The Rink (O’Connell and Company). Joe is a founding member of The Enchords, UB’s only all-gender a cappella group which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary.
Congratulations to JoAnn Falletta on 20 Years with the BPO
JoAnn Falletta is celebrating 20 years with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra! She's been a wonderful friend to our public broadcasting stations and we thank her for all she's given to our community.
(As chosen by 151 of the world’s leading conductors polled by BBC Music Magazine) why not see if you agree…
Not into Mozart, Beethoven, or Bach? If you aren't listening to classical music, you could be missing out on a number of mental and physical benefits.
Thinking about selling your car, boat, motorcycle, truck or other vehicle? Donate it to Buffalo Toronto Public Media instead.
Enjoy the WNED PBS, WBFO, WNED Classical and WBFO The Bridge apps, now available on Apple and Android smart phones and tablets! The apps have everything you love most about our radio stations. Features include live streaming of local and national news coverage, the ability to search playlists easily for your favorite pieces of classical music and much more. Fan of all three stations? Each app flips seamlessly to whichever station you feel like listening to. Our apps give you the very best public media has to offer. Download them for free to your smart phone and tablet in the iTunes or Google Play store today!
Live From Lincoln Center broadcasts world-class performances from the stages of Lincoln Center into homes across America. The pioneering series has sought to democratize the performing arts, making luminaries ranging from Luciano Pavarotti and Beverly Sills to Emma Thompson and Nathan Lane available to hundreds of millions of viewers, collecting 17 Emmy and 2 Peabody Awards.
Explore the dazzling orchestral world of one of America's foremost composers.
Now in its 50th season on PBS, GREAT PERFORMANCES is America’s preeminent performing arts television series, showcasing a diverse range of performing arts specials from around the world. It presents a diverse programming portfolio of classical music, opera, popular song, musical theater, dance, drama, and performance documentaries.
Follow the story of the first female conductor of a major American symphony.
Experience this powerful opera with a libretto by Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage.
American Public Media
One group provides training and financial assistance to get more black and Latino classical musicians into auditions.
Rewire
The next time you’re in a creativity slump and need to get some writing done pronto, try turning on Vivaldi, or a playlist specially suited for productivity.
From American Public Media
On this podcast an overview of melodies for the piano, how they work, what they are, and what makes them beautiful.
Named in honor of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra’s Music Director, the JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition was launched in 2004 by WNED Classical, WNED PBS and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. It was the world’s first concerto competition for classical guitarists with accompaniment by a full symphony orchestra. The Falletta Competition was established to help identify and encourage talented young classical guitarists and help them on their musical journeys.
Every two years, it brings international guitarists to Buffalo, New York for one week to perform publicly in competition for cash prizes, a recording contract, national and international broadcast exposure, and a return engagement with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. It is the opportunity of a lifetime for young musicians who have dedicated themselves to their art and who are serious about pursuing careers not only as international performing and recording artists, but also as concert soloists.
In addition to bringing prominent recognition to highly-skilled young classical guitarists, Buffalo Toronto Public Media and the BPO seek to promote music appreciation and enhance the visibility of the cultural arts in Western New York.
Liona Boyd, “First Lady of the Guitar,” received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition in 2018.
On Day 2 (June 7, 2018), the remaining four competitors performed live with an accompanist at the Buffalo Toronto Public Media Studios, and the judges selected three finalist to perform with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra in the Finals.
Day Two Semi-finalist:
On Day 1, (June 6, 2018), the first four semi-finalists in the JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition performed live with an accompanist from the Buffalo Toronto Public Media Studios.
Day One Semi-finalists:
Congratulations Bokyung Byun!
Bokyung Byun of South Korea is the first woman to win the JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto competition. Byun also won the Musicians Choice award as voted by the BPO.