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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.

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 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 Blog

Introducing Classical Snack

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 2022 WNED Classical Top 100 Revealed

The votes have been tabulated and the 2022 WNED Classical Top 100 has been revealed! 

Opera on WNED Classical

Join Classical WNED Saturdays at 1pm for opera featuring exceptional casts and stunning performances. Learn about the operas, composers, cast and companies.

Sacred Classics

Sacred Classics

WNED Classical presents “Sacred Classics” every Sunday morning from 7 to 9. Scott Sackett will feature great timeless works for choir and orchestra.

JoAnn's Classical Corner

JoAnn's Classical Corner

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.

Stratton Rawson

Stratton's Sidebar

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.

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Watch |  WNED Classical, Live on Stage!

WNED Classical, Live on Stage!

Alex Hughes and Joe Isgar | Regrets and Resolutions | WNED Classical, Live on Stage!

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.

The BPO on WNED Classical | Returns next Summer

JoAnn Falletta and the BPO

WNED Classical is pleased to present brilliant concerts from our Buffalo Philharmonic every Tuesday night at 7pm each summer!  We’ll feature performances from this past season along with amazing encores from the BPO’s archives.  

Watch

BUFFALO TORONTO PUBLIC MEDIA

 

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.

 

Our Apps

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!

News from WBFO's Arts and Culture Desk

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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.

Live From Lincoln Center

New York Philharmonic: Celebrating Sondheim

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Great Performances | PBS

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.

Great Performances

Great Performances: The Conductor

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Follow the story of the first female conductor of a major American symphony.

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Erin Morley Performs as Eurydice
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René Pape performs Scene VII of Boris Godunov
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Highlights from Radvanovsky & Beczala in Concert
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Now Hear This: Beethoven's Ghost
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Yannick – An Artist’s Journey
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Intimate Apparel | Stream Full Program

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Experience this powerful opera with a libretto by Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage.

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Need a deep discovery experience? 
Try 1000 years of music in this playlist from NPR Classical's Tom Huizenga, which explores everything from new releases to old favorites, and classics from the dawn of the recording era. Our mantra: Bach, Beethoven, before and beyond.

JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition

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.


The 2020 JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition scheduled for June 3-6 has been postponed, due to the nearly impossible logistics of mounting an international competition in the face of the COVID-19 crisis. The BPO will announce a rescheduled date at a later time.

 

DONATE TO THE COMPETITION

Support talented young guitarists and the JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition.

2018 Semi-finalists

Liona Boyd Recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from JoAnn Falletta Guitar Competition

Liona Boyd, “First Lady of the Guitar,” received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition in 2018.

2018 Semi-finals Day Two | Watch Online Now

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:

  • Jack Cimo, a seasoned chamber musician and soloist who has been active in competitions as both an organizer and competitor, representing the United States.
  • Junhong Kuang, a 17 year old who has recorded for Naxos and won top prizes in the ARD Music Competition, representing China.
  • Igor Klokov, a graduate student at Mainz Hochschule fur Musik/Koblenz and winner of many guitar competitions in Europe, representing Russia.
  • Chinnawat Themkumwun, a 37-time prizewinner in Asia and Europe, representing Thailand.

2018 Semi-finals Day One | Watch Online Now

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:

  • Tengyue “TY” Zhang, the first-prize winner of the 2017 Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artists Competition, representing China.
  • Bokyung Byun, a multi-competition winner and doctoral candidate at University of Southern California who has been performing publicly since age 11, representing South Korea.
  • Congyi Zhang, a graduate student at Mannes School of Music and frequent performer throughout Canada and the United States, representing China.
  • Bradly Pupa, a faculty member at California Conservatory of Music and a graduate student at the San Francisco Conservatory, representing the United States.