All times are eastern.

See pages 6 and 7 of your winter issue of Quarter Notes to read more about what’s coming up this quarter at WCPE, The Classical Station.

Matthew Aucoin
Photo by Steven Laxton

The Metropolitan Opera

Saturday, December 4

The Met returns with Matthew Aucoin’s Eurydice at 1:00 p.m. Weekly live opera broadcasts continue through June 11, 2022. See the radio broadcast schedule.

Photo credit: Pexels and Ksenia Chernaya

Chanukah (Hanukkah)

The eight-day celebration of the Jewish Festival of Lights continues through Monday, December 6. We’ll air seasonal selections throughout the observance.

Beethovenfest

December 14–16

The music of Ludwig van Beethoven embodies the best of humanity—qualities of freedom, dignity, and heroism—all still remarkably relevant today. We’ll spend three days celebrating Beethoven, a tragic figure who forever changed the course of music. Beethovenfest will culminate with his stirring Symphony no. 9 in D Minor on the presumed day of his birth.

Photo credit: Islem Benzegouta

Christmas

We celebrate the magic of Christmas with music from the classical tradition—carols, hymns, and larger works imbued with sacred wonder and joy of the season. Listen for details of special programs created by Bob Chapman, host of the Thursday Night Opera House; Rob Kennedy, host of Great Sacred Music; and George Douglas, host of Renaissance Fare. Make your requests in advance for our Christmas Eve edition of All-Request Friday and the Saturday Evening Request Program on Christmas Day.

New Year’s Eve 2021

New Year’s Eve is also an All-Request Friday, so tell us what you would like to hear as 2021 draws to a close. Then we’ll “ring out the old” with Viennese waltzes and other festive treats starting at 10:00 p.m. And New Year’s Day will be filled with listener favorites to enjoy with your friends.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Photo copyright: Richard Termine

Russian Romantics Weekend

January 15–16

While the Russian court emulated the culture of western Europe, a “Mighty Handful” of Russian composers found inspiration in the rich, passionate history of their own people. We’ll feature works by this group—Mussorgsky, Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov, Balakirev, and Cui—along with Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and more. It’s one of our favorite feature weekends.

Martin Luther King
Photo credit: Cleveland Plain Dealer

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

January 17

We feature American composers and performers throughout the day as we celebrate the legacy of Dr. King and his work.

Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin
Photo copyright: Uwe Arens

Mozart Madness

January 25–27

A genius such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart sometimes isn’t destined to stay long in this world. He produced an incredible amount of beautiful music in his 35 years, including operas, symphonies, piano concertos, and chamber music. Join The Classical Station for a three-day celebration of the joy of Mozart.

Will Liverman
Credit: Larrynx Photography

Black History Month

February

Each year brings new recordings of music by composers of African ancestry, some of it only now being re-discovered. We’ll feature this rich legacy throughout the month.

Nicola Benedetti
Copyright: Decca and Simon Fowler

Simply Strings Weekend

February 5–6

We feature music for violin, viola, cello, bass, guitar, mandolin, and harp, by masters from Bach to Brahms to Bernstein. The great masters of the 20th century perform, as well as today’s brightest young players.

Valentine’s Day by Advance Request

Monday, February 14

Make a classical music request in honor of your sweetie. We’ll play as many requests and dedications as we can from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Submit your request by February 10 to make sure we can play it for you.

Presidents Day

Monday, February 21

Patriotic selections and American music to honor our leaders through the years.

Request Programs

Our popular All-Request Friday (9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.) and Saturday Evening Request Program (6:00 p.m. to midnight) continue each week. Submit your request online anytime at TheClassicalStation.org, or call WCPE at 919.556.0123.

Quarterly programming highlights appear in Quarter Notes, the member magazine of WCPE Radio, The Classical Station. To receive a subscription, become a member today!

See all quarters’ highlights.