Boston’s Classical Music Station
WCRB is Boston’s Classical Music Station, providing listeners with commercial-free classical music 24 hours a day.
WGBH 89.7
WGBH 89.7 is Boston’s Classical Music Station. WGBH is dedicated to classical music and the classical music listener, providing outstanding classical music programming 24 hours a day. WGBH 89.7 is a broadcast service of WGBH Radio, one of the largest public radio stations in the country.
History
WGBH 89.7 first went on the air October 6, 1951, with a live broadcast of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The station was originally licensed to the city of Boston and was known as WGBH-FM. In the late 1960s, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) began to reassess its licensing policies, and it became apparent that WGBH-FM’s signal did not reach much beyond the city limits. As a result, the station applied for and was granted a construction permit to move its transmitter to Massachusetts’s highest point, Mount Sugarloaf in Deerfield. With this change in transmitter location, WGBH-FM’s development as one of America’s leading public radio stations truly began.
In the early 1970s, WGBH-FM programmers began to experiment with an idea that would eventually revolutionize public radio: broadcasting newsmagazines. The first such program on WGBH-FM was The Morning Show, which premiered in 1971. Thisinnovative program mixed news and information with music, and featured live interviews with newsmakers, critics, and experts on a wide variety of topics. The success of The Morning Show led to the development of other public radio newsmagazines, such as All Things Considered and Fresh Air.
WGBH-FM also played a leading role in developing another important public radio format: National Public Radio’s (NPR) flagship news program, Morning Edition. In 1978, NPR approached WGBH about developing a new morning program that would be an alternative to traditional network morning shows such as NBC’s Today Show. WGBH agreed to produce the new program, and Morning Edition made its debut on NPR member stations nationwide in 1979.
Today, WGBH is recognized as one of public radio’s leading producers of local and national programming. In addition to producing NPR programs such as Morning Edition and Here & Now, WGBH produces award-winning local programs such as Greater Boston with Jim Braude & Margery Eagan; Innovation Hub; Basic Black; Open Mic; and High School Quiz Show.
Programs
Here at WGBH 89.7, we offer a wide variety of programming to suit any taste in classical music! Whether you’re a fan of orchestral works, choral music, or solo instrumental pieces, we have something for you.
Our daytime programming includes a mix of traditional and contemporary classical music, as well as news and information about the classical music world. We also offer several weekly programs that focus on specific genres or areas of interest, such as new music, opera, and early music.
In the evenings, we offer more specialized programming, including concerts from world-renowned orchestras and ensembles, opera broadcasts, and recitals. We also offer a nightly news program called Classical News Tonight, which keeps you up to date on the latest happenings in the classical music world.
We are proud to offer such a wide range of programming to our listeners, and we hope you’ll tune in today to see what we have to offer!
WCRB 102.5
WCRB 102.5 is Boston’s only all-classical music station, and has been a part of the Boston radio landscape for over 50 years. WCRB is committed to showcasing the full spectrum of classical music, from early music to contemporary works, and to providing a voice for the classical music community in Boston and beyond.
History
In the early 1920s, WCRB was one of several stations that broadcast the first live National Football League game, between the Hammond Pros and the Chicago Cardinals, across the country on November 28, 1920. The station’s transmitter was atop the United Shoe Machinery factory in Canton, Massachusetts, and broadcast on 1210 kilocycles with 500 watts power (later increased to 1000 watts). WCRB was acquired in 1926 by James Lawrence Fly (1886-1961), owner also of WMCA in New York City and WLOE in Charlotte, North Carolina.
In December 1933, after President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved to devalue the dollar against gold by raising the price from $20.67 to $35 per ounce (a 40 percent increase), several New England newspapers ran advertisements asking their readers whether they preferred “a radio set that cost $35 in gold or one that cost only $20.67.” One month later, WCRB was sold at a public auction for $30,000 to Theodore Jones, who had served as station manager since its inception.
Programs
WCRB 102.5 FM is a classical music radio station in the Greater Boston area owned by WGBH. The station has its studios and offices in Boston’s Allston neighborhood, and its transmitter is atop Boott Hill in Groton, Massachusetts.
WCRB airs a full-time classical music format featuring mainly classical recordings, with very limited interruptions for on-air announcements. In addition to live broadcasts of Boston Symphony Orchestra concerts on Wednesday evenings, Friday and Saturday evenings feature “The Music Garden”, in which various types of music are presented with extended selections and little or no interruption. On Sunday afternoons, WCRB presents “The Bach Hour”.
WKLB 102.9
WKLB 102.9 is a radio station broadcasting out of the Boston area. They play classical music 24/7. They have a wide range of music, from Bach to Beethoven to Brahms. If you’re a classical music lover, this is the station for you.
History
WKLB (102.9 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a classical music format. Licensed to Burlington, Massachusetts, United States, it serves the Greater Boston area. The station is owned by Beasley Broadcasting Group and features programming from American Public Media.
WKLB’s studios and offices are on Privet Road in Burlington, while its transmitter is atop William R. Nash Hill in Newton Upper Falls.
WKLB went on the air May 29, 1961 as WKOX-FM, a simulcast of AM 1230 WKOX (now WRCA). It was the FM sister station to WKOX, which had gone on the air two decades earlier. The station was originally licensed to Framingham, Massachusetts and later moved to Newtonville. In 1968, the call letters were changed to WROR-FM when the station became WRKO’s FM simulcast partner; WROR would eventually become a rock music powerhouse in its own right in the 1970s.
Programs
WKLB 102.9 is Boston’s only 24-hour classical music station, offering a wide variety of classical music programs for listeners of all ages and interests.
Each weekday morning, WKLB 102.9 features “Breakfast with Bach,” a two-hour program of classical music specifically chosen to start your day off right. If you’re a fan of chamber music, you’ll love “Chamber Music at Noon,” a one-hour program featuring music by some of the world’s greatest composers, performed by renowned chamber ensembles.
Other popular programs on WKLB 102.9 include “Boston Symphony Orchestra Live,” “The Sunday Symphony,” and “The Metropolitan Opera Radio Broadcast.” No matter what time of day or day of the week, there’s always something great playing on WKLB 102.9!
