Cleveland’s Classical Music Radio Stations

Cleveland is known for its rock and roll roots, but the city also has a long history with classical music. Check out these classical music radio stations the next time you’re in the area.

WCLV 104.9 FM

WCLV 104.9 FM is a radio station in Cleveland, Ohio that primarily broadcasts classical music. It is owned by Ideastream. The station’s studios are located in Playhouse Square in Downtown Cleveland and its transmitter is in Warrensville Heights. WCLV is the only full-time classical music radio station in Northeast Ohio.

History

WCLV 104.9 FM is a radio station in Cleveland, Ohio. It is owned by Ideastream and airs a classical music format.

WCLV’s studios and offices are located in Playhouse Square in Downtown Cleveland. Its transmitter is located on top of Key Tower in downtown Cleveland. WCLV is a non-commercial, listener-supported public radio station.

WCLV began life on November 7, 1955 as WJW-FM, the sister station to AM 1220 WJW (now WTAM). Both stations were owned by Storer Broadcasting and simulcast their programming. WJW-FM originally ran at 4250 kilocycles per second (kc) with 3,000 watts of power; it was the first FM radio station in Ohio with a full-time classical music format.

Playlist

Here is the playlist for WCLV 104.9 FM for the week of December 9th, 2019:

Sunday, December 8
6:00am – 10:00am* Melodies of Christmas with Bill O’Donnell
10:00am – 1:00pm It’s Overture! with Bill O’Donnell
1:00pm – 3:00pm Cleveland Orchestra Radio Broadcast with Andre Raphel and Tom Myers
3:00pm – 6:00pm A Symphony Sunday Afternoon with traffic comparison by Mike Shannon
6:00pm – 7:00pm The New York Philharmonic This Week with Alan Gilbert
7:00pm – 8:30pm Chicago Symphony Orchestra Radio Broadcast recorded live earlier today. Conductor Ricardo Muti. Pianist Lang Lang CSO Brahms 2 & Dvorak 9 (Begins at 7 p.m. Central)

WCPN 90.3 FM

WCPN 90.3 FM is a public radio station in Cleveland, Ohio that features local and national news, talk shows, and a variety of music programs. The station’s classical music programming includes live performances, interviews, and music history features.

History

WCPN (90.3 MHz “Ideastream”) is a public radio station in Cleveland, Ohio. It is the flagship station of Ohio Public Radio (OPR), and airs a classical music format. The station’s transmitter is located atop Carter Road in Warrensville Heights.

WCPN was founded in 1949 as WJW-FM by the Radio Reading Service, a service for the blind which had begun on WJW (850 AM) in 1945. The station originally simulcast the programming of its AM sister station. WJW-FM became an independent station in the early 1970s, airing a middle of the road music format as “Stereo 90.” In 1980, the station converted to a classical music format. The following year, it was acquired by Ideastream, then known as “Association for Community Broadcasting.”

Playlist

Here is the WCPN 90.3 FM playlist for the week of January 5 – 8, 2016!

Monday
1) HAYDN: String Quartet in E-flat, Op. 71, No. 3 – Empress Quartet
2) MENDELSSOHN: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in E minor, Op. 64 – James Ehnes,violin; Toronto Symphony Orchestra; David Zinman, conductor
3) WAGNER: Lohengrin: Act I – Richard Wagner
4) SCHUBERT: Symphony No. 8 in B minor (“Unfinished”), D 759 – Cleveland Orchestra; Christoph von Dohnanyi, conductor
5) LISZT: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 15 in A minor – Jorge Bolet, piano
6) BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 – New York Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein, conductor
7) JANACEK: Glagolitic Mass – Czech Philharmonic; James Levine, conductor

Tuesday
1) SHOSTAKOVICH: Chamber Symphony in C minor for Strings & Trumpet (Op. 110a), Arr Myaskovsky – gathered friends
2) RESPIGHI: Fontane di Roma (Fountains of Rome), P 151 – Philadelphia Orchestra; Riccardo Muti, conductor
3) ROSSINI: La gazza ladra (The Thieving Magpie), Overture – Orpheus Chamber Orchestra 4) GRIEG/STOKOWSKI: Norwegian Dance No. 1 (“Målløs”), Op. 35 (“Untitled”) – Leopold Stokowski & His Symphony Orchestra 5) CHOPIN/CASADESUS-GERSHWIN-RAVEL-STOKOWSKI arr.: Prelude in E-minor (“Raindrop”), Op. 28 #4 (after Chopin); Étude “The Man I Love”, Casadesus Version (after Gershwin); 1st mvt., Piano Concerto in G major (after Ravel); “Rhapsody In Blue”, Stokowski Configuration (after Gershwin); Toccata and Fugue in D Minor for orchestra and piano (attrib.; Stokowski version after Bach BWV 565 [in F major]) [fantasy] 6) LISZT/GUILD-WAGNER arr.: Les préludes Symphonic Poem #3 S 97/R 419 [1854] (‘Programmusic’) (“The Life of Man”); Huldigungsmarsch(“Triumphal March”), S 228/R 475 (‘Occasional Music’) [1864] (‘In Honor of Richard Wagner’) 7

WKRQ 91.7 FM

WKRQ 91.7 FM is a classical music radio station in Cleveland, Ohio. The station is owned by the University of Cincinnati. It has been on the air since 1978 and broadcasts classical music 24 hours a day.

History

WKRQ (91.7 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Cincinnati, Ohio. It is owned by iHeartMedia and airs a classical music radio format. The studios and offices are on 4th Street in Downtown Cincinnati.

The transmitter is atop Rowe Woods in Milford, Ohio. WKRQ broadcasts in the HD Radio hybrid format. It carries the programming of sister station WVXF 96.5 Classics for a Listen for two HD subchannels.

Early History
The station signed on the air on January 1, 1961 as WMKV-FM. At first, it simulcast the beautiful music of its sister station WMKV (1530 AM). But after a few months, the two stations split their programming, with WMKV-FM focusing on classical hits while WMKV AM switched to adult standards.

The call letters were changed to WAQE-FM in 1963 and then to WCIN-FM in 1968. The station was known as “Fine Arts 91” WCIN-FM. By day, it aired beautiful music but at night, it had a jazz format known as “Jazz at Night.”

Switching to Classical Music in 1971
In 1971, when WAQE AM switched from adult standards to Top 40 rock as “Hits 1530,” the FM station became WAQZ and flipped from beautiful music to contemporary hits as “Z91.” But within months, ownership decided that Cincinnati was not ready for two rock stations and WAQZ returned to its classical roots plus added some Jazz programs at night. The call sign was changed back to WCIN-FM on October 15, 1971.

Over the years WAQZ/WCIN-FM has had several changes of ownership but has mostly stayed with its classical music format except for a brief time in the mid-1980s when it briefly went all-news under the branding “Cincinnati’s News 91.”

Playlist

Here is the playlist for WKRQ 91.7 FM for the week of September 24:

Monday
8:00 a.m. – Bach Cantata No. 140 “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme”
9:00 a.m. – Vivaldi Violin Concerto in E major, RV 269 “Spring”
10:00 a.m. – Beethoven Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 “Choral”

Tuesday
8:00 a.m. – Haydn String Quartet in F major, Op. 77 No. 2
9:00 a.m. – Mozart Horn Concerto No. 4 in E flat major, K495
10:00 a.m. – Brahms Violin Concerto in D major, Op 77

Wednesday
8:00 a.m. – Schubert Impromptu in G flat major, D899/Op 90 No 3
9:00 a