From 14-year-old mandolinist to 18-year-old violinist: 600 years of classical music in a single day

The schedule for Oct. 31, 2026, at WVIZ lists 40-plus works spanning four centuries. The lineup begins at midnight with Charles Noblet's Clavier Suite No. 1 in C and ends past 1 p.m. with a repeat of the Classical Weekend block. No other dates or times are provided.

The broadcast spans 13 hours of continuous classical music. The first hour, from 12 a.m. to 1 a.m., is hosted by Peter van de Graaff. He programs short pieces, including Johann Benda's Harpsichord Concerto in D, which runs 15 minutes and 20 seconds, and Serge Bortkiewicz's Symphony No. 2, which runs 32 minutes and 35 seconds.

The second hour, from 1 a.m. to 2 a.m., continues under van de Graaff's curation. It features five works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, including Flute Sonata No. 5 in C and Symphony No. 7 in D. The block also includes Robert Schumann's Piano Quartet in E-Flat, which runs 27 minutes and 21 seconds, and Schumann's Carnaval, Op. 9, performed by the Canadian Brass, which runs 1 minute and 43 seconds.

The third hour, from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m., shifts to wind and brass repertoire. It includes Ron Nelson's Rocky Point Holiday, a 1969 work, and Vittorio Giannini's Symphony #3 for Winds, a 1958 piece. The hour also features Paul Creston's A Rumor and Johann Nepomuk Hummel's Trumpet Concerto in E-Flat, which runs 18 minutes and 38 seconds.

The fourth hour, from 3 a.m. to 4 a.m., returns to van de Graaff. It opens with three works by American composer William Grant Still, including Two Panamanian Dances, which runs 5 minutes and 32 seconds. The hour also includes César Franck's Symphony in d minor, which runs 42 minutes and 24 seconds, and a madrigal by Claude de Serisy, which runs 1 minute and 36 seconds.

The fifth hour, from 4 a.m. to 5 a.m., is the longest continuous block of a single composer in the early morning. It features Richard Wagner's Parsifal and Carl Maria von Weber's Piano Sonata #3 in d. The hour also includes Johan Wagenaar's Wiener Dreivierteltakt and Johann Strauss II's Waltz, Wine, Women and Song, Op. 333, which runs 13 minutes and 12 seconds.

The sixth hour, from 5 a.m. to 6 a.m., closes the van de Graaff segment. It includes Johann Sebastian Bach's The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080, which runs 5 minutes and 47 seconds, and Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons, Concerto No. 2 in G minor, which runs 9 minutes and 46 seconds. The hour ends with Richard Wagner's Tannhäuser, which runs 23 minutes and 17 seconds, and David Popper's Etudes, Op 73, which runs 1 minute and 28 seconds.

At 6 a.m., the host changes to Frank Dominguez, who presents Concerto, a block dedicated to the Latin contribution to classical music. The hour includes works by Christoph Willibald Gluck, Tomas Luis de Victoria, Julian Menendez, and Astor Piazzolla, who composed La muerta del angel. The hour ends with Gustav Mahler's Totenfeier, which runs 23 minutes and 17 seconds, and Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, which runs 33 minutes.

At 8 a.m., Valerie Kahler hosts Performance Today Weekend. The block lists live recordings from venues in Prague, Menlo Park, Houston, Syracuse, Interlochen, and Frankfurt. Performers include the Pacifica Quartet, the ZaRiah Woodwind Quintet, and Jan Vogler. The hour also features Dvořák's String Quartet No. 12 in F Major, Op. 96, and Henri Dutilleux's Tout un monde lointain..

At 10 a.m., Clara Prinston hosts Classical Weekend. The block includes Edvard Grieg's Peer Gynt, Charles Gounod's Faust, Bernard Herrmann's Psycho, Franz Liszt's Mephisto Waltz No. 1, Antonín Dvořák's The Noonday Witch, and Charles Ives's Hallowe'en. At 11 a.m., Naomi Lewin hosts Classics for Kids, which includes Modest Mussorgsky's A Night on Bald Mountain, Luigi Boccherini's Symphony No. 6 in d, and Marshall Griffith's Hallowe'en Fantasy, composed in 2022.