Classic FM playlist, 8 October 2026

Last Updated on October 8, 2026

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By the numbers

135 pieces aired on Classic FM on 8 October 2026, captured live as each track changed.

Most-played composers

Plays by presenter

Mozart and Beethoven Lead Classic FM Playlist

Classic FM presented a broad programme on 8 October 2026, broadcasting 135 pieces that spanned several centuries of orchestral, instrumental, and choral music. The schedule leaned heavily towards core Classical and Romantic repertoire, balanced by regular interludes of evocative film music and reflective twentieth-century miniatures. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart led the day with seven entries, followed closely by Ludwig van Beethoven with six, while Claude Debussy and Johann Sebastian Bach each featured five times, lending the daytime hours a familiar and melodic character.

The early morning opened in a contemplative mood, pairing Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 8 with Ralph Vaughan Williams’s Folk Songs of the Four Seasons and William Haviland’s Our Little Blue Boat. As the morning advanced, the selections shifted towards grander symphonic movements and enduring favourites, including excerpts from Beethoven’s Pastoral and Fifth symphonies, Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, and movements from Tchaikovsky’s Fifth and Sixth symphonies. Notable cinematic additions such as John Barry’s theme from Dances with Wolves, Howard Shore’s The Lord of the Rings, and Francis Lai’s Love Story provided contrast alongside staples by George Frideric Handel, Alexander Borodin, and Edvard Grieg.

During the evening, the programming returned to more serene textures. Listeners heard Ralph Vaughan Williams’s The Lark Ascending, Gabriel Faure’s Pavane, and Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2, alongside recurring appearances from Debussy and Bach. The broadcast concluded on an understated, lyrical note, winding down through Stanley Myers’s Cavatina from The Deer Hunter, John Field’s Piano Concerto No. 1, and the second movement of Frederick Delius’s Florida Suite.

The full playlist

1. Piano Sonata No.8 in C minor Opus 13 (2), Ludwig van Beethoven
2. Folk Songs of the Four Seasons (3), Ralph Vaughan Williams
3. Our Little Blue Boat, William Haviland
4. A Downland Suite – Elegy, John Ireland
5. String Quartet No.2 in D major (3), Alexander Borodin
6. Gymnopedie No.1, Erik Satie
7. Robin Hood Prince of Thieves – Overture, Michael Kamen
8. Elizabethan Serenade, Ronald Binge
9. 'Simple Gifts', Aaron Copland
10. West Side Story – 'Maria', Leonard Bernstein
11. 'Non piu andrai', Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
12. Serenade for Strings Opus 22 (4), Antonin Dvorak
13. Symphony No.6 in F major Opus 68 (1), Ludwig van Beethoven
14. Petite Suite (1), Claude Debussy
15. Romeo & Juliet – Balcony Scene, Craig Armstrong
16. The Humming Chorus, Giacomo Puccini
17. Requiem Opus 48 – In Paradisum, Gabriel Faure
18. Love Story – Main Theme, Francis Lai
19. Oboe Concerto in D minor (2), Alessandro Marcello
20. Peer Gynt Suite No.1 (1), Edvard Grieg
21. Farewell to Stromness, Peter Maxwell Davies
22. Karelia Suite Opus 11 (1), Jean Sibelius
23. Guitar Concerto in A major Opus 30 (2), Mauro Giuliani
24. Thais – meditation, Jules Massenet
25. Goldberg Variations – Aria, Johann Sebastian Bach
26. Symphony No.5 in E minor Opus 64 (3), Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky
27. Piano Concerto No.1 in G minor Opus 25 (2), Felix Mendelssohn
28. The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Paul Dukas
29. Serenade for Strings (2), William Lloyd Webber
30. Requiem K.626 – Lacrimosa, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
31. In the Steppes of Central Asia, Alexander Borodin
32. Dances with Wolves – John Dunbar Theme, John Barry
33. Song to the Moon, Antonin Dvorak
34. Preludes Book 1 (8), Claude Debussy
35. Symphony No.1 in Bb major Opus 38 (2), Robert Schumann
36. Songs of the Auvergne – Bailero, Joseph Canteloube
37. Sarabande, George Frideric Handel
38. Symphony No.1 in C minor Opus 68 (3), Johannes Brahms
39. Concerto in D minor for 2 Violins (2), Johann Sebastian Bach
40. The Godfather – Love Theme, Nino Rota
41. Walking The Dog, George Gershwin
42. Horn Quintet in Eb major (3), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
43. Nocturne in Bb minor Opus 9 No.1, Frederic Chopin
44. Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte, Maurice Ravel
45. Le Onde, Ludovico Einaudi
46. Holberg Suite Opus 40 (3), Edvard Grieg
47. By the Beautiful Blue Danube Opus 314, Johann Strauss (II)
48. Flower Duet, Leo Delibes
49. Les Beautes du Diable, Francois Dompierre
50. Suo Gan, Traditional
51. L'Arlesienne Suite No.1 (4), Georges Bizet
52. 'Jesu, joy of man's desiring', Johann Sebastian Bach
53. Arabesque No.1 in E major, Claude Debussy
54. Carnival of the Animals (7), Camille Saint-Saens
55. Pomp & Circumstance March No.4 in G major Opus 39, Edward Elgar
56. Forgotten Dreams, Leroy Anderson
57. Prelude in Db major Opus 28 No.15, Frederic Chopin
58. Ghost – Main Theme, Maurice Jarre
59. Trumpet Voluntary Opus 6 No.5, John Stanley
60. Liebestraum No.3, Franz Liszt
61. Orchestral Suite No.1 in C major BWV.1066 (7), Johann Sebastian Bach
62. The Marriage of Figaro – Overture, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
63. Carmen – Habanera, Georges Bizet
64. Bagatelle No.25 in A minor WoO.59, Ludwig van Beethoven
65. 5 Bagatelles Opus 23 (4), Gerald Finzi
66. String Quartet No.2 in D major (3), Alexander Borodin
67. Wedding Day at Troldhaugen Opus 65 No.6, Edvard Grieg
68. Violin Concerto in E minor Opus 64 (3), Felix Mendelssohn
69. Ride of the Valkyries, Richard Wagner
70. Violin Concerto No.1 in D major Opus 6 (3), Niccolo Paganini
71. Intermezzo in Bb minor Opus 117 No.2, Johannes Brahms
72. Trumpet Concerto in Eb major Hob.VIIe:1 (3), Joseph Haydn
73. Piano Sonata No.16 in C major (1), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
74. The Lord of the Rings – The Council of Elrond, Howard Shore
75. Vltava, Bedrich Smetana
76. Doctor Zhivago – Lara's Theme, Maurice Jarre
77. Piano Quintet in A major D.667 (4), Franz Schubert
78. Hallelujah Chorus, George Frideric Handel
79. West Side Story – 'America', Leonard Bernstein
80. Nocturne in Eb major Opus 9 No.2, Frederic Chopin
81. Les Miserables – A heart full of love / On my own, Claude-Michel Schonberg
82. Tambourin, Francois Joseph Gossec
83. Symphony No.5 in C minor Opus 67 (1), Ludwig van Beethoven
84. Elegia, Karl Jenkins
85. Barcarolle, Jacques Offenbach
86. River Flows in You, Yiruma
87. Symphony No.6 in B minor Opus 74 (2), Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky
88. A Musical Joke (4), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
89. Symphony No.101 in D major (2), Joseph Haydn
90. Ritual Fire Dance, Manuel de Falla
91. Requiem Mass – Dies Irae, Giuseppe Verdi
92. Holberg Suite Opus 40 (1), Edvard Grieg
93. The Lord of the Rings – Breaking of the Fellowship, Howard Shore
94. Carmen – Seguidilla, Georges Bizet
95. Requiem Opus 48 – In Paradisum, Gabriel Faure
96. The Bartered Bride – Overture, Bedrich Smetana
97. Trumpet Tune, Jeremiah Clarke/Henry Purcell
98. Piano Concerto No.1 in Bb minor Opus 23 (2), Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky
99. Cavalleria Rusticana – Intermezzo, Pietro Mascagni
100. The Barber of Seville – Overture, Gioachino Rossini
101. Panis Angelicus, Cesar Franck
102. A Simple Symphony (2), Benjamin Britten
103. Scheherazade Opus 35 (1), Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov
104. Carmen – Aragonaise, Georges Bizet
105. Suite Bergamasque (3), Claude Debussy
106. Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Opus 43 (18), Sergei Rachmaninov
107. The Land of the Mountain & the Flood, Hamish MacCunn
108. Consolation No.3, Franz Liszt
109. Pavane opus 50, Gabriel Faure
110. Gymnopedie No.3, Erik Satie
111. The Lord Bless You & Keep You, John Rutter
112. Piano Concerto No.11 in F major (2), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
113. The Princesses' Round Dance, Igor Stravinsky
114. 'Who is Sylvia?', Gerald Finzi
115. Variations on an Original Theme Opus 36 (9), Edward Elgar
116. Antar (7), Maurice Ravel
117. Violin Concerto in E minor Opus 64 (2), Felix Mendelssohn
118. 'Wachet auf' (4), Johann Sebastian Bach
119. Scheherazade Opus 35 (3), Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov
120. Symphony No.7 in A major Opus 92 (2), Ludwig van Beethoven
121. Requiem – Kyrie, Tomas Luis de Victoria
122. Preludes Book 1 (8), Claude Debussy
123. Out of Africa – Main Theme, John Barry
124. Piano Concerto No.2 in F major Opus 102 (2), Dmitri Shostakovich
125. The Lark Ascending, Ralph Vaughan Williams
126. Carnival of the Animals (13), Camille Saint-Saens
127. The Victorian Kitchen Garden : Suite (1), Paul Reade
128. Song to the Moon, Antonin Dvorak
129. Elevazione, Domenico Zipoli
130. Symphony No.4 in A major Opus 90 (3), Felix Mendelssohn
131. Piano Concerto No.5 in Eb major Opus 73 (2), Ludwig van Beethoven
132. Melodie Opus 42 No.3, Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky
133. The Deer Hunter – Cavatina, Stanley Myers
134. Piano Concerto No.1 in Eb major (2), John Field
135. Florida Suite (2), Frederick Delius