Paul Cavalconte

Paul Cavalconte (Matthew Septimus)

Paul Cavalconte: The absolute sound is reality, but radio is the next best thing.

Paul Cavalconte grew up spinning discs from his parents’ expansive record collection in the basement of a big, old house in the Bronx. He had an eclectic musical palate from a young age, with interests spanning rock, pop, jazz, and more. But when it came to classical, he was intoxicated. He would flip and change 78 RPMs of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade like reels of an ancient movie, envisioning the action and drama as he craned his ears to hear past the crackle. After an adolescence spent DJing in the basement, Paul landed his first official radio gig as an on-air student volunteer at Fordham University’s WFUV. It was there that he got his first experience presenting classical music.

Today, Paul spends his weekends jumping from station to station, exploring all the myriad musical works that bring him joy. He is the weekend morning host of WQXR, where he plays everything from Bach to Dvořák and flexes his wax muscle with the midday Sunday Vinyl, cutting through the digital noise with an analog groove. On Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons, Paul can be heard on WNYC, where he delves deep into the American Songbook, mining for gold as he revels in the tradition’s countless wonders. And in the midst of a whirlwind weekend, Paul squeezes in a Sunday show at WFUV, the station where it all began over thirty years ago. We don’t know how he does it all!