Apple Music Classical Reviews

It takes a while to understand how to drill down to specific recordings in search. For instance, after searching for a composer and tapping on the link to show all albums, there’s another search bar that isn’t revealed until you happen to drag down. Searching for “box sets” is difficult. Try searching for the Deutsche Grammophon set of all Chopin’s works. Until I put in the exact title of the set, “Chopin Complete Edition,” I was not able to find it by a combination of search and browse. IDAGIO remains true north for pinpoint extensive search capability. I had hoped Apple would incorporate Primephonic’s Maestro feature, where some recordings have pop-up notes throughout the recording that give interesting musical and historical tidbits about the work or specific passages within it. There is “Track by Track,” new to Apple, where an artist talks about each track of a release, but it’s not the same. You’d have to have seen Maestro in Primephonic to know how cool it is. Settings for AppleMusicClassical are almost non-existent. Am I to assume the regular Apple Music app settings affect the Classical app too? How do I turn off spatial audio? How do I set to stream at hi-res over wifi but lower res over cellular? But yes, overall AppleMusicClassical is a step in the right direction and search is improved over regular Apple Music. I hope it is only a first step and that there will continue to be improvements and new features.

First, an app that caters to classical music’s different conventions is revelatory. Classical music recordings as an afterthought is an old problem, dating back to most bricks-and-mortar record stores that had a few bins off in the corner organized by some kid who could care less about it. Having things organized based on the greater complexity inherent in the genre is not only great for enthusiasts, but will help people new to classical music finally get past the “Best of Mozart” and “Soothing Classical Piano” compilations before they lose interest.

That complexity means added variables, and so Apple’s decision to introduce AppleMusicClassical only on a single device at first makes some sense. Work the kinks out on iPhone before adding variables by modifying the UI for iPad, Mac, and Apple TV devices.

That said, I surely do hope AppleMusicClassical will expand to those other devices soon. It should not be lost on Apple that the target audience for AppleMusicClassical likely has a higher propensity to prefer listening through home sound systems with amplifiers tied to good speakers. I have an Apple TV box tied to my system in the den. So presently, the Classical app is good for searching and finding things, but then I have to save it to my ‘library’ and pull it back up in the regular music app on the Apple TV. It will be better when there’s a Classical Music app on the ATV itself.

The Apple Music Classical app is really beautiful. I would say that it’s really well organized with great artwork, images, UI. However, the lack of a “Shuffle” option in playlists is a baffling. I totally understand not allowing shuffle when listening to organized concertos and symphonies, as each movement is intentionally composed to transition to the next one. However, seldom has such intentional flow, and at that such intricate transitions. Some of the playlist on Apple Music Classical are the same playlist that existed on the standard Apple Music app, which allowed for shuffling. I listen to playlists to be exposed to variety of similar or related pieces. Sometimes I might not make it all the way through, or I might really enjoy the theme of a playlist. In that case I’d continue to return to that playlist, but when I do, I don’t want to hear the same first five songs over and over. And when I go to the Apple Music Classical FAQ, it just says that Shuffle is not available, without giving any reason. With the exception of a lack of a shuffle option, I think AppleMusicClassical is really great. The library system is a bit confusing, but I think you can get used to it pretty quickly. The layout is smart, the artwork is evocative, and the library is plentiful.

Just now learning the ins and outs of AppleMusicClassical, which I’m sure will have a number of improvements down the road. But here are a couple of observations: 1.Love the dedicated focus on classical music. 2.Some of the features are nice: particularly those for beginners, such as the podcasts for the various musical periods. I also think the editor’s recommendations for particular recordings could be helpful. 3. Navigating isn’t always intuitive, and I find I go back to the general music app to play music, as it is easier to add a track, play next, etc. 4. Big wish: add the liner notes to the album that is playing. This would be particularly helpful when you want to follow the lyrics of a choral piece. Or better still, have English translations of the (often) Latin or maybe German lyrics show with the music. 5. Good start! Thank you. Adding to this review as I use more. Still like the search feature, but playing from AppleMusicClassical is cumbersome. For example, you can’t select something and “play next” or “play last”—only add to a Playlist. And again, as a liturgical choral music enthusiast, I would love to see the liner notes or lyrics on the Latin, German, etc vocal texts. Would be a lovely addition to opera as well.

AppleMusicClassical’s interface is very pleasing. The ability to search for pieces under a composer yields more results than if I were to be looking under a general search in regular Apple Music, which I really appreciate. I like how playlists organize pieces under composer name. The music suggestions they give may be basic, but that is mostly irrelevant. AppleMusicClassical is much better for finding classical pieces than regular Apple Music. However, that only extends to finding. When I try to listen to the music that I put in playlists, this is where I get most of my problems. Organizing and editing playlists makes AppleMusicClassical crash. Pressing play on a piece will actually cause AppleMusicClassical to play a completely different piece further up in the playlist. The pieces only play in the order you set them to in the playlist. There is no shuffle option. There is also no app in Apple Car Play to control the playing of music while driving. All these aspects force me to use regular Apple Music when actually listening to music. However, I would like to use AppleMusicClassical more often. If the glitching when pressing play was fixed, and the addition of a shuffle button was added, I would be much more happy. It would also be neat if an Apple Music Classical app were added to Apple Car Play.

Good in concept, except, there are some concerns, in an ever expanding online social aspect: 1) the lack of forum, post, or chat capability, and 2) not having some linkage to places such as The Met or other venues to provide updates of Classical Concerts that will be soon / in the coming months. I gauge Classical Music (really extends to all forms) as something social going, in the end. Separating into this set and “stand alone” app could in fact become a trend, with more offshoots (yes, this is more than theory, given automatons) of separate *geared mainly for such music lovers / concert goers* apps will develop. Congrats for creating such an app, even though is preliminary. Classical Music can really only really be enjoyed, continued, and have dialogue when having that in person concert going occurring, and then, since the original Dot Com times with MySpace and Facebook did happen and so on, the sense of online community for electronic communication bridging. And while I am doing what best possible to avoid some dubious concerns on why and how AppleMusicClassical came to be, I think that this being offered does allow for some enhancements in the long run for ALL that are musically talented, hope for their sounds &or voices to be heard, whether all together and varied &Or each on their own, and on, and on, and on.

Why in the world is the iPad version the size and shape of an iPhone?! After I installed it on my iPhone and took a quick tour around AppleMusicClassical , I have been extolling its virtues to friends and family all evening. It’s basically perfect. I love it. If you had asked me what I wanted in a classical music app, it would have looked pretty much identical to this. I got all excited to connect it to my stereo. The iPad in my living room has an HDMI connection to the receiver. I pull up AppleMusicClassical on my iPad and… ARRRGH! WHAT IS THIS MONSTROSITY? Who could possibly think this was a good idea? It pains me to think that Apple would allow such a stupid, limited interface on the iPad! Why, Apple, WHY?

EDIT, after a few weeks and one or more app updates, adding one star:
OK, it’s better, but I still don’t understand why AppleMusicClassical can’t use the whole screen of the iPad. Now you can enlarge it and turn it horizontal, and this gives you more visual space. But it’s still maybe half of the available iPad screen real estate, like a letterboxed widescreen movie on a 4:3 screen. Again, why? Is there some technical limitation that doesn’t apply to innumerable other apps? It seems very weird.

This is SO much better for classical music fans than the regular Apple Music app. Thank you very much for doing this. Love that there are curated playlists, recommended new albums with some editorial info about them (would love even more of that). Playlists and “track by track” feature are a pleasure (adds a lot to hear Yo Yo Ma explain something about what he’s playing and also share his playlist with you). Over time I hope you add much more of that. A couple suggestions: an iPad version would be great; also it can be a bit overwhelming when looking for a particular work to scroll through all the performance options. In addition to sorting by release date or popularity, how about an option to put artists that I’ve already starred as favorites first since those are who I am most likely to pick. Also, would love to shuffle my classical library or playlist by work rather than track or album (i.e., all movements of a piece in order without listening to the whole album, then move to the next). Overall, a great addition I have hope for for a long time. Thank you.

I’m a classical musician and listener as well as iOS app developer who loves Apple so AppleMusicClassical seemed too good to be true for me, and unfortunately it isn’t true.

It’s close, and I like being able to look through recordings of a specific work and save works as a whole, and mostly I just like the huge library and high quality audio. But there are many issues:

1. If you go to the work page for Beethoven Violin Concerto in D major, the list of tracks don’t have the violinist in the name ANYWHERE. sometimes it even has a cellist because there is also a cello concerto on the album. Violinist needs to be first, then conductor/orchestra.

2. You can’t share individual tracks, only full recordings. Makes it hard to share with friends.

3. (This is a big one for me) In the Library section, you lose the big album tiles and the “recently added” section that Apple Music has. I really want that back, it helps me look through for what I want to listen to. You also can’t edit the list of sections, while you can on Apple Music.

Overall the first point disappointed me because that should be the whole benefit of a specifically classical music app, and the third point disappointed me because it’s not as good as Apple Music. I also really want a Mac app. I hope that AppleMusicClassical improves, and I’m giving it 4 stars rather than lower because I do think it has potential and I want to see it grow into itself.

First, there is no excuse for the fact that the normal Music app can not do the right thing when listening to classical music. Note that the same could be said of jazz or other musical styles. Are we going to need an app for each genre? Then, to top it off, it is a phone app that does not adapt to the iPad well at all. Wasting space and just generally a bad experience. Why do I talk about the iPad? Well, when reading a book, I like to listen to music. I don’t do this on my iPhone but rather my iPad. It is far better for this task. So, not only do I need a second Apple Music app but it is not even well done with respect to the iPad. Oh, and it glitched a few times while playing my word game - a game that has no sound and I have always played music while playing the game. (Then again, Apple Music sometimes glitches while reading a book… have not tried that with Apple Classical yet) I was hoping for something far better but it barely is worth the frustration to address some serious weaknesses in the Apple Music app. It really should have been just adding those features to Apple Music. At least it would have been iPad optimized that way. Very disappointed in Apple - especially since they normally deliver a much better user experience.

I’ve been listening to soundtracks by Nicholas Britell on the regular music app. I would classify most (if not all) of his work as contemporary classical. Yet when I switched to the Apple Music Classical app, I noticed a concerning similarity to which of Nicholas Britell’s very classical-sounding soundtracks did not appear on the classical app. They were the soundtracks for works with predominantly Black (African-American) casts, and dealing with Black themes Namely “Moonlight”, “If Beale Street Could Talk”, and “The Underground Railroad” . I want to assume that poorly programmed algorithms edited out these albums. Regardless of how this came to be, this should be looked into because obviously some human biases were programmed into the selection process.

I would posit that Britell’s soundtracks for “Succession” are far less “classical” than the soundtracks that I mentioned above; however, they appear on the Classical app.

While all of his soundtracks do not appear on the Classical App, it is very suspicious all three of his work for films and series focused on Black/African American experiences have been omitted. With the exception of “The Free State of Jones” which deals with the topic of slavery in America, however, Matthew McConaughey, a White man, is the only face on the album art.

After a rough couple of weeks, I’ve just been resting and listening to classical music today on a stereo pair of HomePod minis. The sound quality is amazing. It’s so easy to find the music I want to hear. I listened to my dad’s favorite piece The Moldau by Smetana. Then I found a whole group of melancholy string pieces that met me right where I was emotionally. Beautiful music can be so healing! I love the curated lists. I recently discovered the cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, and I love listening to everything on his playlist in addition to his own recordings. There’s something touching to me that Bach’s Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring was first on his list as it is one of my favorites. As a teenager, I remember going to Borders Bookstore and picking out tapes and cds of classical music. Some of the same recordings I loved then are in the library. I almost can’t wrap my head around how amazing it is to have a curated collection of the world’s best classical music recordings so easy to access from my phone. Feeling grateful for the ease of bringing beautiful classical music into my life!

I love that classical music is breaking out into its own app. The filtering functions are very cool and I love how specific you can get (ensemble, soloist, etc.) I was extremely impressed with a feature in the opera essentials. When you click on the opera, AppleMusicClassical provided a synopsis which is extremely helpful. It also lists other singers who have sung the aria as well as similar arias. I did not like, however, that the description of what opera is stated that it is “musical theater on steroids”. The descriptions of what each instrument and voice type are also leave something to be desired. Overall a fantastic concept, I feel classical music needs more depth and attention than other genres of music and this is a great first step in that direction. They also feature a history playlist that seems very interesting!

Some features I would love to see: 1. sheet music (for pieces that are public domain) so the listener can follow along with the piece. 2. Translations for the art songs and opera arias!

It says a lot about how good AppleMusicClassical is that my criticisms of it are basically just wanting more and easier access to it.

For example, I love AppleMusicClassical on my iPhone, but I also listen to music on my other Apple devices, and it’s a bit disappointing that those systems don’t have AppleMusicClassical. It would also be great if there were more fluidity between AppleMusicClassical and the regular music app. For example, if I hit play on my AirPods, after a period of inactivity, it will play the last thing I was listening to on the regular music app instead of the last thing I was listening to on classical.

I would also love it if Apple expanded on the “Story of Classical” pieces to build out its own broader classical podcast. I really love the way Guy Jones tells the interesting stories of classical and how it got from one place to another. It has vastly increased my understanding of and appreciation for this music.

In a lot of ways, classical lost out on the last few generations of music because only modern recording and consumer headphone technology can really capture what is so amazing about it. All the nuance and dynamics of classical only work when you can cancel out the noise and hear every little frequency. I’m so glad to be able to hear this music as it was intended just about anywhere, so please finish the job, Apple, and let’s make this the music of the people again.

There are many features here for those of us with a love of classical music. Others have commented on how one can explore by instrument, genre, and period of music. But… Why can’t I stack recordings and lists for playback and then randomize them. I nightly select quiet, gentle music, randomize, and then sleep with my headphones on masking background sounds (helped by noise canceling headphones). I’ll select, let’s say, guitar adagio albums (all the music isn’t actually adagio but still slow) and set up 6 hours or more randomized (these are single movements) and then the whole set repeats. This is NOT available on this new classical app. Oh well.

Update (4-7-23): I love their groupings by composer, genre, period of music, etc. It’s amazing to see 435 recordings of “The Rite of Spring”. I love it! However, surely Anton Webern cannot remotely be categorized as a Romantic era composer!! Apple, please have someone with more knowledge go over your lists again. And you might want to consider having a Post-Romantic classification for the likes of Mahler and Bruckner.

Good UI/UX design should liberate a user to experience new things they couldn’t otherwise with more ease. So often this new interface achieves this, and that is vital because there is little to AppleMusicClassical that differentiates it from the regular music app besides a few comments, curated playlists, and UI/UX. UI/UX is unusually relevant for AppleMusicClassical. There are so many ways it enables new experiences, but there are two seemingly deliberate design choices that contradict this:

-The ability to add a song to a queue (“play next”) manually

-The ability to shuffle

I think bluntness is appropriate here. These are in my opinion cowardly design choices. They can only derive from a fear that the interface won’t adequately enable the desired experiences. I disagree, and to any extent that that’s arguably true, it can be solved through small design changes that further encourage people to use AppleMusicClassical in the more helpful ways that have been curated.

You did great with AppleMusicClassical. If you don’t want shuffle, I understand that’s more debatable in context of what AppleMusicClassical is for, but don’t let fear hold you back from implementing “play next” in AppleMusicClassical. It’s a bold design you should be confident enough in for “play next” to not undermine the UI/UX. Don’t get in your own way from a place of fear. Be bold in showing more people the beauty of classical music through this artful UI/UX design.

While it is true that classical music has some specific features, having a separate app is a bit drastic. Especially when it integrates so poorly with the rest of Apple Music and Apple’s ecosystem. Full of bugs that should not have made it beyond alpha testing. For example, when selecting to display “all” playlists from Apple Music, only some are shown with no logic which are filtered out. Completely randomly. Just as randomly as some songs in your playlists are often replaced with nonsense in the music app.
Besides some good additions like options to browse by composer, instrument, orchestra, it is not a major improvement of the Music app. And what is with the iPhone only interface? Why do we pay big money for for iPads if we do not get an adequate apps? How come one cannot enjoy the classical music experience on appleTv and play it on a proper audio system?
I expect that AppleMusicClassical will disappear in a year or so. It is a nice display of the declining standards of a company that was once known for good integration, polished interfaces, and solid engineering.

I recently subscribed to the Apple Music classical app and I have been thoroughly impressed with my experience so far. AppleMusicClassical offers a vast library of classical music, including works from legendary composers like Beethoven, Mozart, and Bach, as well as contemporary artists. The user interface is clean and easy to navigate, making it simple to find the music I want to listen to.

One of the standout features of AppleMusicClassical is the curated playlists. Whether you're in the mood for a specific composer or want to discover new classical music, the playlists are expertly crafted and always provide a wonderful listening experience. AppleMusicClassical also allows you to save your favorite pieces and playlists, making it easy to access your favorite music at any time.

The sound quality is excellent, with crisp and clear audio that really brings the music to life. I also appreciate the background information and insights provided for each piece, giving me a deeper understanding and appreciation for the music.

Overall, I am extremely satisfied with the Apple Music classical app and would highly recommend it to anyone who loves classical music. Whether you're a seasoned fan or just starting to explore this genre, AppleMusicClassical offers a fantastic way to discover and enjoy the beauty of classical music.

I only use Apple Music to listen to classical pieces, and it is nice to see a new app that is specifically designed for it. With the original app, it is often hard to navigate for the pieces I want to listen to. And also very distracting when I suddenly hear lyrics coming out of the speakers.(Lyrics limits my imagination while classical is complexed and are often played with emotions.)
With this new app, I am able to focus on my favorite composers and conductors. Despite the ease it brought to me, I am disappointed when I found out that AppleMusicClassical does not have an iPad version.(I usually listen from an iPad due to its loud speakers and can be stabilized on a piano. This way I can use the sound played as a reference. AppleMusicClassical , though, can only be used vertically, which the iPad won’t stand.)
It will be nice if a horizontal version for iPad is built, Apple.

I’m almost reluctant to say that Apple hit this out of the park for me. Limitless ways to search, great little bios on Many composers, soloists, and even instruments. The engine seems to work well and fast. Finally and most importantly (to me) is that the audio quality is great. Even over Bluetooth, the sound is more than satisfactory but when you really want to relax and pull out every detail, plug in your favorite headphones and take it all in. Also, there are narrated historical playlists compiled. These are an engaging lesson on the historical details of specific genres of classical. I’m currently checking out the baroque lesson. Fantastic explanations that present examples in between. If your in to classical, instrumental, or music history this is a great addition. The creators will probably never see this but Thank You!ll Well done and I’m looking forward to what else you come up with.

Keeping classical music and modern music is essential for the classical music enthusiasts. Traditional Apple Music algorithms don’t work in the context of classical, I don’t want to listen to classical and than rap. Classical is music, but it has a different motive when listening to it, it’s classical music, not a genre, it’s a whole separate thing. That’s what some of these low reviewers don’t understand. I don’t want classical to play in Apple Music, I want a separate app. This is what I want, when I’m in the mood for Classical I don’t want alternative to play next, I’m in the mood for classical. I want a separate algorithm for my classical, I don’t want my classical side to even know my traditional side. That’s what AppleMusicClassical is for, people who don’t get the point will rate it low. Admittedly it’s not for everyone, that’s why it exists.

Thanks for today’s update. The new iPad version is great! I do want to mention that in the current version, AppleMusicClassical sometimes crashes while scrolling through lists.

Other glitches: when playing an album or track, album art doesn’t always pop up. Gapless playback doesn’t always function properly- there are random gaps between tracks where there shouldn’t be. None of these issues exists on Presto Classical’s streaming service.

Also, other classical music streaming services (Presto, Idagio) have the feature of digital booklets where available. This is a fairly major omission on Apple’s part, for me at least, and I hope there are plans to add this feature. In the meantime, it is possible to download booklets from the above-mentioned services without having paid subscriptions.

The idea of a dedicated classical music streaming app is intriguing. Engaging with classical is a very different process than engaging with pop music, so some optimized functionality could go a long way. And by and large, AppleMusicClassical is pretty successful. Being able to search for composers, players, and pieces makes finding recordings a lot easier. AppleMusicClassical syncing with my regular music app helps a lot too. But there’s some problems. I won’t talk about the shuffle issue as everyone else already has. Instead I’ll talk about the jankiness of the sync function. For whatever reason, not all of my classical recordings from the main music app transfer over. When I try to add the recordings to the classical app, they don’t show up in my classical library. Similarly, certain recording I add to my main library don’t sync with my classical library but others do. I find this very frustrating, as it makes it more convenient to just use the main app to listen to classical.

This is a fantastic way to discover and learn about classical music. The way things are organized seems to make sense and slices the data in a way that works really well for the unique needs of the sprawling classical music catalog. Other music apps are geared towards a single recording of a piece, whereas in classical music, the piece has often been recorded hundreds of times by different musicians. Being able to browse by work is very valuable indeed.

One relatively minor annoyance: the “now playing” widget at the bottom of AppleMusicClassical seems to lose what is currently playing quite often after AppleMusicClassical is put in the background or my device locked. I haven’t figured out steps to reproduce it yet, but it’s inconvenient when you’ve browsed away from what’s playing and then that loses track of it as well.

Overall, this is the best way I’ve found to consume classical music.

Most specific compositions are mislabeled. Terrible filter options in the music library. No shuffle play on tracks in your library. Glitchy to the point where it will play the wrong track when you click on it. Use over time causes your music to be unplayable until you restart AppleMusicClassical . Can’t choose specific songs to download. The search is not super user-friendly as it is hard to find certain compositions by certain composers with certain performers. All in all, AppleMusicClassical is in its newest state and I’m sure many of these issues will be fixed soon. One positive, however, is the pure amount of music that is offered. I have yet to try any curated playlists or use any of the advanced features but AppleMusicClassical looks beautiful and seems high quality. That being said, I give it two stars cause I know it could be and will be better in the future.

Update: it’s been a while since AppleMusicClassical was made and it’s an absolute joke. There’s more classical albums on “Apple Music” than in AppleMusicClassical and EVERYTHING is mislabeled it’s insane. Please don’t waste your time and just use Apple Music instead to generate your classical music catalog

This is a fantastic way to discover and learn about classical music. The way things are organized seems to make sense and slices the data in a way that works really well for the unique needs of the sprawling classical music catalog. Other music apps are geared towards a single recording of a piece, whereas in classical music, the piece has often been recorded hundreds of times by different musicians. Being able to browse by work is very valuable indeed.

One relatively minor annoyance: the “now playing” widget at the bottom of AppleMusicClassical seems to lose what is currently playing quite often after AppleMusicClassical is put in the background or my device locked. I haven’t figured out steps to reproduce it yet, but it’s inconvenient when you’ve browsed away from what’s playing and then that loses track of it as well.

Overall, this is the best way I’ve found to consume classical music.

If you're a fan of classical music, the Classical app is a must-have. This beautifully designed app offers a vast library of classical music, from beloved masterpieces to lesser-known gems. With easy-to-use navigation and search functions, you can quickly find and listen to your favorite works by composers such as Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and more.

One of the standout features of the Classical app is its high-quality audio, which allows you to fully appreciate the nuances and subtleties of each composition. You can also create custom playlists to suit your mood or occasion, making it easy to enjoy classical music wherever you go.

Overall, I highly recommend the Classical app to anyone who loves classical music. It's a well-designed, easy-to-use app that provides endless hours of listening pleasure.

After using it for about two weeks, I can say that Apple Music Classical is absolutely essential for perusing classical music on a streaming platform. No other mainstream music streaming service does it this well.

That being said, AppleMusicClassical still feels empty. A few features that I would consider essential to any app like this are missing: no macOS support, no ability to directly download music from within AppleMusicClassical (you have to add it to your library then switch back to regular Apple Music to download), no CarPlay support, and no real-time lyrics for operas. That last one is a particular pain point for me— the fact that I always need to have a separate app open to follow the lyrics (and lyrical translations) is really annoying, and I feel it should be baked in to Apple Music Classical.

I really hope that these features will be added in the near future. But until then, my review will top out at 3 stars.