Apple’s Classical App Explained: What’s Fun — and What Falls Flat
Video Overview & Insights
Apple Music Classical is a separate app, available to Apple Music subscribers on iOS. CNET’s Bridget Carey explains how the new app hits the right notes for experts and beginners — but switching between two music streaming apps isn’t always harmonious.
Also, I understand that Apple Music classical will work with your current library of classical music. Does it require you to pay a monthly service charge for streaming?
0:00 Apple Music Classical Has Arrived
0:29 Apple's Duet of Music Apps
So every demo I see of the classical music app is on an iPhone. I have an iPhone 7 which is way too small to do much on; so my question is the following: "is the there a classical music app for macOS and the iOS?".
1:47 Apple Music Classical Hits a High Note
3:39 Not Your Grandson's Music App
Love the humor in this video. See? Not all classical music lovers are overly serious and humorless!
4:52 Apple Music Classical Strikes a Wrong Chord
6:01 Coda: Why Apple Classical Matters
The Apple Music app is rubbish. You can't even resize or delete album cover pictures.
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This assessment is alright and very basic, someone who understand classical music and more music technicality needs to review.
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It sounds interesting, but not quite accessible enough. I don’t own iPhone, and while I own iPad, I wouldn’t want to listen to music through it. I have a better setup on my PC with amplifier and decent wired headphones. I think for people really interested in good quality audio listening through mobile device will always be hard sell - it is a nice option to have, but not a preferable way of studying music.
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Bridget is bringing me Molly Wood vibes and I’m honestly here for it. Humor and also nerdery and specificity is the lane where CNET should live on the internet. Great job!
#apple #applenews #classicalmusic
Enjoyed your cheeky music puns! Thanks for reviewing and yes I agreed with most of your comments especially about lack of integration with Siri. I do like the classical music app though as it is a step forward especially for us professional musicians and teachers !
More User Perspectives
I see Bridget, I click. bravo 👏
@jkadeHonestly, YouTube is my go-to for classical music. I like seeing the musicians create the music I'm listening to. I personally feel like classical music deserves my full attention; it's not something I'll just have in the background just to have music. That's just not being appreciative of the magnificent melodies that bless my ears.
@djat7933Waiting for a jazz section to be added
@MrStoyan5The bought Primephonic’s data base but didn’t keep its radio feature which was by far one of the best characteristics of the platform.
@juanfragueiroaramburuYoutube & Youtube Music is WAAAY better for classical, and honestly you won't need more than that. If you're a pro listener you already know what to search for, and if you're a beginner or a casual listener you can search for playlists & start from there. In both cases, the excellent recommendation algos have got you covered therefrom.
@PedanticPatrolHi Bridget I am glad to know we enjoy every good CLASSICAL TOGETHER. GRAZIE MILLIE BRIDGE TE(SUN) ELLE~
@REALTORSAMMYVery glad that classical is getting the attention it deserves but I think we can all see the day when the Classical app is discontinued and its functionality is rolled into the Music app as it should have been from the beginning.
@mangoldmThis was really well produced and presented. Bridget is great. Regarding the app...it's a nice search engine at this point. Finding works, recordings, etc. is more convenient on the new app. However, looking through your personal library is a pain and I'm forced to go back to the main app.
@Danny_Red_PillianThe idea you can simply Airplay to a Mac or Apple TV device is BS… I mean you can…
But you are then echoing a decoded stream… not using the DAC on the destination device…
& if the ultimate device is a 7.2.4 Dolby Atmos device… well, it doesn’t.
Music shows as Dolby ATMOS on my iPhone… but AirPlayed to Apple TV becomes stereo.
I hope Apple is truly serious and releases an Android app. You need to address 100% of the mobile device user base to be successful in the music streaming market. Until Apple music is compatible with the higher end music streaming hardware, such as Blue Sound, I'll stick with Qobuz.
@pilotpete2I appreciate Apple creating this app! Also it would be interested to see how this sort of approach could be applied to folk music from around the world and samples and covers in pop music. Let’s get the history and layers behind the music. How many times has this one song actually been recorded?
@euphony93the problem with apple music classical isn’t anything to do with the app itself
it’s just that nobody wanted to do a git merge
like i get it it’s annoying but still
Far too many puns
@Cheesus4YouAudiophiles will use a dedicated DAP, wired headphones and if available, recordings in DSD.
@Igor_Itkin"Gideon started to this app..." gotcha there 🫣
@mdrakicI'm out until it integrates with Roon. The classical library in Qobuz is actually quite good.
@jennconductsDe🅱️ussy 😳😳
@conancatGreat video and analysis! I don't use Apple products, but as far as I can tell, there is not much new here. Qobuz, the French streaming platform, is excellent for classical music and offers everything that a lover of classical music wants. Its Android app is great.
@diederikverstraete3210IS IT ALSO ON ANDROID? IS IT FREE??? IS IT ACCESSIBLE????? I NEED THIS APP SSSOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH😭😭😭😭 I'LL UNINSTALL MY SPOTIFY JUST FOR THIS😭😭😭😭 DEDICATION FOR PEOPLE WHO LOVE CLASSICAL MUSIC, ME WANT IT!!!!😱😤😱😤😱😤
@dep7311Are you sure about the point raised at 5:48? The minute Apple Classical went live, I searched for and then played Leonard Bernstein conducting/narrating Camille Saint-Saëns’ The Carnival of the Animals (a 1960s recording and beloved childhood favorite) through my HomePod speakers, and it worked fine. Granted, I first brought it up on my iPhone and then directed it to my HomePods, rather than asking Siri through my HomePods to retrieve it. In any case, I hope your audience understands Apple Classical recordings can absolutely be played through one or more HomePods!!!
@danopticonWow…what a presentation.
@thomasnguyen1this lady seems to be on a sugar high. Calm down!!!!
@ajmarr5671Sort by Gender.
Yes, the app lists, and has works by many female composers (props to the developers for that). But with one exception, to find them, you have to already know the name of the composer you're looking for (the exception is a section of the app called "Composer Essentials," where they've curated works by female and Black composers, along with the regular fare of dead white males).
But other than that single section, which can be found a ways down the main page, the app's interface only serves to perpetuate the "musical misogyny" that has plagued classical music for its entire history.
"Sort by Gender" is one change would go a long ways towards changing that. There are other things that could be done as well, but I think that's the simplest and most effective.
I’m so grateful they came out with this app! I hope they Continue to develop it. Being able to search by conductor is nice.
@wishingonthemoon1For me, It’s redundant.
@KJSCalderonThis is a good video but I am glad the conductor gimmick in the beginning ended, it really stressed me out for some reason.
@Kevon420Channeling Lydia Tar? 😂
@dlnnyc64@ 6:50 made me smile hahahaha creative expression
@kamaluchika6656Find this review spot on and humorous. On the serious side, I find the spatial audio in Classical to be a definite improvement over listening to the same piece in Apple Music - example is Rachmaninoff’s second symphony’s prelude in c-sharp minor. Reading the macabre mindset of the composer when he composed this piece at the age of 19, and listening to it in spatial audio gives me the goosebumps.
@VSV659Can’t wait for Apple Music Metal
@DanielKwanthe art is just horrible, have you seen Wagner's portrait? a major composer. and we have even photos of the man for christ's sake... if we don't care about actual resemblance anymore, they could've opted for abstract art, just make everyone into triangles and be done with it
@MichaelKilesaI love that app
@Selim6472We needed something to take Bach to the future.
@petergregory7199What is the name of the piece that opens at 3:39?
@hifikenyaGreat to see more support for classical music lovers. How does this compare to Idagio?
@benfarrow9498Am trying not to be just another troll, but seems like she is pronouncing a lot of the classical composers names and pieces wrong (Debussy, Blue Danube...). Maybe someone with a tiny bit more appreciation of classical music should have reviewed a classical music app? But could be wrong.
@peter3860Another Classical lacuna is Car Play. You can easily select Music, but Classical isn’t available. The work-around of making a Classical playlist that can be played in Music is cumbersome. I realize that Classical has just been released so I have high hopes for the future.
@BillMerchantVideoLoved the video. It is very entertaining. About the Apple product itself, I was tempted to try it on my wife's phone, but I'm having a hard time figuring out what is the advantage over, say, Qobuz. The French company curates their content quite well for my taste, and we get booklets! I'm not entirely sold on spatial audio until all music streaming platforms offer it on all major music streamers (I don't want to be locked in an Amazon or Apple ecosystem).
On the Pro column, I'd say it is refreshing to see a major music retailer worldwide putting in the effort to present classical music in a way that suits the needs of the listener. Apple's move in that direction is laudable. I used to be a Primephonic subscriber and I thought buying them was a smart move. For those thinking that the classical music market is done, there is a recent trend of more young people listening to classical music, and it seems Apple is paying attention. I hope the company will continue its effort to make a great app that helps new audiences to consume this extraordinary and unsurpassed body of artistic expression and musical tradition.
Bravo!
@philmcneal4971The first on-screen example (at 2:03) showed immediately why this app still has a long way to go before it’s really usable. If you’re going to search for recordings of, say, Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.5, it’s no good returning a list of results which only shows the orchestra and the conductor. The primary distinguishing characteristic of the recordings is the name of the soloist, and that isn’t shown - useless.
@KingOuf1erCringy puns aside, thanks for the intro!
@suninmoon4601Who is this person? This video is great. I have to figure out how to get more of her videos without getting a bunch of other content that does not interest me. I have poked around the Apple Classical Music app since it came it out. After total frustration with classical music on various music services over the years, my initial impression of the new Apple classical music app is pleasant surprise.
@royclarke4734