Apple Music Classical App Reviews

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Current issues. Thanks for today’s update. The new iPad version is great! I do want to mention that in the current version, the app 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.

Quite Intruguing. 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 this app 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.

Great idea but why another app? And why not iPad?. 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.

Exciting. I’ve been patiently waiting for this app and it exceeded all my expectations!! I absolutely love the composer pages where you can see all the collected works, select a work, read about it, and see all the different recordings of just that work. The instrument specific pages are so great as well. Everything is so organized and logical. I also love the 9 part story of classical music and cant wait to listen to them. I’ll get to see how much I remember from my music history classes in university. This app is so exciting to me as a classical musician because it not only tells me that there is a demand for an app like this (yay! Classical music is alive!) but also because it is making classical music even more accessible, interesting, and digestible.

It’s a good start, but…. 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, the app 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 the app (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.

Great new idea!. 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, the app 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!

Need iPadOS and MacOS versions and crossover features. It says a lot about how good this app is that my criticisms of it are basically just wanting more and easier access to it. For example, I love this app 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 this app. It would also be great if there were more fluidity between this app 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.

I get it now. 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.

So thankful!. 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!

Unfortunate Requirement of Apple Music Subscription. I understand Apple wants to get into the subscription based platform that everyone has gone to now, but this app is only that. Even for pieces that I have already purchased on the iTunes store, there is literally no point to this app without an Apple Music subscription. There is no option to purchase an individual song or album (by the way, same is true for the Music app, which should be an option), and not even an option to hear a sample of the song without the stupid subscription. You would think I could play a piece that is ALREADY DOWNLOADED and purchased in the music app, just on the Apple Music Classical app instead. I think if I had known this would be the end result of an app like this, I would rather Apple just incorporated it into the pre-existing Music app. Great idea of an app, but extremely poor execution in terms of connecting with other Apple based apps. Very disappointing.

Needs shuffle. Almost perfect. So great to have a user experience custom tailored to classical music. I’m guessing there’s no shuffle because the team found it difficult to reconcile works vs tracks. My suggestion to the design team: don’t overthink it, shuffling tracks is fine. There’s no need to shuffle at 30+ minute intervals amongst full works. Here’s the use case: I love piano concertos. I found a whole bunch I’ve never heard before. If I listen to them in the same order in a playlist, they’ll “burn in” to my memory faster and I get bored with them sooner. Shuffling the tracks gives me a fresh experience every time I listen. It would be great to see this feature added. It might actually be a deal-breaker that causes me to stick with my existing music service.

Just wow. I feel like I’ve been waiting over twenty years for this app, since the dawn of the mp3 era, my non-classical music is easily organized by artist/album/song, but my library of classical works? Sometimes indexed by composer, sometimes performer, sometimes the title of a work. And now: perfection. Works, composers, styles, instruments, performers, it’s all indexable. What really stands out to me is the curation. This was obviously a work of love, taking apart the 1000s of classical albums in Apple Music, breaking them down by all of those possible groupings, and then coming up with “editors choices” and scholarly blurbs for each! A joy to explore and discover.

Broken and lacks feature. The app doesn’t have a shuffle feature, lacks a lot of the control Apple Music comes with such as playlist editing en masse, swipe to remove, etc. And for larger playlists you can’t always select a song. I selected one lower in my playlist and it started playing a piece 20+ up the playlist. Impossible to select songs on the back half so I click and then have to skip a ton of recordings to get to the one I want. Furthermore, the amount of times that I have “added” something to my playlist and am adding lots at a time to find out that the last 15 additions were not added is insufferably high. One would think that because Apple made this and has Apple Music that it would have the bare functionality that Apple Music has and yet somehow it doesn’t. Oh and if you, like me, want to segregate your musical preferences so that on long drives your listening to the songs you like and not classical say goodbye. I get 14+ straight recommendations of classical when I’m in the Apple Music app because of this app. The good features, such as grouping all pieces together in a playlist and giving them a large title is a nice touch. IMHO, this app is too broken to be in the released state.

Nice but Missing Features. The library is awesome. The music quality is awesome. Also, there is no download feature so you have to stream high quality, lossless audio iusing your data plan or having to be tethered to WiFi. Hopefully they will fix these things because this app deserves it. Edit: The iPad version is released. I have now tried it and have an issue with recently added albums and artists not showing up in their respective category lists. While it's really nice to have an app dedicated to classical music and all the intricate details of its ecosystem, there are navigation, display, and functionality issues that keep me from wanting to prioritize it in my music streaming apps.

A step forward on streaming making sense. Waited so long for someone to make this. This is perfect for those of use who don’t want to mix our classics, and our classicals, as well as other classical music/theatre apps or simply open multiple accounts with different streaming services. (Sorry, NTH, ADAGIO, METO, STAGE+!) Just the fact that I don’t have to mix with other music genres, and the catalog’s seamless search function within the app, has already improved my listening lifestyle. Love how well the app icon blends in my UI alongside Music app as well. Now, can we have Mac integration for the app since it looks like it’s available for iPhone only? Other than that, I’m highly impressed.

Great way to discover classical music. 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 the app seems to lose what is currently playing quite often after the app 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.

Disapointing. While it is true that classical music has some specific features, having a separate app is not needed. Especially when it integrates so poorly with the rest of Apple Music and Apple’s ecosystem. Full of poor decisions. For example, when selecting to display “all” playlists from Apple Music, only some are shown. It turned out there is some misguided “logic”: it shows some songs in some playlist that the app thinks are classical. Very poor approach, coupled with a bad recognition algorithm… Besides some good additions like options to browse by composer, instrument, orchestra, it is not a major improvement of the Music app. Finally an iPad version is available but still no appleTv one to play it on a proper audio system. I expect that this app 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.

Algorithmic Bias?. 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.

Lots of potential. Never been compelled to write an app review but this is so far off the mark despite my initial enthusiasm (because a classical music app is so badly needed). What’s the point of extensive metadata if we can’t use it!? (1) I want to be able to shuffle across works (vs tracks). This seems obvious. Or search results (eg, all Bernstein conducted symphonies…) (2) I want to be able to shuffle across subgenre or even subgenre and further category/instrument (search tags -> play results??). Eg, baroque violin concerto or romantic minor symphony (3) where is all the music I’ve already saved? Only in album view?! Why not in the other sort categories? (4) recently played/added would be nice (5) works should save where you left off. I often listen to entire operas and want to return to the same spot later, even if I interrupt myself with another piece, which is often since one can’t just listen to opera all the time. (6) what does star mean? Am I saving it? Downloading it (evidently not, since I couldn’t use the app on the subway)? (7) downloading Only being detailed (I’m sorry for any inadvertent snark) because I care deeply about this team getting it right. I’m sure they have lots of competing priorities and feedback, but hopefully this is useful and resonates with what they’re hearing or experiencing themselves.

Oh Well, Good First Effort, But…. 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.

Very Buggy!. I’ve never experienced such a buggy app from Apple. I don’t use Apple Music but wanted to give this app a try. Classical will not work unless you have Apple Music installed on your device, which implies that this app is only a skin / wrapper for Apple Music. The app will often just not pay a song. Tapping on the song, or pressing “play” on the album won’t do it. Quitting / reopening the app multiple times won’t fix it either. You’ll check if it’s a network issue by loading a video online and realize that it’s just the app not playing any songs. Just today music stopped in the middle of a song and a podcast started playing, I checked and I didn’t have any other music or podcasts apps open at the time. The way this app works (and doesn’t work) is just very strange. I hope Apple treats this app as its own rather than a facade for Apple Music, because the content is actually quite great, it’s just super buggy.

Needs lots of work. Come on, Apple.. I am reviewing the app itself, not the extensive collection of music. First, the app is iPhone-only. Seriously, they did not have the people-power to design it work as an iPad app? Are we in 2010? Second, the app quit working and would not play music. I quit it many times and restarted it, but I resorted to playing music from the Music app. At some point during the night it decided to work again. Third, if you are playing a playlist and exit the song view, you’ll see a list of songs and somewhere there is your song, with controls at the bottom. It is not obvious which piece you are playing. Finally, it seems like the Music app is just better all around. Maybe Apple decided they needed to design a new app from scratch rather than porting the Music app. I like having all the music in one spot, but the app should have been a better product. Please improve it and get an iPad version.

Great for beginners!. The world of classical music is so hard to navigate, especially for beginners. I’m so happy people are digging into the intricacies of it all! Regular Apple Music doesn’t have a whole lot of options regarding pieces or recordings. I once looked up Beethoven spring sonata (one of my favs), and I could only get one recording of it. With Apple Music classical, I can get TONS of different recordings, so I can actually chose which ones I like. Also, I love the broad varieties of pieces. As a classical student, it was so hard to find the right pieces for what I was practicing - especially since they were less popular (Vivaldi concerto in g minor). Overall, great experience and I can’t wait to see what Apple Music develops next! 😁😁🎻🎻

No idea why there are so many positive reviews. 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 the app. 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, the app 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 the app 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 this app was made and it’s an absolute joke. There’s more classical albums on “Apple Music” than in this app 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

Better Than Expected. I was pleasantly surprised by this app. I’m a long-time Apple Music listener and expected this app would be a separate subscription, but after downloading it on a whim, I’m more than pleased. It is very organized, detailed, and makes finding your favorite pieces/composers/etc a breeze. Additionally, I enjoy the Editor’s Choice feature, which I’ve found is the highest quality recording of any piece you are searching for, which I love. Nuances are important and having a crystal clear, well-recorded, and well-produced option at a glance saves a lot of time of digging through the countless performances listed for famous pieces.

Won’t let me search in my library. It has a great search function to find pieces by a certain composer and have different recordings all laid out for you. But once you add them to your library, there’s no way to pull up a specific piece or composer among the tracks you’ve already added to your library/playlists. There’s no search function in the library or any of the playlists at all. If I want to find a specific recording, I have to scroll and search through the playlist. In the playlists, there isn’t even a way to change the order of the pieces. Overall the discovery search function is good, but it hasn’t even got all the features Primephonic did, and the over UI feels like something from the 2000s

Feels half finished. I was eagerly waiting for this app ever since Apple bought out Primephonic. I do love the curation and suggested content, but it feels like a half-finished copy of a Apple Music. I drive frequently in low-service areas and have to download my albums, but with Classical I have to go back into the main Apple Music app to have that option…why? As an existing feature in one app and they’re basically carbon copy interfaces, that should be seamless. The interactive features that Primephonic specialized in and pioneered are absent as well, which Apple had promised to continue. Deep dives into compositions, rather like mini-courses, really helped one to experience the music in a whole new way. I hope they continue development, but this iteration feels rushed and incomplete. Downloading music from the app should be a priority.

An Important Step for Music.. 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 this app is for, people who don’t get the point will rate it low. Admittedly it’s not for everyone, that’s why it exists.

So happy to see a new Classical Music app. This is app wonderful, and I am so happy it is included with Apple Music. But if I may suggest some changes: - Add more pictures of artists/etc. - Make a more intuitive/creative library system. - Have a curated mood dial, like on the Idagio app. That means, for example, rather than browsing for pre-existing playlists loosely based on mood, you can choose a mood like “grieving” or “elated” or something like that, and it will give you pieces that match the mood. - Perhaps international classical radios like NRK Klassisk, Sveriges Radio P2, Radio Classique, etc. would be nice to have on the front page or their own page, as a nice way to discover new pieces and tastes around the world.

Great application but no iPad version.. 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 this app 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. The app, 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.

Yay, iPad version!. Very nice to have a full iPad version. Next features: shuffle in playlists. I realize why one often doesn't want to shuffle a classical album, but the lovely "Essentials" playlists Apple provides would benefit from shuffle - I don't want to hear the first five tracks over and over again. As of now, I check mark the playlist then shuffle it in the regular music app. One other issue, which is really specific: It seems weird that Bach's Well Tempered Clavier are considered collections of individual works, rather than as two works, one per book. I realize that is how the Bach catalog labels them - each having its own BWV number - but it seems natural to treat each book as one work, too. Might just be a data design limitation?

I want to like it, but it’s not there yet. I’m a classical musician and listener as well as iOS app developer who loves Apple so this app 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 this app 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.

1.0.2 bug - can no longer play recording. I just upgraded the app to 1.0.2 and I can no longer play a “recording”. This is the main way I would listen to a particular work. Let me explain. An album often has multiple works on it (two or three symphonies, for example, by Haydn). So I tap the three dots to the right of one of the movements and I pick “show recording“ which isolates the one symphony that I want, showing only that work. I then hit the play button to listen to it. This worked fine until I upgraded to 1.0.2. Now when I hit the play button, nothing happens. I have powered down the phone and powered up again, but that has not fixed it. So I can no longer listen to one specific work on an album as before. Please look into this and correct it.

A Great Idea That Needs Improvement. 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, this app is pretty successful. Being able to search for composers, players, and pieces makes finding recordings a lot easier. The app 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.

Impressive App!!. I am absolutely loving this app!! Got the app off the preorder and I have been using it all day. The categories and playlists make it so much easier to find what you like….and also dive into something you may not have heard before. I’m really loving the accessible list of new artists since I’m not entirely familiar with current musicians in the classical field. They’re super easy to find here. Playlists by instruments is what I’m really favoring at the moment, along with the composers playlists. Being a percussion player myself, it’s a joy to see percussion music so readily accessible and easy to find. IMO, Apple Music have really outdone themselves with this.

Wow. 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.

UI/UX Is Liberating Except When It Isn’t. 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 this app that differentiates it from the regular music app besides a few comments, curated playlists, and UI/UX. UI/UX is unusually relevant for this app. 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 the app in the more helpful ways that have been curated. You did great with this app. If you don’t want shuffle, I understand that’s more debatable in context of what this app is for, but don’t let fear hold you back from implementing “play next” in this app. 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.

A Pleasure for Classical Music Lovers. 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.

Classically Impressed: A Symphony of Praise for Apple Music's Classical App. I recently subscribed to the Apple Music classical app and I have been thoroughly impressed with my experience so far. The app 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 the app 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. The app 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, the app offers a fantastic way to discover and enjoy the beauty of classical music.

Okay, but could be better. I was really excited about this app. I like instrumental music but I struggle to find good songs, and the recommendation playlists they give are great. I do wish it was a separate library from Apple Music, though. But that’s not horrible either. The main problem is some of the instrument playlists are a bit broken. The violin playlist, for example; it just stops after the first song and you can’t click on any of the others. (Note that all other playlists I’ve tried have worked fine, so I don’t think it’s an issue on my end). It’s a little irritating because I got the app to listen to new songs like those and it’s too broken to listen to them. Overall, it’s a great idea, it’s just not as well executed as I’d hoped.

Great Idea, App is Buggy as can be. Love this app and am so thankful that there now exits a platform dedicated to classical music (especially one created by such a respectable company). Beautiful portraits for the composers and wonderful organization of their works (biographies are also included on the profiles of many composers and a lot of popular works even have summaries which describe how they came to be). I love this app. BUT—the app itself performs terribly. It is buggy as can be and I cannot believe they would launch the application in such a state. 30% of the time you open the app you will first run into issues even getting a piece to play. Closing process and opening again does NOT work. It’s a shame and becomes really irritating when you try to play a song for 5+ minutes. Worst part is, no update yet. If it is not fixed, I cannot say I will continue my subscription—a shame, considering this is a beautiful application.

No Roon integration. I like the idea of Apple’s classical music service more than I like the implementation. I prefer to listen to classical music using the streaming features on my amplifier and controlled by Roon rather than using my phone and streaming via Bluetooth, as the sound quality is significantly better and I don’t need to worry about running the battery down on my phone or iPad, as often happens when they are used for streaming music over Bluetooth. If Apple’s classical music library could be accessed through Roon, I would be more interested in using their classical music service. As it is, when I want to listen to classical, it looks like I’ll have to continue to rely on my collection of SACDs and on streaming Qobuz’s excellent classical library through Roon. With regards to the app itself, as other reviewers have noted, the app would benefit from improvements to the search function, the addition of a shuffle function, and a dedicated iPad version of the app.

Audio still reflects track focus of iTunes. My first album played on the app was not a rousing success. Carmina Burana, Eugene Ormandy, Philadelphia Orchestra, Rutgers Choir, 1960 extended edition is a recording that I knew would challenge this new app and I was not overly surprised at the results. Track separations were erratic and did not conform to the original recording. There were long gaps between some tracks even in places where no gap should be. Especially annoying was during the dramatic conclusion of the work. The last three “tracks” should blend from one to the next with no gaps at all. Inexplicably, a 10 second or more gap of total silence was placed between the plaintive soprano solo of “Dulcissime” and the ensuing chorus of “Blanzifor Et Helena”. But it did get the transition from that chorus to the reprise of “O Fortuna” right without a gap. Here’s hoping Apple can get the wrinkles out in the near future.

I love it. I have always struggled to find classical music, it’s not as popular as music you find on the radio, coupled with the fact that you really can’t find new artists or modern day classical music very easily. This app fixes all of that! It quite literally has so much and I honestly can’t wait to listen to all of it! There are a few hiccups with it playing tracks and loading though that definitely could be my wifi. I have also yet to find a place to download the tracks, but I am writing this review like the first day it came out. All in all, if you like classical music, are/were and dancer, need something to study to, or looking to try something new, this is the music app for you. 10/10 do absolutely recommend.

Needs more functionality. Apple Music Classical is great in principle, but it’s lacking basic functionality that you’d find in the regular Apple Music: you can’t download, you can’t shuffle, you can’t change what’s in the up next cue, etc. There’re also some glitches, which are to be expected with a new app; I’ve found that, on occasion, if you try to play a song in the middle of a playlist, it’ll play the first song of the playlist and never advance to the next song; it also will stop playing sometimes when the screen is locked. There are a few other problems I’ve come across that I can’t recall right now. I think it’s a good concept that makes a valiant attempt to address the unique problems of categorizing classical music that doesn’t exist for popular music, but it needs some improvement.

Great resource for music teachers and students!. I was so excited when I learned about this app, and so far it has not disappointed. Trying to listen to classical music on other music streaming apps - even Apple Music - has always been a huge pain. The biggest issue I’ve always had is not being able to have things easily searchable by composer. Other apps organize things by performer, which to be fair makes plenty of sense for other types of music. But when studying and exploring classical music it just doesn’t work. The fact that I can search a composer and find all of their work in one place is amazing. A great way to be able to explore and study the work of composers new and old! The categories for each instrument is also amazing. When students are learning different instruments, they can easily familiarize themselves with the core repertoire for their instrument. Not to mention the ability to browse various recordings to listen to different interpretations of the pieces. I am so glad this finally exists, a great way to make classical music easily accessible to everyone!!

I’m happy with this app now!. My initial review, (now replaced with this one) criticized the original release of this app that was the same on an iPad Pro as on an iPhone - screen size and all. I have two 27” Macs with second screens on each but I’ve given up my MacBook Pro and my go-to device is my iPad - with a Blue Tooth keyboard attached and being limited to an image the size of an iPhone on a 12.9” screen was “disappointing”. Apple listened and I’m now looking at a new app on my iPad that makes use of its screen size - visually and functionally. It’s wonderful and I intend to make full use of its capabilities managing the classical content in my library Thanks for responding Apple!

Good App, Couple Concerns. This app’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. This app 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 the app crash. Pressing play on a piece will actually cause the app 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 this app 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.

Would be better if self-contained.. Great idea, but it would seem better if the app were self-contained and fully separated my Apple Classical music library from my current Apple Music library. Now, when I add an album in Apple Classical it is also added to my Apple Music album list. I was able to access a greater depth of content through the classical app which was good. However, the overall listening experience would be better if the two app libraries were separated allowing a user to select shuffle and hear a platter of only classical music without having to go through the process of making separate playlists in Apple Music. As of now, 3 Ben Russell tracks then a random Dr. Dre track and then on to Joep Beving. Not ideal.

Long awaited and not ready. Like many of Apple’s native apps the idea is great, execution and design are clean but do not live up to the full potential. Not all works carry over seamlessly as they should. There needs to be a fine tuning to import soundtracks and movie scores as well, which suffer the same fate as classical music in the main Apple Music app. There needs to be an option to manually select titles to import, playlists to share between apps and an option to hide titles that are incorrectly shared between the two apps. Adding and removing titles from your library should give an option to add/remove from either or both apps. Options to edit your music meta data to avoid weird listings or incorrect or duplicate albums is missing in all mobile apps and sends users back to Mac versions. Like many modern Apple apps options to customize design, functionality and even to make use of the glaring empty space on screen would go the extra mile to make this or any app a must have and industry leading solution for creators, curators and consumers. Finally, the absence of an iPad or Mac equivalent is embarrassing at launch.

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Excellent app but…. Where is the iPad app? This is a brilliant initiative for iPhone, but I mostly use my iPad for everything I do including music. Is the iPad app in the works?

Not Supported on Most of Apple’s Hardware. After waiting almost two years for the Apple Classical app to come out there was much disappointment to find that it is not supported by most of Apple’s hardware, including their premium audio hardware, the HomePod. There is no app for iPad, AppleTV, and others have had trouble getting it to work on CarPlay. As a result, I can’t use the service.

Useful, but give us better sound quality, please. Getting there…

Only a start. The exclusive albums are nice, but the sound quality is still not the best in the market — what was the point of buying out Primephonic, apart from an attempt at monopoly? Many albums play from the first track even if you select another. Multi-composer albums (such as Abbado Prokofiev-Ravel) STILL don’t have the composer listed in the track heading (at the top of each multi-movement piece would be fine, if not for each track) so we’re still some way from proper classical-friendly listing, searching and cataloguing. Keep at it, Apple, you may yet succeed…

Very basic!. Over ten years and my music library has 30,000+ tracks categorised by composer. I’ve got hundreds of playlists, all hierarchically organised into folders and playlists. And I’ve got my own naming standards for presenting composer information so that I can find anything easily and logically. Let’s just say Apple Music Classical has a long way to go.

.. Great concept and content but the app never seems to work as well as normal Apple Music app. Album graphics never appear and regularly crashes.

Doesn’t integrate existing library. I have a large collection of classical music in my library - both sourced from Apple Music and CD rips/downloads etc uploaded over iCloud Music Library - but none of this appears in the ‘library’ section in this app. Otherwise, seems like a good improvement. Love the ability to see full track titles, artist details and better demarcation of works etc., would just love to use this with my existing music!! Once again this app, like Apple Music and most streaming platforms, is heavily biased towards ‘discovery’ and constantly finding new music with no interest in rediscovery and innovative ways to explore your existing collection

The BEST way to listen to classical music.. I just listened to Vivaldi’s 4 seasons on second gen AirPod Pros. 4 seasons is my absolute favourite- I’ve probally listened to it thousands of times and seen it performed by probably it’s most famous performer (Nigel Kennedy). 4 seasons on Apple Music is amazing. Sounds so crisp and clear and I’m hearing notes I’ve not heard before. This app has earned a spot on my iPhones taskbar

Great polished classical music app but no opt iPad yet.. This is great classical music app. I love it so much from the Day 1. However, no iPad optimised app yet… it shows iPhone app size, no multi-task screen. I certainly know apple will release new version with iPad full support. Apple Music app for iPad is still works perfectly to listen the same tracks.

So good!. I love this app - I’m not entirely sure why Apple decided to build a dedicated classical app, but I’m really enjoying being lead down relaxing, eye-opening paths.

No iPad app? Seriously?. Oh come on Apple Music we classical music lovers love to consume our music whilst reading and learning about it. It’s why we love collecting box sets, with liner notes, and booklets. The majority of us are not teenagers, easing down the road glued to our iPhones. I really don’t know how you could launch a serious classical music service without a dedicated iPad app. If it’s good enough for iTunes surely it’s good enough for the classical music service.,

Fair enough!. Better than any other apps

Not inclusive of all the classical genres.. Lack some of the most loved features in Apple Music aside, barely any selection from the Indian classical genre. Not worthy of installing this app on any of my devices until the selection gets more inclusive.

Not for iPad. Astonishing that this app would be released without suitable iPad format. It takes me back to days of the first iPad where half the apps were for the iPhone form factor. Works on iPhone but I can’t figure out why it’s necessary over (as well as) the Music app. We were unable to listen to music on an iPad.

A great start. I’ve been waiting for this app since Primephonic was bought out and it delivers! The one main issue I have is that since Recordings are listed by orchestra (eg Berlin Philharmonic) it becomes hard to find the work you are looking for, especially when you have multiple recording by the same orchestra.

So far, so good…. A great improvement on the limited search facilities and inaccurate information for classical albums on regular streaming services. It's dragged through some of my Apple Music library items which definitely aren't classical, so perhaps still needs some finessing. Inclusion of liner notes would be welcome.

Great for browsing - lots of playback issues though. Great app built for browsing classical pieces, how they fit together and are compiled & performed. Many issues with the app regarding playback though. Playback stopping and starting or skipping to the next track midway through another, the now playing track either being wrong or showing the incorrect playback time (or not being able to navigate through a track) as well as the app crashing altogether.

Great functionality and features! Offline mode please!. Love it. Looking forward to offline mode and availability on iPad.

Good but could be better. Was very excited when Apple released this app, but would prefer if i could stack albums to play like in the music app. I’d also love if you could elect if it linked to the music app, I’d prefer they didn’t do would be good if you could adjust a setting.

Better beats than Apple Music for Classical. Will provide a more considered review in a few months. What I’ve listen to already has me scrolling to obtain a better sound system. Although I visually better app for the iPad would be brilliant future feature.

Doesn’t work. Can’t listen to a thing. I press on the track, the album cover and piece title loads, and no music plays. The scrub bar for skipping through the piece is stuck, and shows an amount of time greater than the piece. I re-downloaded, I checked my IOS was up to date, I turned my phone off and on, nothing works. Buggy app out the gate, one I would use my whole life long if it actually worked

Great Start!. Fantastic to see a tech giant give this much care and attention to Classical Music. Love the introductory playlists for newcomers. I have no doubt that improvements will come with time, and that we will eventually see expansion to the other platforms. To the Apple Music Team, don’t be disheartened by the petty complainers. You have made a great start! Thank you.

good start. I rarely use my phone to run music, so like the standard app, this needs a watch app as I know many people who don't bring their phone with them when out; exercising; relaxing... which is the point of the watch. App itself is a nice pairing with apple music original. Easy to use, and nice to see already saved classical was migrated to the new app so ready without needing to reload everything manually. 5 stars when a watch version available so it can be more useful.

Great!. Loving it so far, big improvement on Apple Music. As a relative novice it’s great way to find music, and the search/browse categories will help me learn a lot too! Looking forward to it being an app for MacBook and getting CarPlay support. Well done Apple for putting the effort in to start this.

No iPad app, from the maker of the iPad‽. It’s absolutely shameful that the company that makes the iPad would ship an app like this without building it for iPad. Instead we get an iPhone app that we can blow up to show on our iPad. Hopeless. Sad that I can’t rate this app zero stars.

So good. I can actually read track names now. And see who wrote what, even in musicals.

Finally there’s a good app. Thanks been waiting ages for something like this !!! Let’s just hope it doesn’t disappoint.

App crashes and causes iPhone to crash. I was so pleased when this app came out. Unfortunately I’ve been disappointed with the way it operates. It is sadly lacking many of the features needed. It’s not anywhere near as good as the Apple Music app in the way it operates or its stability, which leaves a lot to be desired. Besides being rather user unfriendly - unlike Apple Music, it periodically crashes and, in the process, sometimes causes the whole phone to crash and need a complete hard restart. Lift your game with this app, Apple. There’s no point putting it out there half baked. It’s been out for some time now and the issues have still not been sorted out.

Works well-ish. Very similar to Apple Music of course but without all the irrelevant guff when I just want to listen to classical music. There appears to be a bug in that I can’t control the volume from the app when playing through a HomePod whereas I can when using the Music app. An iPad version would be appreciated. Edit Nov 23: pleased that a dedicated iPad version is now available and fully functioning. Even more impressed that I got a message from the developer to let me know. Well done team - five stars.

No iPad version?. This makes no sense as to why there is no iPad version of the app.

Slow and incomplete app. It takes a while to play a piece after tapping on it, and creating and adding songs to a playlist is not instantaneous. Music would stop midway when playing. I’m using Beats Studio Buds with it so it could be the earphones fault. Library is pretty decent though

Long awaited, greatly appreciated, work to be done. UPDATE: It’s now on iPad! Fantastic! Great for listening to hiRes recordings! This is a great app for discovering Classical recordings that were hitherto difficult to track down on Apple Music. It seems to me that this is a client app to basically just add this stuff to your Apple Music app. At least as for as being portable and travelling is concerned. You can’t use this app offline, but you can save your things to Apple Music for offline use… That needs some work. I would like to segregate my listening. The worst thing with Apple Music is when I put on shuffle for some contemporary music and I get a random bass trombone sonata movement added to my shuffle list… While I love that music I prefer to listen to it intentionally and in its correct context. This app should be the place for all my classical listening, and therefore should be fully functional. The only other thing I would say is that the lack of support for the iPad interface is atrocious. I use my iPad as a HighRes DAP to connect to an amp and headphones. It’s a great way to get my audiophile setup going. But the interface for the iPad makes this use case less than ideal. Surely being developed in house would make this an easy fix. I’m no developer, but I have watched WWDC for numerous years now and I believe the scaling is native to swift…. Not sure how an “in house” app could be so deficient on one of Apple’s own flagship devices.

Excellent App!. It’s an excellent app for your phone, and I certainly recommend it if you love classical music!

Great app but needs some smoothing. It is about time that we had a classical music app from Apple. Well done. However there are some changes that would add functionality: The ability to search in one’s own library The ability to search for recording dates, not just album release date The ability to modify a search, you have to start again The ability to scroll to end of search text

Classical Music Finally Organised Well!. I cannot say how grateful I am for this app! I’m a long-time fan of classical music, but found the genre often inaccessible and confusing. This seems set to change. The playlists explaining different periods, composers, artists, or albums, are inviting and orienting. The notes on composers, works, and playlists provide helpful context. But the real magic happens when favouriting composers or browsing and adding works, etc. to your library. It is now possible, finally, to easily filter and see what great composers have written and then listen to that music. I also love how multiple works appearing on the same album are now organised separately from each other, and easily playable as such. Finally, the way my classical music from the Apple Music app has been imported to the Apple Music Classical app is a thoughtful touch. All in all, an excellent achievement. Well done! 👏🏻😃

Can be better. Just a layer on Apple Music. The library view is bland. Adding music on this app also adds music to your Apple Music app and there’s no way to keep them separate. Why bother having an app if you merge libraries between apps. absence of an iPad app is sloppy. having iPad Pro devices displaying a crappy scaled version of this app is not the experience I want.

A needed improvement. The simple change to the interface to allow multiple liens for titles makes such a difference on mobile it is surprising that it took this long to happen. There is still an issue with operas where there are no divisions between acts or scenes making it difficult to identify the start and end of acts in newly discovered recordings.

Buggy and frustrating to use. Tracks don’t play when I tap them. Come on.

Cannot search in albums or playlists. When I try to search for a particular playlist among my hundreds all I get is a white screen with the word Loading! Same thing happens in Albums! This makes the app pretty useless as far as I’m concerned. I’ll be sticking with Apple Music for now.

Defective, immature, wrong, incomplete. Poorly designed, confusing and slow to use. Big disappointment. I still usually revert to the Music app instead of Classical. Navigating Classical is not intuitive. Sometimes it plays the wrong tracks when tapped. Many classical tracks show the wrong information. Missing features like Love and Rating. Lacks integration with Music app during playback.

Classical music and its impact. So many people feed off classical music! I know I do! Actually there is a lot of classical music in animated kids movies and these kids are fascinated but don’t know it’s actually classical!!

Good idea. But comparing to the main Music app is full of glitches. 1. Constantly failing to load album artwork when playing from the playlist 2. Refusing to start playing music again after a pause.

Great job but what about MacOS?. I have to admit Apple did a great job to make classical fans' life much easier with this app which supports better date structure to organise the lib. But it doesn't integrate in iPhone that well. When I click the lock screen widget it still jumps to the Apple Music App. And I really need a MacOS one

Buggy and frustrating. Is it just me or is this app getting worse. I’m now constantly running into issues like tracks, pieces or playlists not playing when I tap them but only in some sections of the app. Just now a playlist wouldn’t play from the browse section no. After what I tried. I had to add it to my library then play it from there. Then when I tried to AirPlay to. HomePod it just. Wouldn’t. Froze for a bit the. Showed it was playing but with no audio coming from the HomePod. This kind of nonsense along with missing features (offline listen, play queue management, or iPad app anyone?), slow and laggy performance, and just truly baffling UX design choices like splitting playlists in the my library into two seperate pages (mine and from Apple Music) forcing awkward navigation via ‘show all’ links and no playlist search across all playlist in my library, has me just going back to using the Apple Music app.

Do not affect y recommendations in music app. I hope this classical app does not affect my station in music app. I am a fan of both classical and pop but I just don’t want my listening to classical music to affect my station recommendations in the normal Apple Music app. It seems strange to listen to pop music and suddenly play a symphony next. I hope the recommendations are dedicated to within this classical app only. And Apple Music app is dedicated to other music

Wonderful!. Really appreciate the wide range and content of music available.

Linked. I love the idea of having the music separate so when I am listening to my library I’m not jumping from heavy metal to classical. What is disappointing though is if I delete a playlist in the Apple Music app it deletes if from classical music app. Which to me defeats the purpose. I hope this gets fixed! Then it would be amazing!

It’s useful now. Still have a few play issues on my HomePods, but I tend to listen to classical on my iPad Pro a lot anyway and now it’s really nice to have. For future updates I’d like some type of radio feature so I don’t have to think what to play as much. Also, it’s hard to search for somethings, for example, if you want to listen to Monteverdi’s Odysseus opera, the version I want doesn’t come up anywhere despite being in Apple Music by Jodi Savall as L’orfeo.. not sure how you manage that because it’s a language issue.

So far so good; not yet formatted for iPad. As you’d expect, the app makes navigating classical music (as far as I can tell - it’s early) far easier than the genre’s section in Apple Music. I’m looking forward to when a version formatted for iPad is released — its iteration as a letterbox view of an iPhone screen on the iPad is a bit unfortunate.

Not too bad. Seems to wok just fine. Definitely better than using Apple Music for searches. Cant understand why they didn't release it in an iPad version considering how much info there is available. The original Apple Music app has an iPad version which makes it very easy to use on a pad. Hopefully it will get an iPad dedicated release in the future.

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Great App - Needs CarPlay. This app has been great! I’m still being introduced to classical music and this app has made it much easier to access and experience. My only ask if an Apple CarPlay version could be made. Thanks!

Almost there. I’m quite happy with the app overall, I think it’s a great addition to the classical music browsing experience, but I feel like there are a couple features missing, such as: - The ability to mark favourite works or recordings not only from the composer’s page, but from anywhere. There could be the options “add to favourite works” and “add to favourite recordings” in the three-dotted button. - Once we’ve added a favourite recording, it’d be great to see it featured on the work’s page, just like the “Editor’s choice” that is featured on top. Same thing goes for a favourite work. It should be featured in the composer’s page as “Your favourited works”. Nonetheless, it’s a great app and I hope to see new features like these in the future!

iPad Version. This app works well on an iPhone but is quite poor as an iPad app as it does not fill the screen. Is it possible to create a version for the iPad?

A noticeable improvement, but I was expecting so much better. There is a nice layout here and certainly more detail. We get a better picture having separate data points for ensemble, soloists and conductor, and composer and work. While accuracy is improved, there are still outright errors (the list of albums by the Philadelphia Orchestra starts with an album NOT by them) and more importantly this has not done anything to solve the correct dating problem. (The years these recordings were made are often wrong) This app does nothing to solve the reissue problem or compilation problem. To make things easy to find each recording should have only one entry. Apple worked on this app for 2 years and with a bit more ambition could have owned this space resulting in numerous people in Europe and Asia switching from competitors. Instead we get a pretty but ultimately half baked experience.

Solid App. Now that there’s an iPad version, not much to complain about with the app. The search works well for me and the organization of the works makes everything accessible. Happy that there has been room made for new works and soundtracks as well.

No HomePod support?. Out of the box, can’t play directly from my HomePod mini - only AirPlay? That seems like an oversight. This is disappointing, given Apple’s well known vertical integration model, but not surprising given their history with actually integrating their hardware and software half as well as they say they do. Otherwise, I’m enjoying the new interface for Apple Music focused on the music I want to listen to instead of the always-present pop promotion in the main app.

No dedicated iPad app version !?. This new dedicated iPad version is so welcome! Thanks!

Love it. Lots of selections .. pleas do an app for Jazz music next

Great app. loved it on my phone & now there’s an iPad app too!

A First Step. I listen to music primarily on my AppleTV or iPad, or otherwise on a competing smart speaker that is linked to my Apple Music account. I suspect that those form factors would have been a better initial target for this app. I also prefer watching the concerts over just listening, which isn’t yet an option in this app. I‘ll likely probably stick with Arte or YouTube until the next edition and look in again to see if it better satisfies my interests.

iPad version FINALLY!. It’s about time 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Good app, minor issues. I really like the app so far. It’s much better navigating classical music in this way than on the other app. After using the app for a few days I noticed some things: 1. UI. AirPods/Headphones icon does not appear on the AirPlay icon like it would on Apple Music. This makes it harder to tell if you’re connected to headphones, or if the music will play full blast through the speaker. 2. Lack of support. It’s surprising from Apple considering their tight knit ecosystem that only the iPhone is supported. I’m sure there are plans to make iPad, Mac, CarPlay, Watch, and HomePod compatible, but it honestly should have been from launch. This isn’t a soft launch, and from the amount of ads I’ve seen I’m guessing it’s not in beta either. Support should have been taken care of from the get go and since it’s not, the whole thing feels kind of rushed. Overall, it’s good. Minor things that always get fixed and will get fixed for sure in the near future. Thanks for reading!

All but useless without Mac and Apple TV versions. Shows great promise, but just a middle-school project without support for Mac and Apple TV. Less time spent on Nerd Goggles and more on basics, please.

Finally!. I love instrumental music and I always felt I was being bombarded by all this artist and song suggestions which did not speak to me in any way. Apple made a statement again and as usual it's hell of a job. You won't believe it. Toys is the paradise for people who love listening to music and not songs. Enjoy!

A sad effort. The 1.2 update FINALLY added CarPlay support except it didn’t work and got pulled the next day. Fix it!

The best app ever. Very good 👍🏿

No iPad app?? 😵. I can’t think of any good reason why this service launched without an iPad app. C’mon Apple!

I can not play from playlist. I enjoyed this app. The catalog was done really well. But somehow I can not play the tracks from my playlist. This bug got a get fixed

Great standalone app for Classical. Thank you Apple for making a dedicated app for classical music. Less weight on Apple Music and we get more choices here. Sound quality is superb specially with AirPods. Now iPad compatible. Yeahhhhh!

Great for finding recordings. Find recording is good, can add to library but honestly just use regular app from there.

Finally an app for classical music lover. The experience of listening to classical music wasn’t so great on the old apple music app, this one is much better. Absolutely love it💛💛

Messes with Apple Music listening history. Despite being two separate apps, their listening history of Music Classical is linked with the main Apple Music app with no option to disconnect. As you listen to more classical in this app, Apple Music will start to suggest classical over there too, defeating the whole purpose of letting a dedicated classical app to handle the classical.

Seriously? Only an iPhone app?. Come on, don’t be ridiculous. For Apple to not even bother to provide a separate ipad app… Classical music is obviously very low down on their priority list. Very disappointing. The Presto Music app, from British online and physical store specializing in classical music, is a little cheaper and a whole lot better.

Buggy App. The app is very slow and constantly crashes.

Belle découverte. J’aime la présentation et l’offre pour parcourir la musique. Il serait agréable que les pièces mentionnées dans les biographies puissent être directement liées à leurs interprétations. Le coup de coeur pour le compositeur Eric Whitacre n’est pas bon. C’est une pièce de P. Glass qui joue… C’est arrivé pour un autre artiste mais je ne souviens plus lequel. Il manque des biographies importantes comme celles de Nadia et Lili Boulanger. Une fonction “influences” ajoutée au compositeur serait intéressante, tout comme la fonction de liste intelligente, similaire à “Genius” qui n’existe malheureusement plus sur ITunes…

Tracks aren’t being played correctly. I will click on a song and just a completely unrelated song will play. It seems to default to Bach. Incredibly frustrating and confusing.

Apple Music Classical. Could use a more variety but it’s getting there. App works just like Apple Music and has most of its features. Overall it’s a good app if you like classical music.

No offline mode?!. I really don’t get it: it’s the same Apple Music library, the two apps are obviously connected, but for some reason Classical cannot play files downloaded in the Music app.

No Apple TV version?. I would’ve loved to see an Apple TV version. Also, I’m unable to download the songs in my phone. Do something about it Apple. Great idea though.

Like a beta release. It is really strange that Apple with all the creativity and resource available can’t adapt a version to iPad in the first release. Need more work…

Lacking iPad support. What, a iPhone form factor for iPad? I mean… come on! It’s not really working.

Great idea, bad execution. I love the concept of this app. However, the music doesn’t load more than half the time. I have access to some music but I can’t listen to so many of the pieces that are supposed to be available. I don’t understand why it doesn’t work. And it’s not my internet connection, I’ve tried on multiple wifis

Privacy?. Could you capture any more data about me? Financial info, browser history, whether I sing in the shower? Oh, and the lack of an iPad app is disappointing.

Very deceiving. Not comparable to PrimePhonic, that was unfortunately purchased by Apple and from which, it was supposed to derive. Much less info on composers, albums, contributors. Harder to browse and discover interesting music.

No IPad support. I am looking forward to this.

Beautiful. Beautiful interface & sound. Bravo Apple ][

Why are features missing. It’s nice to have the classical music split out from the main music app but why are basic features missing from this app that are in the regular app. It infuriates me that you can’t not shuffle a playlist and that makes me so angry to have to restart a playlist from the beginning or try to remember where I left off that I end up just listening to Swedish death metal instead.

What a disappointment. It’s nice Apple is trying to address the classical music audience, but it’s discouraging to see what an amateurish job they’ve made of it. Among other annoyances, the app doesn’t list recording dates. It only shows release dates, so a 1955 performance on a cd released in 2017 is regarded as a 2017 work. In keeping with this, the app lists “recent albums” which seems not exactly the right term when you’re searching for something by Bach or Handel. Then there is the app’s reluctance to add new cds. (I keep trying to add Carlos Kleiber’s classic album of Beethoven’s fifth and seven symphonies, but the app crashes when I hit the add button.) I could go on but my overwhelming impression is that this is a clunky, glitch-prone app designed by someone who knows nothing about classical music.

Good but missing features. I would like to download the music on my phone when I don’t have internet. Otherwise, pretty good app!

Enfin une version iPad. Merci :)

Love it…. Once it receives CarPlay support five stars, it will be!

Hi Res. So many Hi Res files. Music to my ears.

La musique classique abordable. Pour une dizaine de dollars par mois, il est maintenant possible d’accéder à un gigantesque catalogue de musique classique doté d’un outil de recherche adapté à ce genre musical. Les listes de lecture par compositeur, genre musical, artiste ou nouvelles parutions sont une aide précieuse pour les amateurs de musique classique qui n’ont pas eu la chance d’avoir une formation académique dans ce domaine. J’apprécie en particulier la possibilité d’accéder directement à l’album complet d’un extrait présenté dans une liste de lecture. Profiter de la haute définition 24 bits/48 kHz « sans perte » avec un simple casque filaire ou un câble reliant un iPhone à un ampli stéréo conventionnel est un autre point fort. Bref, Apple démocratise l’accès à la musique classique, ce trésor de l’humanité, en la rendant abordable et facile d’utilisation. J’utilise par exemple le vieil iPhone de ma conjointe (un iPhone SE 2020 qui ne vaut presque plus rien) pour écouter mes œuvres préférées. Avec les profits exorbitants que l’entreprise réalise, c’est bien le moins qu’elle en redistribue un peu. Ça lui rapporte tout de même mine belle publicité.

CarPlay. Est-ce Normal de ne pas l’avoir dans auto CarPlay , j’ai Apple Music mais pas Apple Music Classic en option ?!!!!

No native ipad app?. Apple….I expect this from third party. Not you. Apple Music has a beautiful ipad app Why doesn’t apple classical?

Woefully Underdeveloped. The Apple Classical music app is like a 1.0 app. Missing so many features. Biggest issue is not being able to listen offline and download music to your device. Also needs an iPad and Apple TV app. Overall Apple Classical streaming music is damaged by weak app.

Mood music. I wish there is a curated playlist for moods. I feel a bit of melancholy — Moonlight sonata — boom! Happy that they decided to have an iPad version this app.

Nice, but…. Can you please add animated cover art for the Classical app?

An iPad version!!!. This is great! They finally updated it to work on iPads!

Very happy with this app now that there’s an iPad version. Essential app for classical music lovers. Glad they finally added an iPad app!

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Where are the booklets?. One of the most vital pieces of enjoyment in listening to classical music is not just the simplicity of search-ability, which is markedly better with this app, but also the vital in-depth I do that comes with the booklets. Operas have full libretti, art songs include translations, cover art is often a painstakingly crafted piece of the record-inside and out. Is there no where that this info, perhaps a clickable pdf within a music app, could be provided? This is a huge deficit in the digital listening experience overall, but one I fine woefully absent in the classical and jazz digital libraries.

Need Way to Pick Up Where I Left Off. Apple has done a great thing with this app, making Classical app separate from Music. Something that would be great was if there was a way to pickup listening where I left off, such as if I had to stop listening in the middle of Part III of The Story of Classical. Currently, I snap a screenshot of where I paused, so I can find that spot when I re-open the app. Totally unrelated, but Jazz app would be great too, so that music could be sorted by record labels, eras, location of production.

A good start. I love that this app exists and it’s great to have a new hub for classical music separate from the Apple Music app. However there is a lot of room for growth. The mechanics of the app are confusing because part of it is still tied to the regular Apple Music library while other parts are separate. Favoriting works is different from favoriting artists in the regular app so that is a strange design choice. I think the UI could use a lot of work to make things more clear on how they work. Additionally, not having iPad, TV, Mac, or CarPlay is a huge oversight and a very baffling launch decision. Again, though I love that this app is here, I hope Apple continues to put more work in so it can continue to be better.

Nice Interface But Constant Problems. This has the potential to be great app but it has been terribly awkward and unpredictable in its use. It constantly sticks and does not respond when I touch the screen to listen to a song. It takes me touching the screen at least 10 times in order to get it to shift from Listen Now to Browse for example. I am mystified at all the great reviews here. This app has been a problem from day 1 that I have not been able to fix. I have no problems whatsoever with the regular Apple Music app but this one has been frustrating to no end. It just does not work well. For example, it won’t even allow me to put in the number of stars for this review which is 2.

Thank you!!. Thank you!! Someone finally makes this happened. I love to be able to find all things in classical music and be able to search for my beloved artists and listen to their music. It’s also easy to select by instruments. This is a very good start. I look forward for your fixing up favorite section so, I can add my fav artists. It will also nice to getting to know period of music and add an intro of its history. There are also story behind each pieces of music and I feel sad that most people throw away performances program book after the concerts. If we have some place to keep all that info would be nice, too. Anyway, great work starting here. Cheers!

Love it but…. I absolutely love having one app for classical music and I was super excited when it was announced, but there are a few changes I’d like to see before giving the app a 5 star rating. 1) *most important* Please please PLEASE make an actually iPad version for the app soon. 2) Definitely need a shuffle feature for playlists. My favorite is the string quartet playlist, but I don’t want to always listen to it in the same order every time, especially because I’m sure there are songs towards the end of the playlist I still haven’t heard yet. 3) I’m not sure how other people feel about this one, but personally I’d kinda like my classical music that I add through the classical app to stay in the classical app and not also be added to my overall Apple Music library. I feel as though it almost negates the purpose of having a separate app for classical music if it’s just going to show up in the Apple Music app anyways.

It seems pretty great!. I’ve been trying to get into classical music for a long time…since at least my teens (I’m 45 now). It never seemed to be totally accessible, my first big plunge was a 10 CD set of classical music that I got from a “Ross” store in Guam, but even that was in the early 2000’s. This is opening up much more of the genre to me, listening to this during my entire hour commute to work and then back home. I’m not ready to give up The Beatles or Hatebreed yet, but I am enjoying the experience so far! Bravo, Apple team

Not available in Russia. Making it not available in Russia is quite of a nonsense actually. Russians gave a world the most famous masterpieces and composers in XIX and XX centuries - and I believe you can not even talk about classical music without names like Rimskiy-Korsakov, Glinka, Musorgskiy, Chaikovskiy and many more. And this is me haven’t even started on XX century, where Prokofiev, Rachmaninov and Stravinskiy defined the whole direction and present day of it. So making a profit out of Russian heritage and fencing Russians from it deserves a one star for making culture political once again. But I encourage everyone who can still use the app to dive into the magical world of classical music and enjoy its unbelievable depth and beauty. My personal favorite and recommendation is Dance of the Knights (in headphones, loudly, in the dark).

Better Than Expected. I was pleasantly surprised by this app. I’m a long-time Apple Music listener and expected this app would be a separate subscription, but after downloading it on a whim, I’m more than pleased. It is very organized, detailed, and makes finding your favorite pieces/composers/etc a breeze. Additionally, I enjoy the Editor’s Choice feature, which I’ve found is the highest quality recording of any piece you are searching for, which I love. Nuances are important and having a crystal clear, well-recorded, and well-produced option at a glance saves a lot of time of digging through the countless performances listed for famous pieces.

Times out on HomePod mini. I’m thoroughly enjoying using this new app! It’s very functional and makes it so easy to enjoy classical music of all varieties. I hope there will be an iPad version soon. The only issue I am having is when airplaying Classical to my HomePod mini. After a while (half an hour or so?) it just stops playing and I have to go back and set it to AirPlay again. It’s a little annoying, especially when listening to a longer work. I hope this can be improved so the app can have the same functionality as the original Apple Music with HomePod!

Having Problems. I love this app. However, I continue to have problems with it in certain circumstances. Sometimes the music just stops randomly, or when I open certain other apps. When this happens, the “now playing” section and album art area is grayed out and just says “loading.” On a few instances it looks normal, but in both, nothing can be selected and nothing plays. I have to close out the app entirely and restart it to get back to playing music. Most of the time I can’t remember where I left off in a playlist but just have to pick and choose. It’s a bit frustrating to say the least. I hope this issue is fixed soon, as I really do enjoy this app.

Chock full o’ bugs. As you bounce back and forth between Apple Music and Apple Classical, it becomes obvious that this app is the neglected younger sibling. Too many times to count, I’ve logged in to find that tracks just refuse to play, no matter what I press. Could you imagine this happening in Apple Music? I don’t think so. Then today, I found a new one: when listening on my AirPod Pros, I paused the music in Apple Classical using my AirPods. When I pressed play, it switched apps: the music I had queued up in Apple Music started blasting. Ridiculous. When this app was first released over a year ago, I was so excited. Sure, there were some kinks to work out, but it was a great start. A year later, these issues are inexcusable, especially from a company of Apple’s stature.

I get it, it’s complicated. It’ll get better. (Add Jazz). 1st problem: It’s only iPhone. What good is this Lossless Dolby Atmos if I can’t get it onto my AppleTV to play in Atmos on my speakers. I’m not sure AirPlay is sending Atmos and my Sonos doesn’t show that. 2nd issue is that you want to pull catalogs like DG’s Verdi recordings or things like that. I’d like to filter out all but maybe DG, Sony, or Phillips when searching for recordings. (Nothing against Naxos but it’s easier to find the recordings I remember listening to if I filter out other labels.) Please add Jazz into this app. The difficulties in searching for Jazz are similar: composer, instruments and players, singers, bands, etc.

It's nice but most people want a Mac version.. I use music to work. I think many people does. And classical music is much better for work so even more people listen to it when they work. No one works from their phones. It's the Mac they use. On Mac; I always have Apple Music open, and having to shift to the phone for changing the music doesn't feel as efficient as just doing it on the Mac. And so what happens is that just play them with the Apple Music on Mac which completely renders the phone app useless. Other things are very nice. The look, the Work/Recording system and so on; but I fairly rarely use my phone for music while Mac is something that plays hours a day...

Not there yet. I dont mind the lack of shuffle that some people mentioned but i am a fan of playlists and it doesnt give the option to create new playlists or even add to existing ones. It feels too tied into the original music app which leads me to wonder why i would bother to use this at all. Also for browsing, ive only been using this for a few days so im sure it may cater to me more later but immediately i notice almost every song recommended to me has a choir or singer in it. Im not a fan of that type of music and there seems to be no practical way to find instrumental music while also staying in a time period or composer. Great concept, excited to see more, but usability is not the best yet.

Still heavily tied to main Music app. I’d like to echo other reviews mentioning how that each Music app should have separate libraries. There’s no point to having a separate app if they use the same backend. I would prefer not to see classical content I listen to appearing in the Music app. It also makes me question how much listening choices affect the options that are then later suggested to me. Apart from that, I’d call out the general lack of and overall shallowness of the classical-specific features. Regardless, this app does do what it claims to do, and I’d like to see similar apps for other older genres that have significant history to them, such as Jazz.

Beautiful App. As someone who sincerely appreciates classical music, this app is fantastic. Classical music is so underrated and I consider myself blessed to be a part of a community that appreciates it for what it is. This app not only provides music from the early years of music, it also provides soundtrack pieces, which (at least in my opinion) are also beautifully written performances of art. I’ve found the app easy to use and simple to understand. Thank you Apple for providing us with such a wonderful service!

Just wow. I feel like I’ve been waiting over twenty years for this app, since the dawn of the mp3 era, my non-classical music is easily organized by artist/album/song, but my library of classical works? Sometimes indexed by composer, sometimes performer, sometimes the title of a work. And now: perfection. Works, composers, styles, instruments, performers, it’s all indexable. What really stands out to me is the curation. This was obviously a work of love, taking apart the 1000s of classical albums in Apple Music, breaking them down by all of those possible groupings, and then coming up with “editors choices” and scholarly blurbs for each! A joy to explore and discover.

Necessary indeed. Some says they are not sure if it was necessary for Apple to divide the app from the regular music App but I think it was total necessary. It was uncomfortable when my super mix playlist or station sometimes involved classic musics because it felt like for me it was out of place. I sometimes want to listen to classic music but I don’t like it messing up my algorithm. The App is clean and love the interface. One hope is I want all music have similar volume level. Right now some are really quite.

Passable. Apple bought an amazing app, Primephonic, killed it, and gave us about 40% of the features back and they’re not implemented very well. No “radio” feature at all, whereas in Primephonic you could select a facet (like Baroque) or even multiple ones (like Baroque and keyboard) and it would select pieces to play—great for long work or reading sessions. The playlists in this app so far are for beginners, not long term fans looking for new music to listen to. The UI is confusing (where do I see how much time is left for this track?) and sometimes it will only play the first track of a playlist or album and just crap out. Turns out the product (so far) is even more disappointing than the long delay in releasing it.

Really good, couple of suggestions. First of all, I want to say I really liked Apple Music Classical. It makes it much easier to find pieces from the composers I want and recordings. It also filters out all other music which is nice. However, I found it can be glitchy. Sometimes the app closes and sometimes it won’t let me play pieces and will start playing a random different piece. I wish that there was a shuffle feature as well. It would make it much more enjoyable. I also think that it would be a good idea to add a “save to listen later” feature, which would make it easier to find stuff I like. Overall, it’s pretty good, just a few suggestions.

Search by country?. I love this app despite some occasional glitches in playback; today I noticed that the first track of an album or playlist would play but would not move on to the next. I assume this is a bug you will fix. It would be great if you added composer’s country of origin to the search function. Frequently I’m in the mood for a particular language/tradition in opera, for example, and it be great if I could browse through a list of composers from a specified nation. Would this be terribly difficult to do?

It will not play just what I ask for. I used to subscribe to Primephonic. Why did Apple destroy it? I was so excited when Apple announced that their classical music service was being released that I bought new speakers. I woke up at 3:30 on the morning the new service was released to try it. I wanted to play just one track. It would not let me do that. It played that track and all of the following tracks on the album. I tried to erase the unwanted tracks in my upcoming tracks list by swiping left. That does not work. I exchanged a series of text message with the folks at Apple support. They told me there is no way to adjust the app settings to play just the one track. The more times I try to use it, the more I see how lame it is. It does not even tell me how much time is left on the track that I am listening to.

I’d like to see one thing fixed:. The app is great! What an achievement. I’ve been looking forward to this for weeks. Thanks to everyone who worked on this. HOWEVER: I’d like one thing changed: currently, my Apple Music Classical library is tied to my main Apple Music library, meaning that I can’t remove some albums (the soundtrack to “The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly” and the “God of War” video game soundtrack) from my Apple Music Classical library (where I don’t want them) without removing them from my Apple Music library as a whole. To recap, great app: but I want to be able to choose which music I see in each app.

Great idea! Wish it was more stand alone. I love the idea of the separate app! I actually wish it was MORE separate!! I’m not a follower of classical so I know I’m not the target audience, but I’m an enthusiast in that I listen while working and to go to sleep - I’d love if this was separated from my Apple Music library because every year, my Replay is inundated with classical music because it’s on while I sleep. Would suggest not having the playlist adds, etc. automatically add to Apple Music too - or else, why am I even using a second app? Also, I would love a shuffle option for playlists! I appreciate your consideration!

Very Pleased. I was very excited to learn this app was coming out. I’m a big fan, and I don’t know why I prefer it but I appreciate that there’s a separate app for classical music. It’s such a vast and timeless genre, it deserves to stand apart. It’s definitely one of my favorite apps Apple has released to date. Since I’ve used it for a while now, I will say there are several modern or neoclassical musicians that aren’t included in the classical music app but are on the normal music app like Philip Wesley & many others. If those could be added to the classical music app it would be perfect. Maybe add a neoclassical genre to accommodate.

Awesome app but a couple of suggestions!!!. I love this app! Classical works have always touched my spirit and the progressivism has not been touched by modern music. Apart from the fact I love this I feel it would be amazing if, just like Apple Music has lyrics, that this app would have the score to each piece on the app. Imagine, classical karaoke?! One where you could input the information of what instrument you play and add it to a “lyrical conductor” like lyrics on Apple Music, for iPad…how amazing would that be. Have a flash mob do classical music and I’m Grand Central with their iPads or iPhones via a digital conductor? Sync all nearby devices via airdrop…the possibilities!

Well…. I don’t think this app was ready for prime time. Looking at my classical library from this app looks completely empty, until you select either Artist, Album, or Composer, etc. When I add a song or album via Apple Music in this app, I can’t summon it until I search for it. There’s no Recently Added. Not every song is Atmos, and most aren’t even Hi-Res Lossless. Plus Apple’s classical library is extraordinarily limited. So much of the classical music world captured on famous albums are no where to be found on iTunes, let alone Apple Music. Plus there’s no Apple Music Classical app for MacOS or Apple Watch. It’s just iPhone. It needs so much more to be worth an Apple Music subscription…

Amazing Improvement. To say I was frustrated with the “normal” Apple Music app is an understatement. It was great for everything except classical music. I personally consider this a revolutionary product. This app does for classical music what the music app did for “regular” types of music. I love being able to browse by periods. Dig deep in to composers. Experiment with those less known. Thanks Apple for taking the time and expense to give us classical music lovers a tool that enhances our lives. If I may recommend an improvement? How about a full fledged iPad version? That would make my day! Thank you Apple! You’re awesome.

It’s fine but it needs more features to make it great. I love the classical specific metadata for search but this is nothing new from the old Primephonic or even competitors like Idagio. This is really a very barebones music player. These are the features that would make it great: - radio stations. I specifically want a station that plays entire orchestral works but we could also have a station per instrument, for chamber music, specific soloists, or orchestras. I love being able to put on a radio station and discover new music in my favorite styles of classical music. - the ability to compare different recordings quickly - a radio station based on mood or type of music. Sometimes i want calming classical, other times i want powerful soul stirring music. - program notes. I want to know what makes a specific recording special. Essentially, please put more emphasis on music discovery. Classical music’s appreciation largely comes from understanding it.

Apple finally released a version for iPad. Update: apple actually responded to this and presumably other reviews and updated the app for iPad and fixed the bugs. Overall a good app for classical music lovers. So far not impressed, especially considering it’s an apple app designed for this operating system. Sometimes if a track is playing and I select another track, pressing play has no effect , going to the control center shows the previous track paused and it will restart from the control center only but the new track will not play.

Lacking. After waiting for quite some time, I have to say I’m underwhelmed at this first edition of Apple Classical. As a former Primephonic customer, I was hoping Apple would keep some of the key features of Primephonic, including the ability to read liner notes from albums, Editor Notes and the ability to follow along with notes about a particular selection of music. Given how long it took for this app to come out, I’m surprised these are missing. Still, I do love the music quality and am hopeful that Apple will continue to develop Apple Classical. Add downloads, more classical shows and notes, and it will be a huge improvement.

Great idea, execution not there yet. Honestly, the stars I’m taking off are because when you go to Apple Music on your iPad, it suggests you should download the Apple Music Classical app…which is not an iPad app. It’s wild that the iPad is so unsupported that even Apple, the company that makes it, refuses to develop for it. (But then why are they encouraging me to download the app on my iPad?) That said, the app itself is pretty good, and I’m glad to see someone think about the unique challenges involved in streaming classical music. Would love to see something specifically attuned to musical theater as well. (This app does include opera, which I appreciate, but it’s not quite optimized for that either.) Still, A+ for ideas…maybe a C for execution at this point.

Best app for all things classical!. I love using this app, is definitely worth the Apple Music subscription alone! I love that I can see various recordings of the same piece, see all the works of a composer, and the the whole category tab. I even really like being able to see how long each piece and recording is. One feature I wish would be included in the future is a way to mark whether I’ve listened to a recording already. This app has really helped me explore the world of classical music and expand on what I already know, but sometimes I can’t remember if I’ve listened to an album yet or not.

Why not just copy paste Primephonic app?. TL;DR - no shuffle, no song queue, no radios, glitchy out-of-app playback In all honestly, I am very confused why Apple did not just do a copy paste of Primephonic as it was at the time of Apple’s purchase and change the branding. Several basic features that are included amongst all music streaming services are inexplicably missing, such as the feature to queue songs or shuffle in play lists. Additionally, the search lack of being able to search through your saved albums and other saved forms of media is strange. Also, why did you delete the Primephonic feature of specific “Radios” that would shuffle different songs that followed different filters you could set such as instruments and mood? That feature was one of my favorites and I miss it a lot. Additionally, the playback out of app and when you turn off your phone is a little buggy. It keeps randomly stopping when I turn my phone off and then when i try to press play from the home screen, it begins to play regular apple music. That’s a really weird issue and makes me concerned.

Will pdf booklets become available?. I was a Primephonic subscriber until it was acquired by Apple and Apple promised a classical music app would be coming. I’ve been using Apple Classical for just today. It seems like it has a deep catalog. I’m also an Idagio subscriber, and Idagio seems to a more precise search/discovery function than Apple Classical. The sound quality of both apps is good. Both Primephonic and Idagio offered pdfs of the album booklet/liner notes, but I can’t find those here on Apple. I like learning about the specific artist and album, often in the artist’s words and info about the recording details.

No advantage, AFAICS!. This app is really mediocre! It’s so slow to load content compared to the Apple Music app, that it’s useless! And the insufferable way it handles access to your personal library is even worse! No search box is available on the playlist listing! It also sometimes just forgets a playlist after you’ve added a new track to it!! I’ve just deleted this road apple of an app entirely and now use the Music app exclusively! What classical music lovers really need from a phone app is the clear availability of full track titles with all the details displayed on every album or playlist!! Something that is app doesn’t do any better than the Music app!! Fuggetabowtit!!!

No option to add any music to the queue???. Excited so far by the Apple Music Classical app. I would echo the concerns raised by fellow commenters in these early days of the app. I am surprised by the lack of adding any music to the queue however when otherwise listening to an album, work, track, or playlist. I look forward to Apple integrating this most basic feature, at least a “play later” option. n.b. Separately, I dearly hope Apple Music Classical will recognize the history of classical music outside of a strictly Western European tradition. For starters at the very least, please consider also the long-standing traditions of Indian Classical and Chinese Classical.

Sound is excellent; functionality poor. Play button often doesn’t work. Also, it never reopens to where I stopped listening and the ff and rewind buttons don’t work well. So for example, listening to the story of classical, every time I return to an episode it restarts at the beginning of it (even if I haven’t closed the app), and then it’s really hard to get back to where I left off, not least because the fast forward rarely works. The ff from the Lock Screen sort of works, but from inside the app, it doesn’t. It’s quite an annoyance and detracts from the experience. I’d subscribe if it weren’t for this because the sound quality is quite good. One more thing: plenty of important recordings are not in Classical.

Great v1 - Please Separate Playlists. This is a great v1 app. I like how it auto imported my Music playlists with any Classical. I only wish I could now delete them from Music and not have Classical appear on my New Music Mix. That’s been a recent thing. I don’t have any Liked Classical tracks in Music, just in some of my playlists (verified with a Smart Playlist on Mac), but ever since I requested to be alerted to the Classical app being available, my New Music Mix is getting jumbled with Classical. I like listening to Classical when I want to chill or study, but when I want to do anything physical done, I want anything but Classical.

Needs an overhaul already. Here’s what should’ve happened: All the different recordings of the same works in your library were organized and put together. For example, I have 3 albums that are all Beethoven’s complete piano sonatas, and multiple recordings of Book I of the WTC, but they aren’t grouped together. Instead, it makes it slightly easier to find works when browsing. It’s a start, but it needs a lot of work. Second of all, there’s a lot of musical theater albums that are in my Apple Music Classical Library, so they need to be more clear about that. Also, the fact that there’s no section for the English Horn under instruments is a travesty.

Looks ridiculous on iPad.. On first glance, adds essentially nothing over the regular Apple Music app, other than stripping out all non-classical music, which would be okay if the new app was at least on par with the regular music app, but it’s not, at least not yet. They didn’t even optimize it for use on iPad in addition to iPhone. They should have taken the time to get it right before releasing it. This isn’t some third party release by some new small upstart company on a new platform. This is a native Apple app introducing an addition to one of their core services. It should look inviting, elegant, and impressive. As it, especially on iPad, it looks embarrassing.

This app has too many bugs but it’s new. Please go take a look at this app some things are definitely not working & nothing show up when you go on your library. Also all the music I’m adding is populating my regular music app I know it’s all the same thing but if you want me to use this app I don’t want my two libraries mixing in with each other cause that the point of having a separate app. It’s very annoying to go back to my music app & see everything I just added in classical show up like at least give me the option a switch I can turn on or off. I fear that this app is just a stepping stone for a soon to be tab within the music app. Apple is it updating fixing changing anything at all.

No iPad support. It completely mystifies me why Apple would produce this app for iPhone only. If anything, it should have been the other way around. I'm listening to classical music mainly on my home system and would prefer the luxury of the larger screen of the iPad sitting on the coffee table to browse and read about the music than scrunching up with my phone! And if Apple themselves are giving up on the iPad it's neither a good sign for the device's future nor a good example for third-party developers. Neither do I expect this is a transient situation Apple will resolve when it gets around to it. The Music app itself on iPad has been just a blown-up phone UI since its inception whereas the former iTunes app had a full iPad interface.

The app is great, maybe some suggestions. I think that this app is awesome for music, however I think it would make it more convenient if when going to the library option, you could scroll down and be able to access albums, like regular Apple Music, Instead of having to tap a menu and have to scroll through a narrow list of the albums. It would also make it a little better if you could save entire albums to your Apple Music library like on the original app instead of having to select each song to save over to the Apple Music library.

A great start! Needs more.. This app is fantastic and I am incredibly glad for them adding the lone app for Classical, but it needs some improvement and additional features to work more cohesively with Apple Music. You can’t edit playlist photos, download music (only add playlists, but download in apple music), no Carplay app, no album shuffle button (though you can still shuffle music by clicking the playlist button). There is also some weird crashing when interacting with apple music while listening on the classical app that causes you to lose your place in a playlist. I look forward to the improvements and bug fixes to come!

Long awaited and not ready. Like many of Apple’s native apps the idea is great, execution and design are clean but do not live up to the full potential. Not all works carry over seamlessly as they should. There needs to be a fine tuning to import soundtracks and movie scores as well, which suffer the same fate as classical music in the main Apple Music app. There needs to be an option to manually select titles to import, playlists to share between apps and an option to hide titles that are incorrectly shared between the two apps. Adding and removing titles from your library should give an option to add/remove from either or both apps. Options to edit your music meta data to avoid weird listings or incorrect or duplicate albums is missing in all mobile apps and sends users back to Mac versions. Like many modern Apple apps options to customize design, functionality and even to make use of the glaring empty space on screen would go the extra mile to make this or any app a must have and industry leading solution for creators, curators and consumers. Finally, the absence of an iPad or Mac equivalent is embarrassing at launch.

Filter isn’t always perfect. There are times where it filters out things that should be there. For example, with simple gifts: four shaker songs (Frank Ticheli) the recordings that are there either include 1,2 and 4, or only 2 and 4, so the third song is never present. It’s not bad, but it’s weird when I’m trying to listen to a piece in its entirety and I can’t because it filters out one of the songs. I don’t know if there’s anyway to try to report specific instances of missing tracks or not, but that would be great.

Servers were stabilized. Feature requests.. Initial download was very buggy, but that seems to be a server issue that has been resolved. The app now appears to be stable. I like the ability to very easily find lots of different recordings of a particular work by just clicking on the title. Everything is very clearly geared towards the way classical music is organized, and so it’s way easier to find recordings than it is in the main Apple Music app. Also, can you add a shuffle button that shuffles by work so works with multiple movements always play in sequence, even while shuffled?

Finally. I’m so excited about Apple Music Classical app. I’ve waited for two years hoping that Apple would publish it. Now when I seen app I can say that I’m satisfied with it. Most of the features from Primephonic are integrated in app, although there are still some things that needs to be done. For me, the most important thing is search part and connection between different performances of the same piece. That works great! Looking forward to using this app and to new content that Apple is going to do. ✨