Yeah, that's a bugger, but on the other hand I understand the playlists you create with it are also visible in the regular Music app, so you can still play them in the car.
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Hands-On With Apple's New Classical Music App
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Not dumb at all.
If you were a regular listener to classical music you'd understand why this app is standalone and makes sense.
This has been brought up innumerable times in multiple threads. I can't believe you haven't seen any of them. Sorry, but what's dumb here is your statement which shows no understanding of or interest in classical music. It's irksome to realize how much of a lack of understanding of classical music exists here.
For me it’s a useless app if it’s iPhone only. No iPad, desktop, Sonos, CarPlay……really, this took them two years to implement?
A shuffle mode for classical music? Have you had any exposure to classical music?
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Then don't use it. And, BTW, it works fine on my iPad.
I suspect the app will be useful for newbies to classical music and casual/occasional listeners. For serious listeners like me, it sucks. (Background: I've been listening to classical music for decades and often park myself in front of my hi-fi for sessions, sometimes following along with a score. I also write/translate program notes for a major orchestra, other ensembles and the occasional record label).
As noted in an earlier thread, the search function, which I rely on all the time, is hardly better than Apple Music's. When you search Beethoven symphony 2, the work doesn't even appear on the first results page (symphonies 5, 9, 8, 7 and 3 do and under that a few 2 recordings are shown). You have to then select Show All Works to get a page listing all the Beethoven symphonies, including no. 2. You then have to select the no. 2 link to get a page with a (IMHO uninteresting) editor's recommended version, the five most popular recordings and a See All link. And you then have to select that to finally see a comprehensive list of some 500 albums and tracks, with no way to search within it.
With Idagio, I could get to a specific performance with a couple of "clicks" and little or no scrolling. With Apple Classical, it's much more laborious and time-consuming.
Search Turandot and you're presented with a list of many recordings (and again tracks) of the opera but not the hottest new one. To get that, you have to add the conductor's name (Pappano in this case) to the search string. WTF?
Also, I have a bunch of albums from the ongoing Orchester der J.S. Bach-Stiftung cantata series saved in Apple Music. Only some of them show up in my Apple Classical library.
Metadata such as the performers involved is better than in Apple Music but there also appear to be no links to liner notes or libretti, which Idagio, for one, often has (in PDF, great for reading/following along on a tablet) for newer recordings.
After playing with the app a bunch last night, I'm back to using Apple Music this morning; at least it's available on all my devices, including my Mac Mini. And I can't wait till May when Qobuz becomes available in Canada so I can ditch Apple Music and finally listen to music in lossless and hi-res on my Sonos system (including an Amp connected to a pair of KEF speakers), which Qobuz and Amazon Music Unlimited do but Apple doesn't.
As noted in an earlier thread, the search function, which I rely on all the time, is hardly better than Apple Music's. When you search Beethoven symphony 2, the work doesn't even appear on the first results page (symphonies 5, 9, 8, 7 and 3 do and under that a few 2 recordings are shown). You have to then select Show All Works to get a page listing all the Beethoven symphonies, including no. 2. You then have to select the no. 2 link to get a page with a (IMHO uninteresting) editor's recommended version, the five most popular recordings and a See All link. And you then have to select that to finally see a comprehensive list of some 500 albums and tracks, with no way to search within it.
With Idagio, I could get to a specific performance with a couple of "clicks" and little or no scrolling. With Apple Classical, it's much more laborious and time-consuming.
Search Turandot and you're presented with a list of many recordings (and again tracks) of the opera but not the hottest new one. To get that, you have to add the conductor's name (Pappano in this case) to the search string. WTF?
Also, I have a bunch of albums from the ongoing Orchester der J.S. Bach-Stiftung cantata series saved in Apple Music. Only some of them show up in my Apple Classical library.
Metadata such as the performers involved is better than in Apple Music but there also appear to be no links to liner notes or libretti, which Idagio, for one, often has (in PDF, great for reading/following along on a tablet) for newer recordings.
After playing with the app a bunch last night, I'm back to using Apple Music this morning; at least it's available on all my devices, including my Mac Mini. And I can't wait till May when Qobuz becomes available in Canada so I can ditch Apple Music and finally listen to music in lossless and hi-res on my Sonos system (including an Amp connected to a pair of KEF speakers), which Qobuz and Amazon Music Unlimited do but Apple doesn't.
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Not necessarily sad. Many people have no interest in classical music, like they have no interest in gardening, or in hiking, or in 19th century literature, or in sports cars, or whatever. It's not like classical music were some kind of pinnacle of culture. It's just one of several kinds of music, neither intrinsically better nor worse than others. Some like it, some don't, and there's nothing wrong with that.
What's sad, however, is that so many who have no interest in - and indeed no knowledge of - classical music feel the need to have strong opinions in regard to the usefulness of a dedicated app.
No point in getting annoyed at people who make comments like that. It's obvious they have no idea what they're talking about.
Maybe after a few months of using the new app they'll begin to understand what classical music actually is and how it works (Spotify and most other music streaming services treat it like just another bunch of "tracks") and they'll better appreciate this new app.
In the meantime those of us who love classical music can rejoice that we no longer have to scroll past tattoos and gold teeth to get our chosen genre, and that Apple (after Primephonic) has finally given us an app that we, and the music, deserve.
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Can someone recommend the best version of Liszt's La Campanella?
It's partly preference of course but it'd be nice to hear what people think.
Just spotted the “My Shazam Tracks” playlist - very handy.
Apple today officially launched the much anticipated Apple Music Classical app on the iPhone, allowing Apple Music subscribers to download and access an app dedicated just to classical music. We went hands-on with the new app to give MacRumors readers a closer look.
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Design wise, the app is similar to Apple Music, but it is entirely dedicated to classical titles. The Browse section, for example, is broken down into Composers, Genres, Periods, Conductors, Orchestras, Soloists, Choirs, and Ensembles, making it easier to discover the specific classical content that you're looking for.
A Listen Now section offers up New Releases, Spatial Audio content, and other recommendations in various genres, plus there is a dedicated Library for aggregating saved content. A search function makes it simple to find something specific.
All in all, the app will be familiar to Apple Music subscribers, and it is in fact very simple. Unfortunately, it is limited to the iPhone at the current time, with no Mac or iPad version available. It's also not available on CarPlay.
Have you tried Apple Music Classical? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Article Link: Hands-On With Apple's New Classical Music App
Not a huge classical music fan, but enjoying Jessye Norman - The Unreleased Masters, specifically Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde Prelude to Act I - as a first play.
I was very glad to see this app last night; if it weren’t for my collection of ripped CDs being in Music, I might replace it as my default music app. That said, I’m disappointed there’s no way to download my library for offline listening, which I do not do with my Music library out of concern it will mess with the metadata of my carefully curated CD library.
I'm disappointed it's only for Apple Music subscribers. I was rather looking forward to using this for the classical music I already own. I did not expect that restriction. Oh well! I hope it works well for others who were anticipating it!
To be fair you can be connected to CarPlay and just start playing from the app for now. What superior app did you create this past couple years?
A shuffle mode at the work level makes sense. A shuffle mode at the movement level doesn't.
Is there New Age music mixed in with the classical? Because New Age always seems to be stuck in the classical sections of music apps for some reason. And yes, I am a New Age fan. Thanks.
Really looks similar to Apple Music but not in a good way? Just tried using with limited success. Here’s my example case, wonder if I’m doing it wrong or if others can help?
I wanted to listen to Bach’s Italian Concerto, but only the third movement Presto. It correctly found BWV 971, gave a nice history, and suggested 5 “popular” recordings of artists I’d never heard of. Shouldn’t Glenn Gould’s be up there front and center? Then when I click “see all” there are tens if not hundreds of artists. (Which is great). Sort by popularity is based on what?? Serkin, Schiff, and the numerous Gould recordings are way way way down.
And what if I wanted to find the pianist who played it the absolute fastest? Or slowest? Yes I can sort by “duration” but that’s for the 3 movements together. And most of them about 12 minutes- I have to go through every artist to find out who played the Presto in 3:07 vs 4:17.
This app provides a better way to manage the “firehose” of classical music, but I still feel way too overwhelmed to find a good recording of (for example) Bach’s Italian Concerto.
I wanted to listen to Bach’s Italian Concerto, but only the third movement Presto. It correctly found BWV 971, gave a nice history, and suggested 5 “popular” recordings of artists I’d never heard of. Shouldn’t Glenn Gould’s be up there front and center? Then when I click “see all” there are tens if not hundreds of artists. (Which is great). Sort by popularity is based on what?? Serkin, Schiff, and the numerous Gould recordings are way way way down.
And what if I wanted to find the pianist who played it the absolute fastest? Or slowest? Yes I can sort by “duration” but that’s for the 3 movements together. And most of them about 12 minutes- I have to go through every artist to find out who played the Presto in 3:07 vs 4:17.
This app provides a better way to manage the “firehose” of classical music, but I still feel way too overwhelmed to find a good recording of (for example) Bach’s Italian Concerto.
Someone thinks dedicating a whole app to a genre of music is dumb... and people's replies are just as snobby — "You don't understand classical music".
Maybe add some substance to your pompous comment so people can get educated?
Maybe add some substance to your pompous comment so people can get educated?
What worries me the most about the new app is that one of Apple's senior managers will become friends with Mozart or Mahler and automatically put a bunch of their albums on my iPhone.
;-)
;-)
Unfortunately not yet. That is where I need it.