Though some kids today might think of classical music as more punishment than pleasure, it's one of those rare genres that continues to draw huge audiences in every corner of the globe, even centuries after it was first popularized. You may not hear Brahms blasting out of car stereos or Bach blaring out of dorm rooms, but if it weren't for those two and a select handful of other composers, popular Western music wouldn't be what it is today. And the fact that the genre still has such a devoted and far-reaching listenership speaks especially to its weirdly effective ability to wordlessly rouse profound emotion within all of us. So whether you're in the mood for a thunderous Beethoven symphony to power you through rush hour traffic, or a delicate Chopin nocturne before going to bed, the immense canon of classical music stands is there as your own comprehensive catalogue of human experience--full of songs, movements, or even brief measures that can fit any given moment perfectly. And if you wanna leaf through your own experiential calendar, there's no better place to start than with the radio.
Here are the top five Classical stations available in the SHOUTcast Radio Directory. To listen to these stations and more, find them in the Classical genre.
Top 5 Classical Radio Stations
5) SKY.fm Classical Guitar Channel
Proving that classical music isn't confined to concert halls and polite audiences, this classical guitar channel oozes with sensual and spicy flamenco, while giving equal weight to calmer, more linear Spanish guitar styles.
4) Classical 102
The self-proclaimed "first class in music" is based out of Berlin, and definitely lives up to its moniker. Their programming touches all the bases, rolling out immortal composer after immortal composer.
3) Venice Classical Music
Ah, Venice. Canals, gondolas, romance. And the perfect setting for the kinds of mellifluous, emotionally fraught, and fundamentally influential music that you'll find on this Venetian station. Put on your finest pair of white pants and sock-less dress shoes, and dive right on in.
2) All Otto Baroque Musick
Baroque music will forever be defined by its founding father, Johann Sebastian Bach, who singlehandedly systematized and revolutionized music with his theories on tonal harmonies and contrapuntal motion. But there's plenty of other fascinatingly ornate and mathematical Baroque music out there. And you'll find a lot of it here. Perfect accompaniment for staring at a Bernini sculpture for hours on end.
1) SKY.fm Mostly Classical
SKY.fm's "Mostly Classical" channel has one thing, and one thing only, on its programming mind: relaxation. The station's programmers like to keep spirits high and blood pressures low, and, with the likes of Chopin, Bach and Haydn, you can never really go wrong.
