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Free Streaming Classical Music 30 November 2007 Tonya L Thompson In an era of instant gratification, Classical musical tradition has finally reconciled itself with innovation. Music that was once reserved for the privileged classes in private concert halls has since become accessible to all—and now, with the advent of iTunes, Podcasts, and streaming audio, it is readily available by simply downloading or tuning in.
Although iTunes has taken the music industry by storm, the music still has a price tag attached (albeit, a small one). This left millions of fans still listening to the local public and college radio stations for their daily dose of Classical music—that is, until streaming audio. Streaming audio uses a player that downloads and buffers audio files into your device’s sound card. With adequate high speed Internet access, this process is usually seamless, allowing the listener to tune in to radio stations and saved broadcasts throughout the world. Basically, you have free streaming Classical music at your disposal at any place or time, allowing for the perfect soundtrack for anything from your ride home from the office to a romantic, candlelight dinner. And with wireless Internet access becoming more prolific, listeners are becoming increasingly capable of tuning into the perfect Classical music station from just about anywhere. Some of the best free streaming classical music audio stations are award winning classical music radio stations that have moved into the digital era in order to reach an International audience via the Internet. With streaming audio technology, you can listen to these highly acclaimed stations as they broadcast out of music Meccas such as New York City (http://www.wnyc.org/), Vienna (http://oe1.orf.at/) and London (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/; http://www.classicfm.com/), all within the comfort of your own home. Directories such as those offered at classicalwebcast.com (http://classicalwebcast.com/europe.htm) supply links to these, and several other stations throughout Europe.
Does the sound of ‘All Bach, all the time’ appeal to you? Or maybe Baroque’s precision drives you nuts and you’d much rather hear the chaotic and climatic sounds of the Modern or Avant-garde composers. If your tastes fall in more specific categories than diverse radio stations tend to offer - say, Chamber music or Opera only - independent and Internet-only free streaming classical music audio stations abound, offering more specialised content.
The most popular of these is SHOUTcast (http://www.shoutcast.com/), a massive site using Windows-based player, Winamp, which offers listeners a chance to tune into any genre (and division of that genre) imaginable. In addition, there is Live365 (http://www.live365.com/index.live), a similar site that has been hailed as being more user-friendly and ‘hip’ than SHOUTcast. If you happen to be the type of Classical connoisseur that imagines the perfect selection of music, you can even create your own station on these sites, allowing the world access to your ideal mix. The possibilities of free streaming audio are endless. If you’re looking for absolute perfection in sound and concert hall quality, however, don’t expect to get it from these sources. While the technology of streaming audio has improved within the past five years, the sound quality of these stations remains, at best, mediocre. You won’t notice the inhaled and exhaled breath of the first-chair violinist, but that’s the trade-off for having instant access to the music you want to hear, whenever and wherever you want to hear it.
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© Court Lane Music 2007