Apple Music Classical Launches Listening Guide, Editorial Stations, & More

Apple Music Classical has launched its biggest upgrade since its launch in 2023 including three new features: Listening Guide, Personalized Recommendations and Editorial Stations.

Exclusive to the app, Listening Guide is a groundbreaking new feature that takes users inside a notable work of music as they listen, highlighting details and explaining a work in real time as it unfolds phrase by musical phrase.

With over 100 works available from launch, Listening Guide offers a natural and intuitive user experience, with text appearing seamlessly on the user’s screen as they listen, providing descriptions and additional context along the way. From identifying the instruments they’re hearing to explaining the drama behind a symphony or a concerto, the expert commentary turns the listening experience into a learning experience by opening doors on some of the most enduring and admired works of classical music.

At launch, Listening Guide is available in English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, and Simplified Chinese. More languages will be added, as will more works to help further illuminate a user’s journey through hundreds of works and recordings

Each Listening Guide is matched with a landmark recording from renowned artists and ensembles, including Martha Argerich, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Gustavo Dudamel, Philip Glass, London Symphony Orchestra, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Noriko Ogawa, Philadelphia Orchestra, Maria João Pires, Simon Rattle, Yeol Eum Son, Daniil Trifonov, and Mitsuko Uchida.

Other new additions include Personalized Recommendations, which makes discovering new works even easier by using a customer’s listening history as well as new recordings of works they have previously listened to, and Editorial Stations, continually playing music arranged by instrument, composer, period, and genre, curated by Apple Music Classical’s editors.

“The features in this update are the most significant additions to Apple Music Classical since launch. They each turn a normal listening experience into a wonderful journey that enhances the listener's experience, catering to curiosity and creating new interactive ways to learn about favorite pieces of music” said Anjali Malhotra, Global Director, Apple Music Classical.

“Music is a universal language that speaks to our souls and the deeper our understanding of it, the more powerful the impact. Throughout my life I have seen over and over again the fundamental nature of education and how learning to listen with greater awareness can transform not only our appreciation of music, but of life and how we connect with the world around us. This Listening Guide from Apple Music Classical invites everyone, from newcomers to lifelong listeners, to truly immerse themselves in the music” said conductor Gustavo Dudamel.

“Apple Music Classical’s Listening Guide expands accessibility to music in a new way. To harness and embrace this will always be a good thing in the continuing evolution of how people listen to music” said composer and pianist Philip Glass.

“I’m pleased to hear about this exciting update from Apple Music Classical - context is so important in classical music. Offering listeners the opportunity to delve deeper into the music can only enhance their listening experience, whether that be helping a new listener to identify the instruments they are hearing or allowing an expert to notice something new for the first time” said violinist Janine Jansen.

Since its launch in March 2023, Apple Music Classical has added exclusive features and content meant to bring classical music to life for users, including Story of Classical, Track by Track, playlists by period and genre, editorial stations, personalized recommendations, biographies, and album booklets.

Apple Music Classical makes it easier to find any recording in the world’s largest classical music catalog with fully optimized search built specifically for classical, while offering the highest audio quality available. With high-resolution lossless and immersive Spatial Audio, listeners can experience classical favorites in a whole new way. Expertly curated playlists and insightful composer biographies as well as the addition of over 50 thousand booklets featuring in-depth liner notes, translations, plus the only global classical music chart and more, make Apple Music Classical the best place for classical music lovers.