I’d say no, that’s not all. I have classical albums that I have purchased from the iTunes Store that show the full metadata in the Classical app (Library tab, albums and tracks). Oh, and even one album that I added from my Apple Music subscription a month ago - it’s not just purchased albums.
I think you may have misunderstood my point. Of course, anything in the Classical app will have a complete set of metadata, whether you purchased it or not. That’s the main selling point of the app. What I am saying is that it derives all that metadata from Apple’s own online classical database and ignores what is in your own library. If you adjust the metadata in the Apple Music app, it will not affect how it shows up in the Classical app. And the Classical app won’t find any music in your own library that is not also available online.
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For me, so I can play music via my receiver hooked up to speakers. I guess I could use AirPlay to stream from my iPhone, but easier to play music as I have been. Also, then I don’t have to educate my SigO about new procedures which always flusters her for a few weeks…
Hi Kirk! Been out of touch for awhile but good to see you here.
I do want to say that for me, the whole issue of what constitutes “classical” music is a bit inane. I do consider folks like Mertins and even Eno to have written music that for me is not pop. Not at all. Music for Airports is as minimalist as one of my own works and no one has mistaken my music for rock. But I also think classification is not consistent and not even helpful. I don’t care if something is classical or rock or hip hop or whatever. What matters is if it resonates with me. And I think a lot of us who compose or play new music realize that the old categorizations are limiting and not useful.
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Thanks for the in-depth and thoughtful review, Kirk. I’m just beginning to explore the app, but yes, it’s obviously a huge improvement. I agree with the your comments about the siloing; this won’t really be mainstream for me until I’m able to use it on my Mac, since that’s ground-zero for my classical library. And I’m still going to continue using Idagio as well.
I suspect, but do not know, that part of the reason for a separate app is the difficulty of merging two huuuggge and very different databases. Were I Apple, I think I’d rather create a new structure and migrate the data, and create a single new app that is neither of the current apps.
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I wouldn’t be surprised if the results included Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s 1971 version of “Pictures at an Exhibition”!
Let me know when it’s on Apple TV so I can play it on my home theatre sound system.
A very enjoyable discussion I have to say, great to see such informed opinion in this community on something I have only a smattering of experience with.
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In Idagio ($10/mo CD-quality classical streaming), if you search for Mussorgsky, then further search for Exhibition, it lists separate links allowing you to display all recordings of only the piano original, only Ravel’s orchestration, only Stokowski’s orchestration, or various other arrangements. There are 183 recordings of the piano original and 150 of the Ravel. (These numbers are somewhat inflated because several recordings are listed multiple times.)
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Idagio’s app for iOS (or Android) allows you to download a large number of albums, works or tracks to your mobile device for listening offline:
If I can be forgiven for beating the drum for Idagio again:
If you search for Mahler to get a list of his works, then select the 2nd symphony, the main list initially displayed is of recordings sorted by either popularity or publication date. In the left sidebar, there are 3 additional lists: conductors, ensembles, and soloists. These 3 lists by default are sorted by (and display) the number of recordings by each conductor or ensemble. A button allows you to display all conductors (61), ensembles (132) or soloists (140) alphabetically.
(There is one listing of the 2nd by MTT/San Francisco, from 2004. Its popularity rank is about 22.)
Another maddening thing about the app (and Apple Music) is how they handle legacy recordings. The date of the reissue is displayed, but unless it is in the album title, you don’t know when the performance was actually recorded. This basic information was always found in the liner notes of any CD or LP.
Ah, liner notes - how I miss them! I seem to remember reading that they would be a part of Apple Classical Music.
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Thanks so much for that, Bob. I’ll certainly look at Idagio. Of course, I can’t look at Primephonic’s effort any more.
I’m a bit puzzled, however, about the search indexing in Apple Music Classical. After I’ve conducted a few related searches, extraneous “finds” appear alongside the intended target of a specific search; e.g., Gilbert Kaplan recordings in a search for Mahler works performed by the San Francisco Symphony (which, of course, do not exist). I would have thought that the basic search algorithm would have been the main reason Apple purchased Primephonic and that ITS warts would have been excised long ago.
I also don’t know how much of the curated metadata; e.g., life story of a conductor or performer comes from Apple, how much from Primephonic. Then there’s the whole issue of copyright.My guess is that the model is that the “add to library” in Music Classical, download to device as a playlist into Apple Music for offline playback is good only so long as one continues one’s subscription to Apple Music. Unless a “purchase” model is added to Apple Music Classical, the efforts of a classical music afficionado to create his own offline-accessible and durable collection would be thwarted once one’s subscription to Apple Music ends.
And, for me, one question about permanent downloads is that for many, it could exceed the storage capabilities of one’s mobile device. Not as big a problem as if Apple offered an encyclopedic collection of cinema, of course, but some users boast of video and music libraries that fill multi-Terabyte RAID arrays. Will we have to buy our iPhone 15s in Europe to get USBc/TB4 access to such collections, or does that just make no sense whatsoever for a device that spends most of its time in one’s pocket with no wired connections to ANYthing else?
What I do is play something with AMC on the iPhone or iPad and link that to my speakers with Bluetooth. Works fine for me.
You can use it on an iPad, since it is an iOS app. From the iPhone or iPad, I use Bluetooth to shoot the pieces to whatever pairs with them.
Well, it does look rather odd on an iPad, but I listen to the music and forget about that.
Don’t know if it’s any better but I heard it is got a long way to go to get to the level of accurate searching for particular tracks/albums/recordings that this service provided.
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As far as I know, Apple Music Classical requires an Apple Music subscription, so, yes, tracks downloaded from the music app (which will cost nothing beyond the subscription) will no longer play if you cancel the subscription.
There doesn’t appear to be a direct purchase option for tracks or albums in the Classical app, nor in the iOS Music app, but if you add to your Apple Music library and open on the MacOS Music app, there is a way to open the album/track in the iTunes Store (ctrl-click, or select the song and go to the song menu) and purchase the album and/or track there. So if you do plan to end your subscription, you could try to purchase anything that you’ve downloaded to give permanent access after the subscription ends. (Well, you could really purchase anyway and keep the subscription.)