Classic FM (styled as CLASSIC M) is one of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

's three

Independent National Radio Independent National Radio is the official term for the three national commercial radio stations currently or previously broadcasting on analogue radio in the United Kingdom. The two stations currently or previously broadcasting on AM were allocat ...

stations and is owned and operated by

Global Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989 * ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015 * Bruno ...

. The station broadcasts

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" al ...

and was launched in 1992. Classic FM was the first national classical music station to launch since the opening of

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also featuring. The sta ...

, 25 years earlier, in September 1967, and 46 years since the opening of Radio 3's predecessor,

The Third Programme ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

, in September 1946. Until March 2019, when

Scala Radio Scala Radio is a classical music digital radio station in the United Kingdom, owned and operated by Bauer Radio since its launch in March 2019. The station broadcasts nationally on DAB via the Sound Digital multiplex and online through websites ...

was launched, it was the only privately-owned classical music radio service broadcasting terrestrially in the UK; it is still, however, the only such service broadcasting on analogue FM radio. , the station has a weekly audience of 4.6million listeners.

Overview

Classic FM broadcasts nationally on FM, DAB digital radio,

Freeview Freeview may refer to: *Freeview (Australia), the marketing name for the digital terrestrial television platform in Australia *Freeview (New Zealand), a digital satellite and digital terrestrial television platform in New Zealand *Freeview (UK), a ...

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioiso ...

and

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and is available internationally by

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over the

internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...

. It is the only

station to broadcast on FM alongside BBC Radios 1, 2, 3 and 4. In addition to playing a wide, traditional classical repertoire, the station also features

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...

s and

video game music Video game music (or VGM) is the soundtrack that accompanies video games. Early video game music was once limited to sounds of early sound chips, such as programmable sound generators (PSG) or FM synthesis chips. These limitations have led t ...

History

The idea for a national, commercial FM network devoted to classical music originated with the management at

GWR group GCap Media was a British commercial radio company formed from the merger of the Capital Radio Group and GWR Group. The merger was completed in May 2005. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. O ...

, an entrepreneurial group of UK commercial radio stations. It had been operating a trial programme on its AM frequencies in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

and

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

, testing audience reaction to a regular drive-time programme of popular classical music. It proved successful, and the company's CEO, Ralph Bernard, and programme director,

Michael Bukht Mirza Michael John Bukht (10 September 1941 – 4 August 2011) was a British commercial radio executive. Under the pseudonym Michael Barry, he was a chef and television personality who was a regular co-presenter on the BBC2 television s ...

, drew up the plans for a national station. Meanwhile,

Brian Brolly Brian Brolly (21 October 1936 – 28 October 2006), was an English showbusiness entrepreneur. He was the managing director of Paul and Linda McCartney's MPL Communications, and then of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Theatre Company. He was a ...

, formerly the CEO of

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musical ...

Really Useful Group The Really Useful Group Ltd. (RUG) is an international company set up in 1977 by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It is involved in theatre, film, television, video and concert productions, merchandising, magazine publishing, records and music publishing. ...

, had a similar idea in 1990. After failing to raise sufficient funds for the project, Brolly's consortium was approached by the GWR Group, and the two merged. The UK Government had decided to award several new national radio licences, and invited tenders. Brolly had brought the idea to

Rick Senat Rick may refer to: People *Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name *Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality * Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and myco ...

, the long-serving head of business affairs in London for Warner Bros. and current owner of

Hammer Films A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as wi ...

. Initially rejected by Warner Bros., Senat showed the project to the President of

Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

International Broadcasting, Tom McGrath, a former classical musician and conductor. Time Warner agreed to back the project, but was prohibited under then current UK law from owning more than a 25% interest. GWR created a business plan which was supported by its major shareholder,

DMGT Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) is a British multinational media company, the owner of the ''Daily Mail'' and several other titles. The 4th Viscount Rothermere is the chairman and controlling shareholder of the company. The head office is ...

, publishers of the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

''. An internal dispute over ownership of the licence was resolved, and the consortium was completed after Time Warner agreed to back GWR's plans for the station. As time was running out to raise the £6m needed to launch the station, the GWR investment team spent two days presenting to and finally persuading private investor Sir Peter Michael to back the plan with a 30% investment. The founding shareholder group that launched Classic FM was Sir Peter Michael and Time Warner (each with over 30%), GWR (17%), DMGT (5%) and several other smaller shareholders. The Radio Authority had granted an exemption so that Time Warner could hold more than 25%, provided a UK citizen/corporation was larger in the shareholding group. The station launched at 06:00 on Monday 7 September 1992, after two months of test transmissions using a recording of

birdsong Bird vocalization includes both bird calls and bird songs. In non-technical use, bird songs are the bird sounds that are melodious to the human ear. In ornithology and birding, songs (relatively complex vocalizations) are distinguished by func ...

. Nick Bailey presented the first programme, and ''

Zadok the Priest ''Zadok the Priest'' ( HWV 258) is a British anthem that was composed by George Frideric Handel for the coronation of King George II in 1727. Alongside '' The King Shall Rejoice'', '' My Heart is Inditing'' and '' Let Thy Hand Be Strengthened' ...

'' by

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...

was the first piece to be played. Other launch presenters included

Henry Kelly Henry Kelly (born 17 April 1946) is an Irish radio and television broadcaster, actor and journalist. Early life Kelly was born in Athlone, County Westmeath, Ireland, and educated at Belvedere College SJ, and at University College Dublin, where ...

Susannah Simons ''Susannah'' is an opera in two acts by the American composer Carlisle Floyd, who wrote the libretto and music while a member of the piano faculty at Florida State University. Floyd adapted the story from the Apocryphal tale of Susannah and the ...

Petroc Trelawny James Edward Petroc Trelawny (born 27 May 1971) is a British classical music radio and television broadcaster. Since 1998 he has been a presenter on BBC Radio 3. Career James Edward Petroc Trelawny was born in Worcester and grew up in the Meneag ...

and

Adrian Love Adrian Love (3 August 1944 – 10 March 1999) was a British radio presenter, remembered for his ''Love in the Afternoon'' programme on BBC Radio 2. Early life Adrian Love was born in York on 3 August 1944 to Cicely Joyce (née Peters) and music ...

. The station rejected the " Radio 3" style of presentation, and took inspiration from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

WNYC WNYC is the trademark and a set of call letters shared by WNYC (AM) and WNYC-FM, a pair of nonprofit, noncommercial, public radio stations located in New York City. WNYC is owned by New York Public Radio (NYPR), a nonprofit organization that ...

and the now-defunct WGMS in Washington, D.C., with their more populist mix of talk, light classical music, new artists and crossover classical records.

, the UK's largest radio station ownership group, now owns the station. Classic FM has broadcast from its current studios, on the second floor of 30

Leicester Square Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leicester House, itself named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicest ...

in central London, since March 2006. The first programme to be broadcast live from there was Mark Griffiths' programme on Sunday 26 March 2006. In April and May 2017, ''High Score'', the first series on UK radio dedicated to video game music, was first broadcast on Classic FM. According to the station's website, it became "the most popular programme on 'Listen Again' in Classic FM’s 25-year history". It was presented by composer Jessica Curry.

Current Notable Presenters

Alexander Armstrong Alexander Henry Fenwick Armstrong (born 2 March 1970) is an English actor, comedian, radio personality, television presenter and singer. He is the host of the BBC One game show '' Pointless'', as well as the morning show on Classic FM. He is ...

Anne-Marie Minhall Anne-Marie Minhall is an English radio presenter who works for Classic FM. She presents the weekday afternoon show from 12pm–4pm. Early life and education Minhall was born in London and raised in a Nottinghamshire village. She attended Clare ...

John Brunning John Brunning is an English radio presenter, musician and composer. On Classic FM he presents Classic FM Drive. Brunning was born in Essex and from 1970 broadcast pirate radio from his home in Colchester. He learned guitar and played for a time w ...

* Zeb Soanes *

Margherita Taylor Margherita Taylor (born 26 April 1972) is an English TV and radio presenter. She is a freelancer with Global Group and currently presents on stations Smooth Radio and Classic FM. Taylor studied media and communications at the University o ...

Katie Breathwick Katie Breathwick (born 1971) is a radio journalist and broadcaster. She is a late-night presenter on Classic FM. Early life Breathwick was born in Leicester. Her mother was a primary school teacher and her father was an accountant. She has two ...

Alan Titchmarsh Alan Fred Titchmarsh HonFSE (born 2 May 1949) is an English gardener, broadcaster, TV presenter, poet, and novelist. After working as a professional gardener and a gardening journalist, he established himself as a media personality through a ...

Moira Stuart Moira Clare Ruby Stuart, (born 2 September 1949) is a British presenter and broadcaster. She was the first female newsreader of Caribbean heritage to appear on British national television, having worked on BBC News since 1981.Andrew Collins * David Mellor *

Myleene Klass Myleene Angela Klass (born 6 April 1978) is a British musician, singer, presenter, model and businesswoman. She was a member of the pop group Hear'Say, and later released two solo classical crossover albums in 2003 and 2007. More recently, Klass ...

Aled Jones Aled Jones, (born 29 December 1970) is a Welsh singer and radio and television presenter. As a teenage chorister, he reached widespread fame during the mid-1980s. Since then he has worked in television with the BBC and ITV, and radio (for ...

* Catherine Bott *

John Humphrys Desmond John Humphrys (born 17 August 1943) is a Welsh broadcaster. From 1981 to 1987 he was the main presenter for the '' Nine O'Clock News'', the flagship BBC News television programme, and from 1987 until 2019 he presented on the BBC Radio 4 ...

* Charlotte Hawkins * John Suchet * Sir Trevor McDonald * Karthi Gnanasegaram * Nicholas Owen *

Debbie Wiseman Debbie Wiseman, OBE (born 10 May 1963) is a British composer for film and television, known also as a conductor and a radio and television presenter. Biography Wiseman was born in London. She studied at Trinity College of Music Junior Depart ...

Fiona Bruce Fiona Elizabeth Bruce (born 25 April 1964) is a British journalist, newsreader, and television presenter. She joined the BBC as a researcher for '' Panorama'' in 1989, and has since become the first female newsreader on the ''BBC News at Ten' ...

Hall of Fame

Classic FM's "Hall of Fame" is broadcast annually over the four days of the

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samue ...

weekend. First broadcast in 1996, the show counts down the 300 most-popular pieces as voted for by listeners, culminating in the number one on the evening of

Easter Monday Easter Monday refers to the day after Easter Sunday in either the Eastern or Western Christian traditions. It is a public holiday in some countries. It is the second day of Eastertide. In Western Christianity, it marks the second day of the ...

. The number one spot was occupied until 2001 by

Max Bruch Max Bruch (6 January 1838 – 2 October 1920) was a German Romantic composer, violinist, teacher, and conductor who wrote more than 200 works, including three violin concertos, the first of which has become a prominent staple of the standard ...

's Violin Concerto No. 1, and then by

Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...

's Piano Concerto No. 2. In 2006 the top spot was taken by

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

Clarinet Concerto A clarinet concerto is a concerto for clarinet; that is, a musical composition for solo clarinet together with a large ensemble (such as an orchestra or concert band). Albert Rice has identified a work by Giuseppe Antonio Paganelli as possibly th ...

. From 2007 to 2010, the top place on the Hall of Fame was taken by

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

's '' The Lark Ascending''. The 2011 "Hall of Fame" saw Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2 return to the top spot, ending Vaughan Williams' four-year run, and held the position again in 2012 and 2013. In 2014 The Lark Ascending replaced Rachmaninov, which slipped back to number 2 and remained number 1 through to 2017. In 2018, the top spot was taken by

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

1812 Overture ''The Year 1812, Solemn Overture'', Op. 49, popularly known as the ''1812 Overture'', is a concert overture in E major written in 1880 by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to commemorate the successful Russian defense against Napoleon I ...

, Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2 was a non-mover in second place, and Vaughan Williams' ''The Lark Ascending'' descended to third place after a four-year run at no. 1. In the 2019 Hall of Fame, Vaughan Williams's ''The Lark Ascending'' reclaimed the top spot, followed by Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 and

Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

Enigma Variations Edward Elgar composed his ''Variations on an Original Theme'', Op. 36, popularly known as the ''Enigma Variations'', between October 1898 and February 1899. It is an orchestral work comprising fourteen variations on an original theme. Elgar ...

at second and third respectively. 2020 and 2021's Hall Of Fame also saw ''The Lark Ascending'' voted the most popular piece by Classic FM listeners.

Nation's Favourite Christmas Carol

Classic FM broadcasts the "Nation's Favourite Christmas Carol" in a similar format to the "Hall of Fame". The show counts down the thirty most popular

Christmas carols Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

every Christmas Day between 13:00 and 15:00, as voted for by listeners. It began in 2001, with "

In the Bleak Midwinter "In the Bleak Midwinter" is a poem by the English poet Christina Rossetti, commonly performed as a Christmas carol. The poem was published, under the title "A Christmas Carol", in the January 1872 issue of ''Scribner's Monthly,'' and was first ...

" winning the first vote. The following year,

Silent Night "Silent Night" (german: "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht", links=no, italic=no) is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an ...

was voted the nation's favourite. The vote has been won by

O Holy Night "O Holy Night" (original title: ) is a well-known sacred song for Christmas performance. Originally based on a French-language poem by poet Placide Cappeau, written in 1843, with the first line (Midnight, Christian, is the solemn hour) that co ...

in almost every year since then, with the only other winner being Silent Night in 2014 and 2015.

Classic FM Chart

From the station's launch in September 1992 until the end of 2019, Classic FM broadcast a weekly classical chart show. Initially transmitted on Saturday mornings, the programme later moved to Sunday teatimes. The final chart show was aired on 21 December 2019.

Composer in residence

Classic FM named a composer in residence in 2004,

Joby Talbot Joby Talbot (born 25 August 1971) is a British composer. He has written for a wide variety of purposes and an accordingly broad range of styles, including instrumental and vocal concert music, film and television scores, pop arrangements and wor ...

. Talbot composed a piece, scored for up to five instruments, each month for the year of his residence. The compositions were also premiered on Classic FM. The twelve compositions form part of a larger piece, released on a CD entitled '' Once Around the Sun'' on 23 May 2005. Talbot was succeeded by

Patrick Hawes Patrick Hawes (born 1958) is a British composer, conductor, organist and pianist. Biography Born in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, the son of publican parents, Hawes grew up in pubs along the Lincolnshire coast and was educated at De Aston School ...

as the new composer in residence in 2006 and composed the piano album ''Towards the Light'' during his residency. In May 2008

Howard Goodall Howard Lindsay Goodall (; born 26 May 1958) is an English composer of musicals, choral music and music for television. He also presents music-based programmes for television and radio, for which he has won many awards. In May 2008, he was na ...

, the composer and television presenter, joined Classic FM as the station's latest composer in residence. Goodall also presented a new programme on the station, ''Howard Goodall on...'', beginning on 7 June 2008.

was named composer in residence in 2015. Her first album commissioned for Classic FM was ''The Musical Zodiac'', which was released the following year.

Sponsorship

Classic FM were sponsors of

Queens Park Rangers Football Club Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus ...

between 1992 and 1994.

Charity: The Classic FM Foundation

The Classic FM Foundation is a grant giving charity which raises money to fund music education and music therapy projects working with children and adults throughout the UK. It was founded in 2006 as Classic FM Music Makers, and was renamed in 2010.

Hayley Westenra Hayley Dee Westenra (born 10 April 1987) is a New Zealand classical crossover singer and songwriter. Her first internationally released album, '' Pure'', reached number one on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million ...

is an ambassador of the charity, which also receives support from many famous faces from the world of classical music and entertainment. Throughout the year The Classic FM Foundation holds fundraising events including concerts, sponsored treks and an annual appeal.

Other media

*Classic FM ran an internet television (and formerly

digital TV Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television technology which used analog signals. At the time of its development it was considered an innovative advanc ...

) channel playing classical music videos,

Classic FM TV Classic FM TV was a television channel owned by British radio station Classic FM. Until 14 December 2007 it was available as a television channel on the Sky Digital satellite and Virgin Media cable TV services. After that, Classic FM TV only bro ...

. *Classic FM published a monthly magazine, '' Classic FM Magazine'', which presented news and reviews. *Classic FM has also issued a series of CDs with selected classical pieces, notably two CDs of ''Classic FM Music for Babies'' (playtime and bedtime) and ''Classic FM Music for Bathtime''. *Classic FM produces a podcast called Case Notes (winner of the British Podcast Awards Best True Crime Podcast 2019), presenting stories from the history of classical music.

Jazz on Classic FM

On 25 December 2006, Classic FM opened a sister station, '

theJazz theJazz was a British jazz digital radio station run by GCap Media that started on Christmas Day of 2006jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

music. The station closed in March 2008, and Classic FM itself then took on the broadcasting of a jazz programme every night between midnight and 02:00, until September 2008.

References

External links

* {{Authority control British classical music radio programmes Classic FM Classic FM Classical music radio stations Radio stations established in 1992 1992 establishments in the United Kingdom Global Radio Classic FM (UK)