Do you listen to classical music?

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I don’t and never have!

I got a taxi today and the driver switched off the local radio station and put on classical music instead. I found it really relaxing and I thought, why does it never occur to me to do that?

I do play music at home every day through Alexa but never classical!

Yes every morning while the kids eat breakfast (to stop them bickering and sometimes works) and in the evenings when tidying up after dinner. I love it, very relaxing. Always Classic FM.

I find it totally dull to listen to on its own however when it is used as backing for some atmospheric scene in a film or documentary I think it’s fantastic.

Classic FM is great

Baffled by the love for classic FM. Why would you interrupt your classical music with commercial adverts?

BBC radio 3 is great. I was not brought up with classical so I couldn’t name a composer or style I will always like yet, but I find it can be relaxing and beautiful. Especially piano pieces.

Also interested in finding out more about classical music composed more recently (than 100s of years ago), so if anyone has any recommendations please post. I discovered some of Philip Glass’s piano pieces online and love those

Agree the adverts are annoying @ChocNice but I found Classic FM to be a better gateway into classical music. I find Radio 3 a little offputting and I can’t quite articulate why

I am of the era that got introduced to classical music through Cartoons. Until you’ve heard Elmer Fudd serenade Bugs Bunny dressed as a woman you wouldn’t understand! (What’s Opera Doc?)

Tom & Jerry in the Hollywood Bowl (Die Fledermaus) and the Oscar winning Cat Concerto (Hungarian Rhapsody). Even Disney’s Fantasia had an amazing intro to music. Who can forget Mickey Mouse and the errant enchanted brooms or hippos in tutus?

that’s where is all started for me and led to many happy years in the school orchestra.

I find that Radio 3 can be quite high brow, whereas Classic FM is a bit more commercial, for want of a better word. All the bangers! But then again I do like how Radio 3 covers other styles of music like jazz, new music, and I loooooove Night Tracks to fall asleep to. The main thing that puts me off about Classic FM is when they get to the end of a piece, usually a calm quiet piece, you're in the zone, and the woman comes on and shouts "You're listening to Clllllllassic FM!"

I do. It does help that I was brought up with it and it was part of my education. I particularly like baroque choral music like @StarGirrrl77 - I am autistic and the predictability of it soothes my brain.
I used to listen to classic FM in the car when I was driving to and from work.

My grandson is a chorister at the Cathedral and he is always surprised when I know what he is talking about, particularly the composers, but actually most of it is just either what I was taught at school or what I have picked up in many many years of life. There are some really good operas out there with good stories, it doesn't have to be all dreary warbly stuff. Some theatres have subtitles displayed above the stage as well, for those operas not sung in English.

I have tinnitus so sometimes put it on when I'm working to drown it out, I like listening to rain/spa sounds at bedtime so try not to play that during the day to keep it a bedtime thing, and find radio or songs with lyrics too distracting if trying to concentrate, so classical it is. Definitely not a connoisseur!

Yes often, though not particularly challenging stuff

It's enriched my life since I was a tiny child. I'm grateful to my parents for this.

Those two Tom and Jerry episodes are absolute masterpieces!

DS16 was addicted to Tom & Jerry when he was little, no interest in any other more modern kids tv, and I often wonder if this is where his musicality comes from 😄He is the one who chooses the music in the car.

Classical music wasn't something we ever listened to at home when growing up but at school we went on occasional class visits to the opera or concerts (back in the day when there was money for schools to experiment with trips). It had a big impact and I'll always be grateful as classical music turned out be a huge comfort and joy throughout life.

I often listen to it when reading or working and tend to prefer calmer, less dramatic pieces. A favourite is Bach especially his cello concertos. When in need of a bit of serenity my dog and I snuggle on the sofa and listen till his snores eventually interrupt the music.

Spotify playlists can be a good place to start. Keywords like 'classical calm' or 'baroque' will come up with loads of suggestions to try. Experiment and you might find you're hooked!

Yes, I grew up listening to it at home. I did learn an instrument at school; but didn’t play any of my favourite music.

My favourite composer is Tchaikovsky; everything he wrote! I also like Rachmaninov, Borodin, Chopin, Stravinsky, Grieg, Ravel, Orfe (Carmina Burana), Shostakovich, and some Beethoven. I don’t understand what people see in Mozart though? Carmen the opera is ok; other than that I don’t see what people see in opera either; but I like most of the Russian ballets!

I have a Classical playlist on my phone.

Yes I do all the time.

Talking about cartoons, Fantasia is on Disney at the moment. I loved it as a child and still find it quite transporting. I also listen to a lot of Classic FM.

I do love classical music, always have listened to it and received classical albums from family during my teens. I also played 2 orchestral instruments but only as a hobby and in the school orchestra not at any high level. Sadly my dc who also plays instruments don't enjoy it as much. It bugs me a bit.

Yes but not all the time , Chopin mainly and Beethoven Moonlight sonata , it is pure perfection to me ,moving and soothing.
I remember watching my nan completely lose herself listening to classic music and i understand why now.
There is a large amount that is just not to my taste but that's the same for many other genre's of music.
I have an eclectic taste in music .

Yes, love it, always have. Like other genres there's bound to be something you like, you don't have to like it all. My parents had a few classical albums in amongst the Beatles, cat Stevens etc, which probably helped.
My personal fave composers are Grieg, Sibelius, Tchaicovsky, Saint-Saens and Khachaturian. But I love loads of pieces.
Love a classical concert too.

It's my go to relaxation music. I made up my own Spotify playlist, never get bored listening to it. I included 2/3 opera songs as well, absolutely love it!

I don't know much about classical music but I remember it was the only thing I could put on in the background to concentrate on my uni studies in the mid 1990s!

I feel that it's a world that's not mine, but I enjoy dipping in from time to time.

Constantly. It’s the main thing I listen to.

DH and I both played instruments and children and teenagers so were introduced to it that way. I think I couldn’t live without it! We have radio 3 on in the kitchen pretty much all the time (agree can’t stand the ads in classic fm - radio 3 has gone a lot more mainstream recently so do give it a go if you haven’t tried it).

Of course there are some relaxing pieces but equally there are very very many that are not relaxing in the slightest!

One of the biggest joys of my life is seeing my children discovering music - both to listen to and to play.

I WFH and always have classical music on unless I'm in a meeting or on the phone. I tend to work through Radio 3's Breakfast show and Essential Classics on iPlayer, occasionally just treating myself to something like a complete run-through of Schubert's or Beethoven's symphonies.

Since Classic fm began i have used it as my alarm clock. I don't know anything about classical music, just like this gentle start to my day. Often hsve on in background if working. Love a cello piece

Yes. I like to have music playing in the background when working and driving. I listen to classical about 25% of that time. I like to think that Mozart and Beethoven in particular had divine gifts; their music is indescribably beautiful and almost heaven-sent.

I listen to R4 though in the kitchen and that is the background soundtrack to family life! At supper as a family we tend to put classic pop on - eclectic mixes of music from the decades. It’s good for the young ‘uns to grow up with as much variation of music as possible around them, not just the latest stuff which tends to be utter shit.