Classic FM Reviews 

As mentioned in many of the other reviews on this site, the repetition on Classic fm just seems to be getting worse. A lot of pieces I used to enjoy caused me to start switching off or changing station, as their regular play list is so safe and so small that I tired of hearing the same pieces time after time after time. They keep pushing the Hall of Fame Hour as something marvellous, but so much of the rest of their offering is taken from the Hall of Fame that the whole point of having an hour (or is it two?) devoted to it every day, just seems daft. I have now switched mostly to Radio 3, which is less hectic and has a lot more variety. The DJs also just fit seamlessly into the programmes without trying to make it all about them. I hate the dreadful ads too, but they’re a commercial station, so I understand the need for them
I did write to Classic fm at one point to ask for their comments on the repetition, but their response, albeit very courteous and polite, pretty much boiled down to (and I paraphrase) “well we have a huge audience who seem to enjoy it, so tough!”. Which is fine I guess. If they can keep their listening figures (which I believe may have dipped recently), then good luck to them. I for one however, will henceforward be nothing more than an occasional later evening listener, when there seems to be a little more variety.

I used to listen to Classic FM every day at work.
Since the changes of Dan walker at breakfast etc it has got very dull and predictable until I stopped listening at all some time ago.
I’d listened for about 15 years until then but it’s not just the presenters, the music choices have drifted to the same stuff all the time or things you wonder who on earth likes the pieces.
Unfortunately I now appreciate silence better ….

I have a love-hate relationship with Classic FM. On the plus side, when you turn it on, there's a good chance of hearing some pleasant music, which is no longer the case with Radio 3.
The downside is that they play the same tedious pieces ad nauseam. They are clearly aware of this because they had a survey about it recently, but they have done nothing about it.

The worst offenders, in case anyone from Classic FM is bothering to read this, are
Dance Macabre (Saint-Seans)
and Crown Imperial (Walton), both of which were played this morning, 12 June.
Also up there are some decent pieces of music that I'm getting fed up with because they come up so often - Beethoven's fifth, first movement, Pachelbel's canon, Widor's toccata, Handel's Queen of Sheba.

I don't agree with all the criticism of Dan Walker. He's fine. Presenters change. Get over it.

This isnt a classical music channel its a sanitized updated popular music channel. They seem to play more Star Wars and Harry Potter themes than classical music! What classical music they do play is frequently repeated and very safe. The channel has succumbed to the demands of wokery in the endless search for DEI- resulting in mediocrity rather than excellence all too often. Unfortunately Classic FM is like a drug- a difficult habit to break for many. Surely we can do better than this? Perhaps time for a channel name change certainly.

Oh dear, having read many one/two-star reviews, the wind has been taken from my sails.

DW is an inappropriate disaster. I’m sure I heard him touting himself around various media platforms prior to his arrival.

How is it possible for the management to drop Tim L and replace him with DW?

To quote Major Bloodknock (Peter Sellers):

“Someone has blundered!”

This management is making errors that broadcasters of yore ironed out of their programmes half a century ago.

John Brunning/Tim L have more musical knowledge in their little fingers than DW can conceive.

Now, who have they got secreted away from 01:00 until 04:00? I remember him reading the news a few years ago - Bill Overton.

He has researched his programme and makes no boasts as he presents with impeccable grammar - let’s bring him to the fore.

Otherwise I will sadly be joining the exodus.

Time to wake up Cfm and be counted.

Would give 1 star, but give 2 because T.L. is still on the weekend morning show. Strongly agree with all the other 1 star reviews on here though, get T.L. back on weekday mornings, Catherine Bott on sunday afternoon, and the old presenter for classic fm at the movies on saturday night. Reduce the number of irksome ads, get A.M.M. on for an hour longer in the afternoon, and reduce the amount of news bulletins, with the presenter who draws a sharp intake of breath all the time, to sound like a presenter of the evening news, I have to mute the hourly news. Will still listen to T.L. at weekend mornings, but that is about it....classical mixtape on bbc sounds is good, and got classical cds and spotify playlists, and there are plenty of good internet classical stations to listen online as well, like King FM from Seattle, as well as Radio 3 and Scala and the recommended ones in these comments.

I'm another listener who has switched to Radio 3 due to the repetitive play list on Classic FM and the constant adverts. I found the Specsavers ones particularly annoying. Not keen on some of the presenters either particularly the early morning ones.

Oh CFM you’ve done me such a favour in driving me away, what with the constant repetition, incessant ads and Dan ‘shouty’ Walker first thing in the morning, there’s nothing restful in listening to you anymore. I’ve discovered Radio 3 - so much glorious and diverse music and presenters such as Petroc Trelawney, who really know their stuff. Peace reigns once more in our household.

Tim on the breakfast show was witty, well informed and intelligent. Dan Walker is none of these, in fact he's tiresome, egotistical and hard on the ears. If this is Classic FM's way forward JUST STOP AND RETHINK.

I like the music but not all the presenters or the excessive ads. If this is a serious music station we need empathetic presenters who sound as they mean it. Sadly I loved Dan Walker on football and would prefer not to listen to him on Classic FM as he doesn't convince me he knows classic music and his 'quips' don't seem natural.

Dan Walker 😡
I have listen to Classic FM constantly since 1989! You helped me through the pain of my divorce with your wonderful healing music!! 🎶 it’s always been a tremendous balance through out the day and night!
But now you have this loud mouth peace disturbing ego driven soulless tinny voice belting out on your morning airwaves!
Who is the guilty person for signing him up?? They need to rethink their decision! CFM are loosing faithful listeners every day! I always had CFM as company over breakfast! Now it’s anything but Dan Walkers terrible voice! He lacks knowledge and feeling in his presentations! No skill at all. Come on CFM keep up the high standards you have always achieved from day one!!!???!!!
Sadly Kay Dobson

I agree with pretty well all of the comments on here. My partner and I have re-tuned to Radio 3 as we cannot stand Dan Walker's 'shouty' style. We so miss Tim L who had the perfect style and 'eased' us into the day perfectly. We like presenters who 'talk' to us and not shout like DW does in such a bombastic, crass way - we take exception to being catapulted into the day. I don't know who Classic fm think their audience is, but it certainly is no longer us who have listened since the start. Unsurprisingly they are apparently losing masses of listeners as they have got it all so wrong. I was mortified when the loutish Jonathan Ross was taken on - he's appalling and carries so much baggage ! I switch off the moment I hear his awful tones.
The boring and charmless Andrew Marr has thankfully departed.
The repetitive repertoire is mind numbing.
Petroc Trelawny, Radio 3 by comparison is in an entirely different league for professionalism, tone and knowledge and presents an interesting and eclectic mix of music. How different his morning programme is in comparison to that of the brash lighweight DW who recently thought he was entertaining by mocking bald men - just tasteless and inappropriate in our view.
Ta-ra Classic fm (my partner is a Scouser!) - it could be worse he tells me.

Bring Tim Back!
Agree with the previous review. Dan Walker has made me turn away from CFM - after many years of listening to the station. I detest his ego-driven presenting style and find it outrageous that there’s publicity for his show throughout the weekend and afternoon shows - ‘the home of Dan Walker’s breakfast show’/‘become DW’s dog walker’ etc etc. They’re trying to attract a new audience but will drive away their current listeners. CFM needs to review urgently.

I am now moving to radio 3 after being a classic FM fan since it started. You have ruined it with Armstrong and walker who simply love the sound of their own boring and arrogant voices.

Like many others I find Classic FM has been deteriorating fast since the turn of the year, in particular in two aspects - the limited and repetitive selection of music, with few novelties, but especially the Breakfast Show. Tim Lihoreau was always going to be a hard act to follow - he was brilliant with a lot of positive vibes and subtle humour to ease us into the day. It's good that he is still with us at the weekends. But by comparison Dan Walker comes across as crass, lacking poise and presence, and focused on a limited set of conversational topics, most of which many of us will have little empathy with. In addition, his classical music knowledge is at best under-developed. As an example, the other day in presenting Ravel's Bolero (how many times do we hear this piece?) he asked us to imagine being in Spain dancing on tables. Well, if Bolero is dance music then I'm a space explorer - any tabledancers would more likely fall off due to the repetitive and deliberate style of the music. And anyway Ravel was not even Spanish - he was French (Basque). Please carry out an urgent performance review of this presenter and take the necessary steps to replace for us all to wake up to a refreshing and positive new day.

I bet the advertisers are getting really annoyed with 'Classic fm' all that music, what little there is of it, and chat getting in the way.
300 pieces of music in the hall of fame, I wonder, during a year say, how many are played regularly, The Planets, Jupiter anyway, Enigma Variations, mostly Nimrod, Cavalleria Rusticana, I know the intermezzo by heart, Thais, the Meditation, to name but a few, played to death.
I have a double CD issued by DG in 1990, 'Essential Classics,' with but a few additions I could make a whole weeks worth of programmes from just those 33 tracks.
Get a grip 'Classic fm' reading the comments on here it would appear listeners are starting to vote with their collective tuning knobs.

Why oh why was Dan Walker ever given the early morning presenting slot on CFM
He sounds like he is presenting news, I really don't want to be negative as I have loved listening to CFM for so many years but now I find myself getting so annoyed with his remarks about biscuits, sandwiches and comments of "lets do this" and referring to great pieces of uplifting music as "right bangers"
Please Classic FM before you lose more and more listeners please bring back, Tim, or Aled or someone who knows classical music and is not so irritating

What a fall from grace for a once entertaining professional radio station. So many inane comments from so many presenters, especially Dan Walker.

The standard of presenters over the last year or so has generally fallen off a great precipice.

Alexander Armstrong, with a pathetic overly dramatic, condescending, childish voice. Egotistical. Stick to game shows. An 'ear ache' as a Classical Music radio presenter.

Jonathan Ross playing the same old repetitive film tunes .

Aled Jones attempting to promote himself along with feeble unfunny quips and 'jokes'.

Alan Titchmarsh, a brilliant self publicist but awful classical music presenter. Time he was put out to grass, back in the garden.

Disastrous Dan Walker, leads to an instant retune to an alternative Classical Music station. An individual who has poor enunciation and so many on air pronunciation gaffs and a big ego. Lacks the professional broadcasting skills of Petroc Trelawny by far. They're on different planets when it comes to presenting classical music.

Presenters more frequently heard fumbling their words, lack of knowledge and poor quality broadcasting

Then to present their night at The Albert Hall as a 'live' performance, broadcast 24 hours or so after the event. To have unexpected intermittent pauses & noises along with poor sound quality throughout the broadcast. Here's to the professionals, eagerly awaiting the BBC Proms at The Albert Hall season.

ClassicFM it's the same repertoire of music, which has become overly repetitive and boring. Ravel's Bolero, Arrival of Queen of Sheena, Wagner's Ride of Valkyries, Zadok the Priest ad nausea. The list of constant repeats is extensive. I could go on, the list is almost endless

Did I mention Dan Walker, sooooo inane.

Far too much 'lovey dovey', sub standard & poor quality presenting with an excessive number of personal egotistical messages.

For what it's worth, John Humphreys & Andrew Marr being off air for the last few months has been about the only positive comment.

I've missed the professional broadcasting of Petroc Trelawny, Hannah French, Katie Derham, Suzy Klein, Georgia Mann etc al Here's hoping ClassicFM don't poach them.

Radio 3 leaves Classic FM standing for dust so I'm heading back to listen to uninterrupted, professional broadcasting.

Adieu.

Further to my review I've had the good fortune of tuning in to Scala. A great station with non self publicist presenters and a great variety of music. With Scala and R3 it's double adieu to Classic FM.

Dan Walker,
Last nail in the Coffin of Classic FM.
It is such a shame to hear a once superb radio station fall to such lows that it has become a screwdriver in the ear, instead of the pleasure it once was.
Alexander Armstrong, Jonathan Ross topped off by the bloody awful Dan Walker.
What is going on at Classic FM !
We were spoiled with such good, well spoken presenters before. And now AA who loves his own over dramatically ridiculous voice, JR playing the same old film tunes with his irritating wit and voice.
And Dan,
Where do you start !
Knows nothing about the subject he is presenting, stupid references to football and silly life quirks and pathetic jokes.
How has this Chap ever got a job in media with his awful presenting style, what happened to giving people with actual talent and knowledge of the subject a job. But no, instead we get Dan.
Tried my best to give Classic FM a chance, But just keeps getting worse.
I have been listening since this station started when I was in University.
Now after all these years I have wiped Classic FM from every radio and internet device I own.
Thank goodness for BBC Radio 3
They are getting better as time goes by and are able to fill the void of a once great radio station.
Such a shame,
RIP Classic FM

I will continue to listen to classic fm as background music during the day, however for a true classical music experience it will be radio three or my CDs,the reason being that their playlist is so repetitive, the arrival of the queen of Sheba has been played every day whereas Christopher Tins Flocks a Mile Wide has never been played despite being one of the highest climbers in their hall of fame and a piece of music that encompasses their mantra of the most relaxing music. Also I'm afraid I have to mentally tune out certain presenters, Tim Lioureu is greatly missed weekday mornings though I do understand after twelve years he needs a change from those early mornings, I listen to him avidly at weekends. So buck up classic fm and bring some variety into your playlist there's plenty of good classical music to play .