Angel Hour Radio

The Story of Classical is your essential nine-part companion guide to classical music. In each of our commentaries, we unlock the mystery and beauty of every musical period—from the Middle Ages to the present day—by chronicling an encounter between vital figures in music history.

Welcome to 100 Best Albums Radio, where we reveal our definitive list of the greatest albums ever made. Assembled with the help of artists and experts, it’s a love letter to the records that have shaped the world we live and listen in. Below you’ll find the official countdown, daily radio episodes with our hosts’ reactions, and stories behind each of the albums. Dive in, (re)discover some classics, and see if your favorite albums made our list.

One of K-pop’s hottest octets now has its own show on Apple Music 1. Hosted by Bang Chan and Felix, All About Stray Kids Radio gives listeners an inside look into the boy band and their highly anticipated comeback album. Over the course of four episodes, the two band members will share their favorite music, inspirations, and stories about their lives before becoming Stray Kids, plus they’ll invite their bandmates to join as guests.

Bollywood multi-hyphenate Armaan Malik presents Only Just Begun, a six-episode radio show in which he peels back the layers of his life and career while previewing songs from his latest LP of the same name. He digs deep into everything from his journey into stardom to his personal struggles, while joined by a raft of family, friends and music guests—including Salim Merchant and Calum Scott—and with each episode soundtracked by handpicked favourites.

Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig is one of indie’s most thoughtful frontmen, and on TIME CRISIS, he digs into today’s politics and pop culture headlines. Some episodes are serious (he hits the campaign trail with Bernie Sanders, and teaches a masterclass on sampling) and some aren’t (you’ll hear heated debates about Cheetos, Yeezys, and Seinfeld), but each show gets an eclectic soundtrack that spans Drake, David Bowie, Diplo, and Def Leppard. Regular guests include Jonah Hill, Mike D, Alana Haim, and co-host Jake Longstreth, but you never know who could stop by. What you can be sure of: No topic is too high-or-low-brow for Ezra’s hot take.

Composer and pianist Alexis Ffrench is one of today’s most popular classical musicians. His work taps into the vast musical galaxy—from Bach and Debussy to Hollywood, gospel, and beyond—which makes him the perfect host for Classical Connections Radio, a show that takes listeners along exhilarating and often unexpected pathways through classical music. “I want to present classical in the way I believe it’s meant to be presented—as beautiful music that’s there to be enjoyed and without barriers,” he tells Apple Music. “We’re going to be zipping from here to there, but everything is going to be connected and curated. I see myself as a musical concierge!” Classical Connections Radio features the best new releases, interviews with exciting stars, and a few surprises, too. In his “Sampology” feature, Alexis unlocks the classical roots of a recent chart hit, while we get to hear his incredible improvisational skills in “60 Second Sonata” as he spontaneously crafts a piece of music at the piano, inspired by a listener. And in “Journeys,” he finds the influences in his own work through the composers and artists who have formed his musical DNA over the years. “The powerful thing about music is that it can be like these emotional postcards from various points in your life,” he says, “which I find so beautiful.” If Classical Connections Radio is about gathering different musical strands, it’s also about bringing together a musical community. “Classical music is not about dates or understanding different periods. It’s people, it’s emotions, and it’s love. That’s why it’s so dear to me.” Tune in to Classical Connections Radio with Alexis Ffrench on Apple Music 1 every Saturday at 10 am PT/6 pm UK.