Classical Stations
Here we go then, the classy end of the market, with a three way battle between the big guns… the BBC’s Radio 3, Global’s Classic FM and the more recent upstart from Bauer in 2019, Scala Radio, which has now become Magic Classical from September 2024.
Interesting to see that Global even adopt their usual comparatively small playlist policy to their Classical station, just playing the most popular pieces, (albeit about 1000 more than they do on most of their pop stations!).
The new kids on the block, Bauer’s Magic Classical (Scala), have definitely decided to park their tanks on the BBC Lawns and even beat Radio 3 on the number of distinct pieces played, even if they do tend to play more slightly shorter pieces, like Classic FM, and start off playing even MORE variety than Radio 3, though it does start to tail off slightly after about 10 days to 2 weeks, but it never drops as far as Classic FM which is bumping along the bottom after 3 weeks.
Analysis: 46 days, up to 06-05-2026
NUMBER OF PLAYS IDENTIFIED: 7527
Number of DIFFERENT Songs Played: 7102
Variety factor for this station is : 94.3%
50% OF PLAYS is 3339 Songs (47% of the total)
A THIRD OF PLAYS represents:
The 2085 MOST played songs (29.3% of the total)
or 2508 LEAST played songs (35.3% of the total)
Most played airs on average every: 9d 4h 48m
10th most played song airs every: 11d 12h
2085th most played song only played once
3339th most played song only played once
No. of songs with 5 or less plays: 7102 (100%)
Lowest Number of NEW SONGS on any day:
113 after 30 DAYS
Top 10 Most Played:
1= [5 plays] each for…
+ Lili Boulanger – D’un Matin De Printemps
+ Ralph Vaughan Williams – The Lark Ascending
3= [4 plays] each for…
+ Benjamin Britten – Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes (Dawn)
+ Emmanuel Chabrier – Espana
+ Eric Coates – By the Sleepy Lagoon
+ Franz Schubert – Symphony no.3 in D major D.200 (4th mvt)
+ Frederick Delius – On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring
+ Hector Berlioz – Le Corsaire – overture Op.21
+ Ralph Vaughan Williams – Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis
+ Samuel Barber – Agnus Dei
Analysis: 26 days, up to 06-05-2026
NUMBER OF PLAYS IDENTIFIED: 5904
Number of DIFFERENT Songs Played: 1616
Variety factor for this station is : 27.3%
50% OF PLAYS is 262 Songs (16.2% of the total)
A THIRD OF PLAYS represents:
The 147 MOST played songs (9% of the total)
or 1170 LEAST played songs (72.4% of the total)
Most played airs on average every: 1d 4h 21m
10th most played song airs every: 1d 10h 40m
147th most played song airs every: 2d 14h 24m
262nd most played song airs every: 3d 17h 8m
No. of songs with 5 or less plays: 1280 (79.2%)
Lowest Number of NEW SONGS on any day:
12 after 25 DAYS
Top 12 Most Played:
1= [22 plays] each for…
+ Johann Sebastian Bach – Cello Suite No.1 in G major (1)
+ Pietro Mascagni – Cavalleria Rusticana – Intermezzo
3= [20 plays] each for…
+ Johann Sebastian Bach – Orchestral Suite No.3 in D major BWV.1068 (2)
+ Ludwig Van Beethoven – Piano Sonata No.14 in C# minor Opus 27 (1)
5= [19 plays] each for…
+ Aram Khachaturian – Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia
+ Johann Pachelbel – Canon in D major
+ Jules Massenet – Thais – meditation
8= [18 plays] each for…
+ Claude Debussy – Suite Bergamasque (3)
+ Edward Elgar – Variations on an Original Theme Opus 36 (9)
+ Franz Liszt – Liebestraum No.3
+ Gabriel Faure – Pavane opus 50
+ Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Piano Concerto No.21 in C major (2)
Analysis: 23 days, up to 06-05-2026
NUMBER OF PLAYS IDENTIFIED: 6128
Number of DIFFERENT Songs Played: 3517
Variety factor for this station is : 57.3%
50% OF PLAYS is 908 Songs (25.8% of the total)
A THIRD OF PLAYS represents:
The 465 MOST played songs (13.2% of the total)
or 2043 LEAST played songs (58% of the total)
Most played airs on average every: 1d 12h 48m
10th most played song airs every: 2d 2h 10m
465th most played song airs every: 7d 16h
908th most played song airs every: 11d 12h
No. of songs with 5 or less plays: 3439 (97.7%)
Lowest Number of NEW SONGS on any day:
88 after 19 DAYS
Different songs played in 1 month: 4056
..in 3 months: 6745, in 6 months: 9416
..in 9 months: 10832, in 12 months: 11934
Top 12 Most Played:
1 [15 plays] Anna Lapwood – Anna Lapwood – Arise, Shine
2= [14 plays] each for…
+ Alexander Malofeev – Glazunov – Etude #3
+ Royal Scottish National Orchestra, John Debney – Delibes – Les Chasseresses
+ Suena – Suena – Primapulsa
5= [13 plays] each for…
+ Hayato Sumino – Hayato Sumino – White Keys
+ Louis Philippson – Debussy – Arabesque #1
7= [12 plays] each for…
+ Eydis Evensen, Esther Abrami – Eydis Evensen – Flow
+ Joshua Rifkin – Scott Joplin – Maple Leaf Rag
+ Tine Thing Helseth, Kare Nordstoga – Jeremiah Clarke – Prince of Denmark’s March
10= [11 plays] each for…
+ Arcadi Volodos – Schumann – Tr¤umerei
+ Grimethorpe Colliery Band ft. Peter Parkes – Ferdinand Herold – Clog Dance
+ Julian Lloyd Webber, Orchestra of the Swan – Julian Lloyd Webber – Jasmine
We’re monitoring all the most important UK radio stations 24-7, so if you’d like the full “chapter and verse” on what they’ve all been playing, and the full month most played songs lists, then we can provide them – We’ve even got some data going back to 2008!! Our charges start at just £12 (exc VAT) for one station, so that’s a FULL LISTING of every song or classical piece a station has played, with dates and times, plus a stats package with the full “most played” chart for the month listing EVERY song they’ve played and how many times, ranked from most played to least… so if they’ve played 3174 different songs, that’ll be a 1 to 3174 chart!
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