Radio, too, has taken some unexpected twists and turns lately. Arguably an even bigger commercial wasteland than TV, radio has been experiencing a rebirth, with more varied, high-quality programming than America has heard in a long, long time. You won't be able to tune in on your radio dial, though (at least not on a conventional radio or tuner). That's because radio's new quality and excitement are being delivered over the Internet, or by satellite. As a result, most discerning listeners today are likely to be listening to "radio" on their computers or TV sets, or on one of the new component-quality devices that can receive Internet streams and/or satellite programming.

There are various business models, but most seem to revolve around providing quality and variety to a targeted niche audience. Because commercial radio itself is such a glut of ads, noise and hype, many of the new radio services strive to offer commercial-free listening as well. These differences are most noticeable in the genres that have become almost extinct on the airwaves, such as classical music and jazz. But the difference in quality offered by the new Internet and satellite services is noticeable everywhere.

This review will look at a few classical music providers. The beauty of Internet and satellite broadcasting is that fragmentation—targeting a number of different listening groups, even groups perceived as small, such as the classical music audience—seems to be economically viable on a global scale. We are in the midst of a transition from traditional broadcast radio, which is virtually moribund where classical music is concerned, to a wealth of diverse, adventurous programming that is available from any geographic location. So a station like WQXR in New York (the city's only full-time classical station, but heavily commercial and not particularly adventurous) will become increasingly irrelevant, as listeners in the city (and here in Upstate New York, as well as across the country and around the world) tune in to stations better tailored to their needs and tastes.

One such station, BBC's Radio 3, is certainly not new, but its current Internet model is. All of the BBC stations are available online now, and the beleaguered BBC has done a wonderful job in programming the various radio sites—the Real-based streaming seems to work flawlessly everywhere. You can listen via the BBC's own players or RealPlayer itself on any platform. Offering another choice in addition to Real would be even better, as would round-the-clock music (Radio 3 has a bit too much talk for this music lover's taste). Nonetheless, Radio 3 is almost certainly worlds better than anything available over your local airwaves.

The same can be said of SIRIUS Satellite Radio, which is also available (for subscribers) online and via Dish Network satellite television. SIRIUS has a number of classical "channels" and they are decently programmed. They are also commercial-free. But, you pay for the privilege, anywhere from $12.95 per month to $500 for a lifetime subscription. An increasing number of listeners believe it is worth the price.

The most spectacular flowering of classical music in this new "broadcast" climate has to be the Internet-based radioioClassical, one of 19 or so radioio channels. The programming on this station is nothing short of astonishing. The focus is on modern music, but the station's range truly runs the gamut. You can hear everything, from the standards to the truly obscure, but all of it judiciously chosen and sounding good, even via the free streaming service (radioio offers memberships based on various sound quality levels).

The radioioClassical web site is pretty commercial, although the station itself is commercial-free. You can bypass the web site by listening through iTunes; radioioClassical is preprogrammed in the Classical Radio category. And you can listen with other players as well, by grabbing the streaming URL from iTunes and pasting it into something like VLC or XMMS.

If you like classical music, or jazz, or any other kind of quality programming that has disappeared from local radio, any of the stations mentioned here—along with many others—will delight you. You may not have expected to be listening on your computer quite so much during this transitional period (just as you may not have expected to get your daily news from a comedy station), but evolution works in mysterious ways.

(April 13, 2005)