Radio Classique streams classical music spanning Baroque to contemporary works live from France, and you can hear it free on Radio Shuffle from anywhere in the world.
Launched by Former France Musique Producers
Radio Classique went on air in January 1983, founded by Pierre Amalou and led by a team of producers who had previously worked at France Musique, the public classical broadcaster, according to Wikipedia's history of the station. In its early years the station relied partly on listener contributions, offering subscribers a detailed printed program guide in exchange, a subscription model that has long since given way to a standard commercial format with sponsor-supported advertising.
Owned by the World's Biggest Luxury Conglomerate
Radio Classique's ownership has passed through several hands since its Groupe Expansion beginnings. SAGEM acquired the station in 1992, and Desfossés International, a media subsidiary of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, took over in 1999. Since 2007, the station has operated under the Les Echos-Le Parisien Group, LVMH's media division, putting a classical music station under the same corporate roof as the world's largest luxury goods empire.
Trying to Make Classical Music Less Intimidating
In the fall of 2005, Radio Classique repositioned itself around breaking down the barriers that keep casual listeners away from classical music, adopting the slogan "Ressourcez-vous," roughly "recharge yourself," to frame the genre as accessible and restorative rather than academic or exclusive. That rebrand pushed the station toward a broader, more welcoming presentation of classical repertoire without abandoning the depth that dedicated listeners expect.
Why Tune In
Radio Classique carries more than forty years of French classical broadcasting into a station explicitly built to make the genre feel less intimidating, backed by one of the country's biggest media groups. For listeners who want Baroque symphonies and contemporary classical works without academic framing, it delivers exactly that.
Listen to Radio Classique free on Radio Shuffle, streaming classical music live from France.