Best of 2001: Best Classical Music Radio

Music Choice
Through Cox Cable
800-234-3224
or Time Warner Cable
858-695-3220

Both Time Warner Cable and Cox Cable offer their customers a service called Music Choice, which provides the best-sounding, most reliable source for classical programming we have in San Diego. The 70 channels are, naturally, dominated by pop music, with individual stations dedicated to such categories as "classic rock," "metal," "today's country," "easy listening," "American originals," jazz, gospel, blues, and Latino music. Two channels, however, are purely classical -- and that means a lot of classical music, since both are on 24 hours a day. The programming focuses on the standard classic-romantic repertoire, but there is a considerable component of Baroque music and even an occasional airing of "difficult" compositions from the 20th Century. The performances are well chosen and varied, sometimes including new releases. As for the extremely clean sound, it far exceeds in quality that of even the best FM stations, and is probably better than what most people hear from their CD players. An added benefit is that you don't have to put up with announcers mispronouncing names, expressing their opinions, and trying to be funny. Instead, you have a remote control readout that silently and impersonally registers the piece, the composer, the performer, and the label and number of the recording. All this costs less than eight dollars a month. (Among the FM stations included in the Music Choice lineup, most of them from San Diego, you will also find Los Angeles' KUSC, with its intelligent classical programming.)