Uninterrupted since 1976

Classical 103.5 signed on in 1976 with a stubborn idea: a major city deserved a full-time classical music station, programmed by people who love the repertoire, funded by the listeners who tune in. Nearly five decades later, that is still the whole model. We broadcast 24 hours a day from our Midtown studio — symphonic, chamber, opera, and early music — with no advertising clutter breaking the line from overture to finale.

Our signal reaches the tri-state region on air and 2.1 million monthly listeners online across 86 countries — commuters, studios, kitchens, and concert halls where our broadcasts of live performances have become part of the season.

What you will hear

• Full-length symphonic works, programmed in sensible arcs rather than shuffled movements.
• Live and archived concert broadcasts from New York's great stages, a partnership we've held since 2009.
• Host-led programs on composers, performers, and the listening habits that turn novices into regulars.

More than 41,800 sustaining members make this possible, and membership is deliberately the only thing we sell: no commercial breaks sold to the highest bidder, no format drift toward easy-listening safety. When world-class artists pass through our studio for interviews and session performances, they know the conversation will be about the music.

For the city and beyond

We serve the lifelong concertgoer and the curious newcomer with equal seriousness — our hosts introduce without condescending, and our student memberships keep the door open for listeners still building the habit. Classical 103.5 is New York's listener-supported classical music station: 24 hours a day, every day since 1976, funded by the people who listen and owned by no one else.