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If you live in Clayton, U. City, Kirkwood, Shrewsbury near south county, or the central part of St. Louis city, you might have noticed something up at 107.3 on your FM radio that hasn't been heard on FM analog radio in St. Louis for nearly three years: classical music, 24/7. You might also have noticed that the voices of the announcers are familiar, along with their programming approach. Yes, dear friends, the classical voice of KFUO (a.k.a. Classic 99) is back. Except that it's now the Radio Arts Foundation (RAF), it's at 107.3 rather than 99.1, and its operating at a power level usually associated with college rock stations—hence the limited coverage area.

But still: "Bach is back," as they proudly announce at the RAF web site—along with Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, and a raft of lesser-known composers. And if you can't get decent reception of the analog FM signal (at my place in Soulard it's too hissy to be listenable)—well, now might be a good time to consider getting an HD (digital broadcast) radio. RAF is carried on the HD 2 channel of 96.3 KHTS, with superior sound and a bigger coverage area. I've been listening with the Insignia portable HD radio I have plugged into the aux input jack of my car's sound system as I tool around town and reception has been quite good. Ditto for the Insignia unit that I have plugged into my Bose Wave Radio at home.

The story of how KFUOs classical voice was silenced after over 60 years of broadcasts is still a sore point with many local music lovers (including yours truly). "For over 60 years," says the RAF web site, "the sounds of classical music wafted through the airwaves of St. Louis, courtesy of Classic 99 FM. But on July 6th, 2010 as the last notes of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 lingered and disappeared, classical music was effectively silenced and listeners throughout the St. Louis area lost a beloved friend." What they diplomatically don't mention is that this happened because the owners of KFUO—the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod—sold the station to Gateway Creative Broadcasting. And so KFUO became KLJY, broadcasting "contemporary Christian" music—a genre that, ironically, excludes the five or six centuries worth of Christian music that was part of KFUOs programming.

rafstl.org

"But I digress," as Tom Lehrer says.

The bottom line is that a fair number of analog FM listeners in St. Louis can now experience the pleasure of the old KFUO style of programming again. And HD radio owners can get both it and the 24/7 classical stream provided by KWMU on its HD 3 channel. The KWMU stream isn't locally produced—it's provided by Public Radio International—but it's still pretty cool to have two high-quality classical streams available. Both the RAF and PRI streams are also available on the Internet, of course, as well as on iPhone. For the RAF app, search your app store for "RAFSTL". For KWMU, search for "St. Louis Public Radio".

Classic 99, by the way, never went away entirely. After the analog broadcasts ended, it continued as an Internet station, run by Ron Klemm, Dick Wobbe, and John Clayton (all formerly of KFUO). You can still find it today at classic99.com and on the KFUO iPhone app.

There's music in the air. And it's a sweet sound.

[This article originally appeared at OnSTL.com, where I'm regular contributor.]