Are we failing music students as a result of poor staffing priorities? Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

The piece, which has not seen or heard since 1909, was discovered in the music library at the University of Toronto. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Decca and Erato revisit the works and early recordings of the recently departed French nonagenarian. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

From coffee machines to Cage, from jaywalking to joyrides, for one maestro, it’s a mad, mad, mad, mad musical world.

If a three-and-a-half star rating feels miserly for a record that promises much, you should know that the last time I reviewed music by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, I feared for the continued well-being of my computer as I punched my displeasure into my keyboard. Saariaho’s early music – especially gems like Verblendungen and Lichtbogen – were packed with raw-boned harmonic and timbral intrigue; but then, during the 1990s, her music drifts towards generic notions of lyricism and line, leaving those of us who admired the early work to wonder what happened to her incisive, bold spirit. The great British comedian Les Dawson once claimed that “beauty fades, while ugliness endures” and although Saariaho’s music from the 1980s was never exactly ugly – the beauty was elemental, bracing and absolutely revitalising – the ambient, soft-focus leanings of more recent pieces can sit too comfortably inside emotional inverted commas. But then I play this disc and Quatre Instants, her 2002 song cycle for soprano and orchestra, and Terra Memoria, a realisation of her 2007 Second String Quartet for full strings, win me over in a way I wasn’t expecting. The… Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already…

Celebrated Australian conductor Patrick Thomas shares how the original YPA’s launched his 35-year international career. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

This all-Haydn finale to its 2015 season shows why this group is one of Australia's finest period ensembles.

This touching tribute to composer Allan Zavod shares an important message in an easily accessible language.

The revered German-born conductor has passed away aged 88. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

The decision to discontinue the prestigious national award was made by the six CEOs of Australia’s major State orchestras. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Have yourself a merry little Christmas, and “Bah, humbug!” to Il Divo.

Limelight’s Recording of the Year heads a bumper edition to take you into 2016. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in