John Williams’ score for the Sci-fi movie franchise has inspired some bold and bizarre reimaginings. We look at some of the best. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

We reveal ten truths that those who tread the career path of a composer will know all too well.

For the first time, we asked our readers to vote for their favourite artists. Combined with our critics’ votes, this is who you chose. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

A pioneering recording offers a fascinating window into the musical world of Henry VIII’s controversial second wife. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

The critics have spoken and the results are in. Here are Limelight's five top recordings of 2015.

Recording of the Month – January/February 2016 How wonderful for an organisation to be celebrating 200 years of performing The Creation! Part One of Haydn’s masterpiece was performed in Boston on Christmas Day, 1815 by the Handel and Haydn Society to a rapt audience of about 1,000 people. It’s hard to imagine how the 13 instrumentalists on that occasion coped with Haydn’s colourful score and supported the chorus of 90 men and ten women, but the pioneering spirit of that performance has born lasting fruit: H+H is still going strong, as this excellent recording attests. Harry Christophers, the current Artistic Director of Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society eschews the ‘blockbuster’ approach of Paul McCreesh’s 2008 account and opts instead for medium-sized forces: a chorus of 42 accompanied by an orchestra of 47 that perform in Boston’s hallowed Symphony Hall. This means that tempi are on the whole slightly more flowing and less monumental, allowing some of the more intimate moments to shine through. Haydn’s English text has always been troublesome. Christophers adopts a less interventionist approach than McCreesh, with the happy result we still have some favourite… Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber?…

The four must-have albums of Nikolaus Harnoncourt.

★★★★☆ This Christmas cracker offers something more substantial than the usual festive fare. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Handel with heft turns a concert into an occasion.

TSO presents Mozart’s crowd-pleasing Requiem with an all-star group of soloists.

Sally Whitwell hopes her new musical might throw a spanner into the works of the usual commercial Christmas machine. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

★★★★☆ Weymark’s aquatic programme comes with sought after harbour views. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in