Belonging to a specific culture or genre can be great, but you can end up being stymied, without realising.

There are big egos in music, but happily not too many narcissists, says Guy Noble, who is recovering from a difficult experience with a self-­described “visionary”.

This month’s news round-up includes a name change for Melbourne Digital Concert Hall, the release of a National Cultural Plan to grow the post-COVID arts economy, and the announcement of a number of awards and fellowships.

What do we do with all the tangential stuff that colours how we experience music? Marie Kondo would know what to do with it.

Playing with the ELISION Ensemble for the first time was a wild ride – which is just how Ben Marks likes it. Now, he is discovering startling new possibilities for the trombone as composers explore the sounds ‘in the cracks’.

Programming the 2022 Sydney Festival felt a bit like playing Kerplunk, given the pandemic, but Olivia Ansell is still in her element as the new Director, and believes the arts can help communities recover after a tough couple of years.

From Igor Levit to Stephen Hough the piano takes centre stage this month, but there are vocal pleasures too with Respighi songs and Christian Gerhaher’s complete Schumann.

The English composer’s talent and versatility flourished in a city and era with a huge appetite for the arts.

In November's On Screen column, Lynden Barber recommends a Tom Hanks maritime thriller, a Netflix drama on domestic abuse and a crazily scattergun Romanian film satire.

Nicolette Fraillon fell into conducting dance, but she was quickly hooked by the artform. Music Director of The Australian Ballet since 2003, she guides Jo Litson through the history of ballet music, discusses the different kinds of collaborations between choreographers and composers, and wonders why ballet scores aren’t always given their proper due.

When Rameau wrote Platée he was taking a bold step outside of traditional French opera by treating comedy as seriously as tragedy. Erin Helyard explains.

Virginia Gay and Richard Carroll discuss the joys and oddities of pantomime and staging a new play that celebrates panto traditions.