This month’s performance highlights from ABC Classic, independent radio and streaming.

Who are the Australian and international artists who most thrilled and entertained you this year? Check out the shortlists here.

Amid fierce competition, a relative rarity has carried off the top prize.

As she prepares to perform in her own adaptation of The Shiralee for Sydney Theatre Company, Kate Mulvany discusses her life and work.

Born without a right hand, British pianist Nicholas McCarthy is a champion of left-hand-alone repertoire with a busy international career.

When Benjamin Grosvenor signed with Decca in 2011, he was their first British pianist in almost 60 years. He talks about the music on his forthcoming tour.

Morgan Pearse chats about his forthcoming engagements, including playing Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette for State Opera South Australia.

Small companies are “vital” to Australia’s arts ecology, given “so much opera is being dictated by finances” higher up the chain, says soprano Celeste Lazarenko.

It’s our 250th issue and we couldn’t be prouder. We look back at our history and ask our publisher, Bruce Watson, as well as several long-time subscribers what Limelight means to them.

Our reviewers and readers have voted for the artists who blew them away during the past year. So, who are the winners?

Lucy Clements has been a prime mover of new Australian work. How does she approach a Purcell masterpiece over 300 years old?

This month, Tim Mead’s Beauteous Softness does what it says on the can, there’s new music from First Nations composers, and classics from Benjamin Grosvenor and the Brodskys.