Shostakovich responded to the political world around him in his compositions. We look at why his music remains as vital and relevant as ever.

Alice Topp’s first full-length ballet, Butterfly Effect, inspired by Madama Butterfly, is about to premiere at West Australian Ballet.

American mezzo Joyce DiDonato is known for her musical versatility and her advocacy. She talks her love for Berlioz and commitment to opera.

Ahead of his latest tour, Taiwanese-Australian violinist Ray Chen talks about the multidimensional journey that led him to reimagine music education.

All musical material is “received”, believes Huw Belling. He explains why as he prepares to direct a program for The Song Company, which includes a world premiere of his own music.

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.

American percussionist, conductor and author Steven Schick unravels the musical philosophy that informs his residency at the Australian National Academy of Music.

The Brisbane-based playwright discusses her play, Back to Bilo, about a family of Sri Lankan asylum seekers taken into immigration detention.

Brian Maloney is Principal Percussion at the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. He explains what makes the vibraphone special.

On a recent European holiday, Guy Noble lost the top of a finger. He raises a hand to the good-humoured staff at Britain’s NHS, who repaired his damaged digit.

The editors of Limelight share their selection of the most exciting classical music, opera and theatre events coming soon.

Though deeply tied to Queensland, this dramatised theatre documentary speaks to broader questions about who Australia welcomes and why.