As the summer holidays loom, visions of long, languid days relaxing on the beach and indulging in hours of uninterrupted reading start to become a tantalising prospect. I for one can’t wait to get lost in a good book. In this month’s cover story, Books That Hit the High Notes, Shamistha de Soysa features 12 publications that centre on music or musicians. They aren’t necessarily the latest releases – though some have only just hit the bookshops – but they are among her favourites. They include novels, biographies and a little humour, among them Bradford Morrow’s The Prague Sonata, Rachel Joyce’s The Music Shop and Lyndsy Spence’s new biography of Maria Callas to name but a few. We’ve also added a few extras on the side as there were other books we couldn’t bear to leave out. Spoil yourself, or add them to your Christmas gift list and treat a friend.

Limelight December 2021

As 2021 comes to an end, it’s time to announce the Limelight Artists of the Year. After a hiatus in 2020 due to COVID, we felt that enough wonderful work had been done in...