In a packed March issue, we take a deep dive into the results of Limelight’s 2024 Artists of the Year, which saw pianist and activist Jayson Gillham win both the Critic’s Award and People’s Choice. Also honoured were German countertenor Andreas Scholl, who sang so memorably with the Australian World Orchestra last year, and brilliant British tenor Allan Clayton, star of Brett Dean’s opera Hamlet. We look at why each of them topped our polls.

Gillham’s win is stirring controversy. As writer Peter Tregear points out in his analysis, it’s about more than the music. Not only is the British-Australian pianist “a consummate performing artist”, he’s also a catalytic figure who “set off a chain of events that have forced us all to think deeper (and, one hopes, better) about the roles we expect both classical music, and the musicians who perform it, to have in our society,” says Tregear.

As well as profiling the winners, we also list the runners-up in each category. Did your picks make the short list? Read on …

In our cover story, Stephanie Eslake explains how Tasmania’s secluded, idyllic location has inspired a creative...