The May issue of Limelight is available now in newsagents and from our online store. Our cover star may have been chosen as one of our Top 12 Classical Music Pin-Ups, but rest assured Eric Whitacre is a serious composer whose luminous choral music, sophisticated style and pioneering Virtual Choir are proving irresistible to listeners and critics around the world. Australian audiences were in raptures when Sydney Philharmonia gave the national premiere of his Little man in a hurry.

In the magazine, we find out how the Grammy-winning composer rocketed to fame at the tender age of 22, and why he’s “approached the world of new music as an outsider.”

Exclusively for the Limelight website, Whitacre shares his 10 Desert Island Discs – an eclectic mix ranging from Arvo Pärt to Stephen Sondheim. He also gives us a sneak peek of his forthcoming album Water Night, out on May 11.

Also in the May issue of Limelight: we unmask the mystery of Mozart’s final work, his Requiem. The story has been made legend by the film Amadeus, but was Salieri really involved in its composition?

We take a look behind the curtain at the fraught issue of stage fright, and investigate why classical musicians are resorting to medication to keep performance anxiety under control.

We also present the ultimate guide to classical music festivals around the world, a must-read for intrepid concert-goers and armchair travelers alike.

All this and more in the latest issue of Limelight. Get your copy here.