The Australian Haydn Ensemble’s program of lesser-known, and even slightly odd works are no laughing matter.

The ACO perform two iconic symphonies for the first time, welcome an American soprano and debut a new instrument.

The classical period ensemble take a look at the musical melting pot that was London in the 1790s.

Australia’s leading coloratura talks about her new Mozart CD and how she gets to the top (and stays there).

As I write this, a new season begins on television of one of the most grotesque programs to ever flit across the small screen. I speak of Big Brother. Once a chilling character in a book by George Orwell, Big Brother the TV show is the nadir of civilization. Contestants put themselves on show 24 hours a day, and the more asinine, puerile, unintelligent, psychotic and ill- adjusted they are, the better. These are not unsuspecting victims, these are people who have so little shame, so little sense of decorum and privacy that would share every minute of their vacuous little lives – humans who would offer themselves up as mice in a live TV experiment. I watched 20 minutes of it with the kids, and could feel my brain cells dying one by one. There is more goodness and humanity in three bars of Bach than in 70 hours of Big Brother, and that might be classical music’s biggest selling point. It is decent. It has structure, it has intelligence, and it seeks to rise to a higher plane, rather than plunge to the depths. Strangely, much of it was written during blood-thirstier times when humans were less enlightened. During the gore of the French…

What the magnetic cellist learned from Anne-Sophie Mutter and Msitislav Rostropovich, and how he hopes to pass some of that on.

Four projects, two couples, one ensemble – it’s a full-time juggling job for a quartet of Australia’s busiest musicians.

How do young players deal with the generation gap between themselves and their audiences?

Arts community broadly welcomes National Cultural Policy initiatives – plus a stack of cash.

Today’s programme is dominated by strings players: what they have to say followed by what they like to play.  In a typical piece of smart programming by Piers Lane, he and no fewer than eight ‘stringies’ give us a thorough grounding in the teaching and professional habits of this normally shy breed before they run the gamut from A to Z in three separate concerts.  First the chat, and again, I’m impressed by the level at which these platforms are pitched.  A relaxed mood predominates but the topic is allowed to soar when required (though never over our heads) and the audience never feel spoken down to. Brendan Joyce from the impressive Camerata of St. John’s got the ball rolling by talking about the ethos of his conductor-less group.  Apparently, it was a US job satisfaction survey placing orchestral musicians firmly below garbage collectors that persuaded Queensland music educator, Elizabeth Morgan to create this autonomous collective of string players.  Not only do they refuse the tyranny of a conductor, they don’t even have an Artistic Director.  Joyce is keen to point out that as leader, he doesn’t want the pressure of a traditional concert master, preferring directional input to come…

The legendary homegrown composer tells Limelight what he has in common with George Clooney.

The ASQ unveils its “new look” lineup… And it’s no longer an all-female affair.