Sir Donald and his festival forces scale the heights at a mountain festival.

Two Russian masterpieces where the composers win against the odds.

Hammer time: Donald Runnicles carves Mahler’s mighty Tragic masterpiece.

Donald Runnicles has the audience riding along on a crest of a wave. 

Piano great Marc-André Hamelin’s momentous SSO debut; Runnicles pays fitting tribute to Shostakovich.

The SSO's season finale was always a given, says Chief Conductor Simone Young. The opener a flash of inspiration. And in between? All kinds of surprises.

Log in to read the flipbook version of Limelight's September 2025 magazine.

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

Big issues, huge voices, major talents ... September's Limelight casts a wide net over the Australian music and performing arts scene and hauls in a bumper catch.

Big issues, huge voices, major talents ... September's Limelight casts a wide net over the Australian music and performing arts scene and hauls in a bumper catch.

Runnicles’ round trip starts with a four-minute smile, takes us back to childhood and ends in a heroic struggle.

The ‘pianist’s pianist’ Stephen Hough sprinkles some rare Mendelssohn magic with a Brahms feast to follow.