''Limelight'', formerly ''ABC Radio 24 Hours'', or simply ''24 Hours'', is an Australian digital and print magazine focusing on music, arts and culture. It is based in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
,
New South Wales
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, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
. Originally published by the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...
(ABC), after several changes of ownership it is owned by Limelight Arts Media Pty Ltd.
History
Founded in January 1976, the magazine was originally published under the name ''ABC Radio 24 Hours'', or simply ''24 Hours'', and relaunched as ''Limelight'' in June 2003.
Ownership
The magazine was originally a subsidiary of the ABC's classical music radio station, ABC Classic FM, and existed primarily to provide program details for the station's listeners. The title ''24 Hours'' came to the inaugural Director of ABC FM, Christopher Symons, "literally in the middle of the night. It also occurred to me... that if we got the magazine and its title established, it would be difficult for management to cut the station back to 18 hours a day".
From 2006 to January 2014 it was published by Haymarket Media Group
Haymarket Media Group is a privately held media company headquartered in London. It has publications in the consumer, business and customer sectors, both print and online. It operates exhibitions allied to its own publications, and previously o ...
under licence from the ABC. From February 2014 ownership was transferred from ABC to Arts Illuminated Pty Ltd.[
In March 2018 ''Limelight'' was purchased by Limelight Arts Media Pty Ltd. In 2018 Cara Anderson was appointed ]CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
.[
]
Content change and relaunch
In January 2012, the magazine ceased listing detailed ABC Classic FM radio programs for the forthcoming month. This reflected a decision by ABC management to end forward programming, to allow greater flexibility. Under editor Francis Merson, ''Limelight'' was awarded the Relaunch of the Year prize at the 2012 Publishers Australia Excellence Awards. This was in recognition of the magazine's successful relaunch in June 2012, with a new design and greater editorial focus on contemporary music and reviews. Francis Merson also earned runner-up in Editor of the Year category.
Description and management
The magazine publishes articles which include reviews, news, interviews, and artist profiles, as well as event and listening guides, focusing on music and the performing arts
The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perform ...
. These are published both on its website and in 11 print magazines each year. It still includes highlights from ABC Classic, as the radio station is now called.[
Jo Litson is editor and Cara Anderson is CEO.][
]
Limelight Awards
Between 2007 and 2012, ''Limelight'' held the Limelight Awards
The Limelight Awards were an annual celebration of the performances, recordings and music personalities in Australian classical music. Sponsored by the monthly classical arts magazine '' Limelight'', they were the only publicly voted awards of thei ...
– the only classical music awards in Australia where the public were invited to vote and help recognise well-loved musicians.
Editors
*Francis Merson, 2008–2013; runner-up in the 2012 Publishers Australia Excellence Awards for 'Editor of the Year' (below 20k circ.)
*Clive Paget, 2015–2018; based in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
as editor-at-large[
]
Notable issues
Acoustics survey
The September 2011 issue of ''Limelight'' featured an in-depth survey of musicians to reveal the best (and worst) concert hall acoustics in Australia's 20 major concert halls, for orchestral, chamber and vocal music. The survey, which gathered opinions from 200 performers, critics and audience members, ranked the Perth Concert Hall as the best overall venue and the Melbourne Recital Centre
Melbourne Recital Centre is a venue for live music in Melbourne and welcomes over 200,000 visitors each year. The organisation programs and presents more than 500 concerts and events a year across diverse range of musical genres including classi ...
as the top venue for chamber music. The Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...
's Joan Sutherland Theatre (previously known as the Opera Theatre) was found to have the worst acoustics.
Australian orchestra ranking
Featured in the April 2013 issue of ''Limelight'', a panel of 15 expert critics and professional musicians from around the country were blind-tested to determine Australia's top symphony orchestra. Whenever possible, repertoire was matched to ensure comparable adjudication and a fair result. In the test, each of the 15 judges was sent recordings of each orchestra on separate CDs labelled simply A to F. Ranking the orchestras from 1 to 6, the expert panel voted the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra
Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra in the state of Queensland. The orchestra is based in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's building in South Bank. The Orchestra is funded by private corporations, t ...
in the three top spots. The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an Australian orchestra based in Melbourne. The MSO is resident at Hamer Hall. The MSO has its own choir, the MSO Chorus, following integration with the Melbourne Chorale in 2008.
The MSO relies on f ...
was ranked in fourth place.[ ]
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Classical music magazines
Music magazines published in Australia
Monthly magazines published in Australia
Magazines established in 1976
1976 establishments in Australia
Magazines published in Sydney
Visual arts magazines