Happy New Year, and welcome to our bumper holiday issue. Given the Christmas break, we have once again combined our January and February issues, and produced an expanded magazine so you have plenty to read over the summer. Our critics and readers have looked back over 2019 and voted for their favourite artists – find out who you chose on page 30 – and, as the Beethoven 250th birthday celebrations begin, we explore the triumphs and tragedies that the composer faced in his final year. Among many other stories, we also raise a toast to Musica Viva on its 75th anniversary. 

Usually we look forward to this time of year as several festivals get underway and arts organisations kick off their new seasons. This year, however, there is a feeling of foreboding in the air (along with the smell of smoke). When I wrote the Editor’s Letter for our December issue, bush fires were blazing in New South Wales and Queensland. A month later, the fires are still raging. Prime Minister Scott Morrison may not accept that it’s climate change, but it is a crisis.