It is striking that two of the true classics in English orchestral music were composed within the short space of some fifteen years around the turn of the previous century. Edward Elgar's Enigma Variations have charmed as well as fascinated listeners since the first performance in 1899. In 14 remarkably diverse variations Elgar demonstrates his compositional mastery while creating miniature portraits of his closest friends, as well as of his wife and himself. By turns gentle, idyllic, tempestuous and boisterous, the pieces – which often run seamlessly into each other – nevertheless make up a coherent whole, like a group portrait taken during a country weekend.

Written between 1818 and 1823, Beethoven's Missa solemnis was the result of intensive theological and musical research in the library of it's dedicatee, Archduke Rudolph of Austria. It is, in Beethoven's own view, his most ambitious composition. On this recording, René Jacobs shows us that it is also his loftiest. This is the work of a composer with deeply held religious sentiments and profound tenderness for humanity, so confident in his artistry that he could create that which goes beyond liturgical form and expresses in musical terms the universality of divine transcendence.

Philippe Herreweghe and La Chapelle Royale turning to Josquin, whose music they perform with individuality and seriousness of purpose. It is also that they are concentrating on some of his finest achievements: here, for example, we have not only the miraculous Miserere—the work that the late Edward Lowinsky regarded as music's answer to the Sistine Chapel ceiling—but the six voice Ave nobilissima creatura, the Stabat mater and the psalm Usquequo, Domine.

Twilight is the third album of tenor Ian Bostridge and pianist Saskia Giorgini, dedicated to Robert Schumann song cycles, all written in the miraculously productive year of 1840.The album title and cover photography were inspired by the song Zwielicht, which together with Mondnacht from the same Op. 39 cycle is often considered to be theepitome of German nineteenth-century Romanticism.

Askenazy and the Philharmonia produced a very good 6th Symphony in their previous cycle for Decca, and not a great deal has changed, except that in the Stockholm performance the tempi are all notably faster, giving the lie to the adage that conductors slow music down as they age. This lovely symphony, often neglected in concert programmes, is regarded as a masterpiece by many musicologists. In following the exultant 5th, it is drained of heroism, and it also reserves epic glory for the 7th Symphony. Yet it has fragile beauties of its own.

The three piano trios by Leopold Kozeluch recorded here are from 1786 and 1787 and were initially published independently by their composer. Already a few months later, however, reprints appeared in Paris, London, Offenbach, Mannheim, and Speyer – which shows just how well known and popular his music was at the time. Even before, in 1781, Kozeluch enjoyed such a fine reputation that the Archbishop of Salzburg offered him the post of court organist, succeeding Mozart. The piano trios on this recording for the most part display a mirthful and relaxed character, with spirited joy of performance along with virtuosic design sometimes holding sway in the piano part.

Thomas Erskine, the 6th Earl of Kellie was Scotland's most colourful and exuberant 18-century composer, known on his estates as 'Fiddler Tam'. His music includes Mannheim symphonies, songs, string quartets, trio sonatas, and a strathspey & reel. This recording features his extravagant orchestral fireworks, and his intimate chamber music recorded in his Fife home, Kellie Castle.

“The role of Isabella is sung to perfection by Cecilia Bartoli – a clever, independent woman with an adventurous streak” (New York Times). Bartoli’s superb performance in Gioachino Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algeri (The Italian Girl in Algiers) at Salzburg Festival, directed by the BAFTA-winning stage director duo Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier, is a highlight among the Rossini celebrations on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the composer’s death. The DVD captures Bartoli’s excellent performance in a rare audiovisual recording of the Italian superstar, who is one of the most successful opera singers of our time. In this vibrant comedy, every look, every hand gesture brings Isabella to life: Bartoli presents the spirited Italian woman with fire, finesse and extraordinary acting abilities – “a Rossini masterclass” (Bachtrack).