Elgar devoted much of the 1890s to composing large-scale choral works. Mostly secular pieces on mythical subjects, they are rarely heard nowadays, though the best known of them is the last: the scenic ...

Every week, Classic FM presenter and music expert David Mellor reviews the best new releases and re-issues from the world of classical music. This week, David picks out Elgar's Caractacus, Boskovsky's ...

Elgar's mother suggested that he write a piece based on the Iron Age hill fort at British Camp at The Malverns. Although he demurred at first, Elgar did write it, living, during the time of the ...

Caractacus, written in 1898, was Elgar’s last big work before the one that made him famous, the Enigma Variations, so it’s no surprise that it contains superb music. He was already over 40, and well ...