Fiona Maddocks

One of his short stories inspired Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker , but ETA Hoffmann – German romantic writer, polymath, rake – was also a sci-fi pioneer.

The story of Herbert Howells's string quartet, called “In Gloucestershire”, is one of repeated mishap and recomposition over several years.

One aphrodisiac fits all for the land girls in English National Opera's The Elixir of Love . Money.

Pilgrimage , subtitled “ Musical Journey of Kryštof Harant to Jerusalem c1600 ”, combines the skilled forces of the vocal group Cappella Mariana and Constantinople , an ensemble specialising in early music from the Middle East.

The Czech nobleman and composer’s journey from Bohemia to Jerusalem is the inspiration for this rewarding cross-cultural album

Brawn triumphs over poetry or social status in Maurice Ravel's L'heure espagnole , in which three lovers court the sexy wife of a clockmaker while he is out each week winding up the town clocks.

Surely the world's most affable gardener, Alan Titchmarsh, who shares his musical enthusiasms on his weekly Classic FM show , has hit the top spot

Oranges! Dates! Hot chestnuts! Nougat! Whipped cream! – to name only the most enticing treats on offer in the Latin Quarter on Christmas Eve, as

A last-minute stand-in saves the day; an unusual artistic double act dazzles; plus, electrifying Strauss, Finnish firepower and high-flying Britten…

Death in Venice Millennium Centre, Cardiff; March The best singing and highest theatrical standards – complete with acrobats – in