From Old Spice to X Factor, a certain three minutes of Carmina Burana is known to many of us. But what of the rest of the work? Here's our guide, and some best recordings

Steph Power is entranced by all manner of dazzling soundworlds as she explores the best recordings of Ligeti’s Violin Concerto, a 20th-century virtuoso showstopper

Malcolm Hayes is enthralled by a Hungarian folk hero’s swashbuckling tales as he searches out the best recordings of Kodály’s Háry János orchestral suite

Daniel Jaffé discovers the best recordings of Borodin's Symphony No. 2, a bravely experimental and colourful work that changed the course of orchestral music

Terry Blain thrills to a mix of flamenco and classical traditions as he explores the finest recordings of de Falla’s characterful 1925 ballet El Amor Brujo

Did you know Britten's Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra was initially composed for a film? Daniel Jaffé enjoys instrumental inspiration from piccolo to double bass as he compares the best versions of Britten’s didactic masterpiece

One of the Hungarian’s great masterpieces, this richly evocative work has inspired many top violinists; Erik Levi reveals the finest recordings of Bartók’s Violin Concerto No.2

Taking inspiration from his everyday married life, Strauss composed a landmark in symphonic music; Terry Blain finds the best recordings of Strauss's Symphonia Domestica;

It takes a master of orchestral colour to translate masterpieces by the Italian painter Botticelli. Rebecca Franks explores Respighi's Botticelli Triptych and its best recordings

Amanda Holloway finds the best recordings of Poulenc's Figure humaine, a spectacular choral hymn to freedom, written while France was under Nazi occupation

Amanda Holloway introduces Nielsen's Symphony No. 2, ‘The Four Temperaments' - a work famously inspired by a picture in a pub - and names its best recordings

Stephen Johnson is captivated by Beethoven in warm, lyrical mode as he listens out for the finest recordings of his groundbreaking work, Beethoven's piano concerto No.4

Julian Haylock sends a couple of false pretenders packing as he searches out the best recordings of Mozart’s violin concertos

Rachmaninov's love of the music and rituals of the Orthodox Church were distilled in his masterpiece All-Night Vigil (Vespers); Daniel Jaffé finds the best recording

Erik Levi explains how Matthias Grünewald’s powerful paintings inspired Hindemith's symphonic masterpiece, Mathis der Maler Symphony and finds the very best recordings

Jessica Duchen introduces Bartók's zestful, life-affirming work, his concerto for orchestra, written during his final exile in the US, and finds the best recordings

Rebecca Franks searches out the best recordings of a 1919 masterpiece that explores the viola’s richly varied range of colour and expression

An introduction to the British pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, and some of his best recordings

We profile the great British conductor Simon Rattle, and choose some of his finest recordings on disc

The Old Testament prophet Elijah summons the attention of our reviewer Erik Levi, who names the finest recordings of Mendelssohn’s 1846 oratorio

We profile the acclaimed British pianist Paul Lewis, who performs at the 2023 First Night of the Proms, and choose some of his finest recordings