Elgar's vivid evocation of an Italian holiday, including folk tunes the composer noted down on the spot, opens this concert of music from the early part of his career. The composer wrote Sea Pictures immediately after the Enigma Variations, and its five contrasting songs share their mastery of orchestral colour.

The Variations themselves, the composer's first big success, are fond musical descriptions of close friends and family, concluding with an energetic and confident self-portrait.

The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment is Anvil Arts' Orchestra in Association.