The Beatles are one of the most commercially successful and best-loved acts in the history of popular music and Classical Beatles brings together 45 tracks of the most imaginative classical arrangements of their music in readiness for the 50th anniversary of the release of their first single Love Me Do in 1962.

The first CD consists of arrangements for classical guitar (surely the most appropriate of all classical instruments!) including Cuban composer Leo Brouwer's suite for guitar and strings From Yesterday to Penny Lane. The second CD features orchestral arrangements, many by the celebrated bandleader Frank Chacksfield, with bonus tracks by the Fron Male Voice Choir and a rousing finale of Let It Be by Arthur Fiedler and The Boston Pops.

One of the highlights of the set is The Beatles Concerto, an arrangement for two pianos and orchestra featuring eight Beatles songs, by the celebrated English composer John Rutter. Also included is Beatlecracker Suite, a fascinating arrangement of Lennon and McCartney songs in the style of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker Suite a true lost classic composed in 1965 at the very height of 'Beatlemania'.