A brilliantly funny new series from Dirty Bertie author, Alan MacDonald, featuring a pig on a bike, a Poopomatic, and a talking dog!
Meet Oscar. He's no ordinary dog . . .

Sam has wanted a dog for AGES, so when Oscar turns up on this doorstep he can't believe his luck.

And when he finds out that Oscar's secret he can't believe his ears!

Oscar thinks humans are silly and rather badly trained - but when the freedom of the town's dogs is under threat, Oscar's about to discover that a dog's best friend is his boy.

I See An Elephant tells the tale of a gentle elephant who wishes he was a bird.
He starts to build a nest, but when the birds laugh at his attempts and try to chase him away, Elephant takes a stand, declaring that he should be able to live as he chooses. Realising that he is right, the birds accept him as one of them, and help him transform into an ele-bird'.

This album was recorded in partnership with Belgian classical radio station Klara. Gwen Cresens teams up with The Brussels Philharmonic and Diego Matheuz for a coupling of Piazzolla's Aconcagua (concierto para bandoneon) and Richard Galliano's Opale concerto (concerto pour accordéon soliste). Also on the album are compositions by Enrique Granados, Isaac Albeniz and Gwen Cresens and an arrangement of Piazzolla's famous Oblivion by Gwen Cresens.

Composers

Albéniz, Isaac (1860-1909)
Cresens, Gwen (b. 1975)
Galliano, Richard (b.1950)
Granados, Enrique (1867-1916)
Piazzólla, Astor (1921-92)

Works

Albéniz: Córdoba (No. 4 from Cantos de España, Op. 232)
Cresens: Nobody Likes an Angry Bunny
Cresens: Suite Espagnole: La noche anterior
Galliano: Opale Concerto
Granados: Danza española, Op. 37 No. 5 'Andaluza'
Piazzólla: Concerto for Bandoneon & Orchestra 'Aconcagua'
Piazzólla: Oblivion
Piazzólla: Pedro y Pedro

Aurelien Pascal (cello), Nareh Arghamanyan (piano)
Münchener Kammerorchester, Howard Griffiths

The stunning new album from Howard Griffiths and the Munich Chamber Orchestra. Compositions by Franz Danzi, Mozart's contemporary, acclaimed composer of early classical music. The Cello Concerto in E minor is performed by young French cello virtuoso Aurélien Pascal. The Paris musician, born in 1994, began his musical education at the Paris Conservatory and took masterclasses with János Starker. The second soloist on this album is Armenian pianist Nareh Arghamanyan, who won the famous Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow sensationally at just 19 years old and at the young age of 15, was admitted to the Vienna University of Music as the youngest student. The rarely performed Overture in D major completes this interesting Danzi programme; a well balanced collection of repertoire rarities.

Composers

Danzi, Franz (1763-1826)

Works

Danzi: Cello Concerto in E minor
Danzi: Overture in D major
Danzi: Piano Concerto in E flat major

This premiere recording of master percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie's new international ensemble offers a programme of fourteen improvised pieces that push the boundaries of spontaneous music-making. The group brings together musical traditions from four varied cultures (Scotland, Serbia, the United States and Denmark) but with a common goal: to create spontaneous music of great beauty and power which utilizes the basic formal elements of musical composition- melody, harmony, rhythm, and form.

Evelyn Glennie (percussion), Jon Hemmersam (guitar), Szilárd Mezei (viola) & Michael Jefry Stevens (piano)

Composers

Glennie, Evelyn (b.1965)

Works

Glennie: Black Box Thinking
Glennie: Breath Of Validation
Glennie: Crystal Splash
Glennie: Flutter Gaze
Glennie: Grotesque Fantasy
Glennie: Iron Stars
Glennie: Rusty Locks
Glennie: Scissor Shower
Glennie: Silver Shore
Glennie: Steel-Ribbed Dance
Glennie: The Calling
Glennie: The Wake
Glennie: Unseen Fires
Glennie: Walk of Intensity

The great Czech conductor and his beloved orchestra perform a definitive Má vlast.

In one of his last recording with the Czech Philharmonic, Jiří Bělohlávek conducts a heartfelt account of Smetana's great set of symphonic poems: Má vlast (My Homeland).

This recording is the first album release by the Czech Philharmonic and their much-loved chief conductor, Jiří Bělohlávek, following his passing in May 2017.

Smetana's Czech masterpiece has played a central role during the most important moments of the Czech Philharmonic's history.

This is an authoritative recording of Má vlast performed by musicians with an innate understanding of the music of their homeland.

In memoriam Jiří Bělohlávek

Czech Philharmonic, Jiří Bělohlávek
Recorded: 2014-05-14
Recording Venue: Smetana Hall, Prague

Awards
BBC Music Magazine April 2018 Orchestral Choice
Record Review 6th January 2018 Recording of the Week
Presto Recordings of the Year Finalist 2018

Kick-start a Stink collection with a way-cool bind-up of his first two adventures. Get two times the Stink in one book! In Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid every morning Judy measures Stink, and it's always the same: three feet eight inches tall. Until, that is, the day the ruler reads a quarter-inch less. Can it be? Is Stink shrink, shrank, shrunk? In Stink and the Incredible Super-Galactic Jawbreaker spurred by a newfound awareness of false advertising, Stink Moody becomes the proverbial kid in a candy store as his letter-writing campaign yields him heaps of rewards.

The seventh book in the internationally bestselling series. Will the arrival of the magnifico Amy Namey make Judy Moody start to forget all about her old friends? Judy is about to go around the world from the comfort of her classroom - and she wants to take all her friends with her.
Judy Moody meets her double in the seventh book in the internationally popular and bestselling series, perfect for fans of Clarice Bean, Penny Dreadful and Agatha Parrot.

The new girl at school is so similar to Judy they are practically clones! Amy Namey is a member of the 'way-cool' My-Name-Is-A-Poem Club, and what's more, she sounds just like Judy and likes the same things as her, too. Judy is meant to be doing an Around-the-World class project on Italy with her best-ever friends Rocky and Frank Pearl. But with so much time spent thinking about Amy, Judy's old friends start to feel left out...

Judy Moody has a mood for every occasion and now she has a mood ring to prove it! But will 'Madame M' (for Moody) be correct in her predictions in the fourth book in the internationally bestselling series?
Perfect for fans of Clarice Bean, Penny Dreadful and Agatha Parrot, this is the fourth book in the internationally popular and bestselling Judy Moody series.

Judy's mood ring has Extra Special Powers, which have put her in a predicting mood! But when Judy wrongly predicts a 110% result in her spelling test she begins to think that all her predictions are fictions. She has one last chance to prove her psychic abilities. Is her teacher, Mr Todd, really in love? All signs point to yes.

Count Imre Széchényi of Sárvár-Felsovidék moved in the highest echelons of the Austrian diplomatic service, in a career that ran parallel with his musical activities. Széchényi's dances, all but three of which were composed in St Petersburg, were popular in his day, and of a quality that saw them placed in concert programmes by his friend Johann Strauss II. Appearing here in their premiere recordings, they reveal a brilliant collection of mazurkas and polkas with a keen sense of humour and deep feeling in their arching musical brush strokes and romantic melodies.

Budapest Symphony Orchestra MÁV, Valéria Csányi

Composers

Széchényi, Imre (1825-98)
Works

Széchényi: Bliktri-Polka
Széchényi: Datscha-Polka
Széchényi: Felicetta-Polka
Széchényi: L'Éventail
Széchényi: La Tulipe
Széchényi: Leopoldinen-Polka
Széchényi: Les vagues
Széchényi: Marguerite-Mazurka
Széchényi: Neige-Polka
Széchényi: Polka prétentieuse
Széchényi: Polka-Hongroise
Széchényi: Polka-Mazurka
Széchényi: Pretchistinka-Polka
Széchényi: Tommy-Polka
Széchényi: Velloni-Polka
Széchényi: Waldine
Széchényi: Zither-Polka

Gloria Campaner (Piano)
Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai,Juraj Valcuha

Discs: CD & DVD

Composers

Rachmaninov, Sergey Vassilievich (1873-1943)

Works

Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18

A beautiful new album of compositions and arrangements for choir and strings by Norwegian composer, Ola Gjeilo.

Including new arrangements of familiar Christmas carols in a beautiful and intimate setting to emulate the feeling of “Hygge”.

Ola Gjeilo (pronounced Yay-lo) is one of the most frequently performed composers in the choral world.

An accomplished pianist, improvisations over his own published choral pieces have become a trademark of his collaborations across the world.

Although Norwegian by birth, it is perhaps Ola's adopted country of America that has influenced the composer's distinctive sound world the most, evolving a style that is both contemporary and familiar; thick harmonies and rich textures recall film score - music that forms a major part of the composer's inspiration.

Composers

Gjeilo, Ola (b.1978)
Gruber, Franz Xaver (1787-1863)
Kirkpatrick, William James (1838-1921)

Works

anon.: The first Nowell
anon.: The Holly and the Ivy
Gjeilo: Across the Vast, Eternal Sky
Gjeilo: Ave Generosa
Gjeilo: Away In a Manger
Gjeilo: Coventry Carol
Gjeilo: Dawn
Gjeilo: Days of Beauty
Gjeilo: Ecce Novum
Gjeilo: First Snow
Gjeilo: Home
Gjeilo: Silent Night
Gjeilo: The First Nowell
Gjeilo: The Holly And The Ivy
Gjeilo: The Rose
Gjeilo: The Rose II
Gjeilo: Wintertide
Gruber, F: Silent Night
Kirkpatrick: Away in a Manger

Deluxe Hardcover 1CD (Limited Edition)

Cecilia Bartoli (mezzo), Sol Gabetta (cello)
Cappella Gabetta, Andres Gabetta

Awards
Presto Recording of the Week 10th November 2017
Presto Recordings of the Year Finalist 2017
Gramophone Magazine January 2018 Editor's Choice
BBC Music Magazine February 2018 Opera Choice

Cecilia Bartoli and Sol Gabetta - two of the most captivating women in classical music - are joining together for a new album 'Dolce Duello' to be released on Decca Classics on 10th November. It is a collection of Baroque masterpieces which showcase the stunning combination of voice and cello in a series of dazzling duels and wondrous arias. To coincide with the release, Bartoli and Gabetta will be performing on a European tour with Cappella Gabetta and conductor and violinist Andrés Gabetta.

Composers

Albinoni, Tomaso (1671-1751)
Boccherini, Luigi (1743-1805)
Caldara, Antonio (1670-1736)
Gabrielli, Domenico (1659-90)
Handel, George Frideric (1685-1759)
Porpora, Nicola Antonio (1686-1768)
Vivaldi, Antonio (1678-1741)
Works

Albinoni: Aure, andate e baciate (from ll Nascimento dell'Aurora)
Albinoni: Il nascimento de l'Aurora
Boccherini: Cello Concerto No. 10 in D major, G483
Caldara: Fortuna e speranza (from Nitocri)
Caldara: Gianguir
Caldara: Nitocri
Caldara: Tanto, e con sì gran piena (from Gianguir)
Gabrielli: S. Sigismondo, re di Borgogna
Gabrielli: Sigismondo, re di Borgogna: Aure voi de' miei sospiri
Handel: Arianna in Creta HWV 32
Handel: Ode for St Cecilia's Day, HWV76
Handel: Son qual stanco pellegrino (from Arianna in Creta)
Porpora: Giusto Amor, tu che m 'accendi (from Gli orti esperidi)
Porpora: Gli orti esperidi

Tianwa Yang is 'an artist of exceptional technique and musicianship' (BBC Music Magazine) and has established herself as a leading international performer and recording artist, winning the Annual Prize of the German Record Critics 2014 for her acclaimed recordings of Sarasate's complete violin works. Her 'stunning effortless virtuosity' and 'uncanny affinity for Spanish music' (All Things Strings) make her the ideal advocate for the music presented on this recording. The Introduction et Rondo capriccioso is a glittering showcase imbued with the passion of Iberian dance, while the Havanaise in E major is a languorous habanera. Less frequently heard are the evocative Caprice andalou, the songful Romance in C major, the rhapsodic Morceau de concert, and the improvisatory La Muse et le Poete.

Awards
Gramophone Magazine January 2018 Editor's Choice

Tianwa Yang (violin), Gabriel Schwabe (cello)
Malmö Symphony Orchestra, Marc Soustrot

Composers

Saint-Saëns, Charles Camille (1835-1921)

Works

Saint-Saëns: Caprice andalou, Op. 122
Saint-Saëns: Havanaise, Op. 83
Saint-Saëns: Introduction & Rondo capriccioso, Op. 28
Saint-Saëns: La Muse et le Poète, Op. 132
Saint-Saëns: Morceau de concert in G major, Op. 62, for violin and orchestra
Saint-Saëns: Romance in C major, Op. 48, for violin and orchestra
Saint-Saëns: Romance in D flat major, Op. 37

2-CD digipack celebrating René Kollo's 80th birthday, a tribute to this multi-faceted artist and lively entertainer whose career spanned over four decades.The collection spans the wide range of his repertoire: on the one hand legendary Heldentenor roles with conductors such as Bernstein, Kleiber and Solti, on the other, operettas, folksongs and Weill's “Threepenny Opera.” Also included is one of Kollo's big early successes as a pop singer: his charming 1961 German-language version of the international hit “Mary Lou.”.

One of the most beloved and acclaimed Wagner tenors of the 20th century, his first Tannhäuser was recorded with Georg Solti as early as 1970. Following his Lohengrin triumph at Bayreuth, Herbert von Karajan invited him to perform at the Salzburg Easter Festival in a production of Die Meistersinger with the Berliner Philharmoniker. A studio recording with the Dresden Staatskapelle followed as did international débuts in quick succession: Vienna, Chicago, New York, London. And of course, Kollo was de rigueur in Bayreuth's “Centennial Ring” conducted by Pierre Boulez.

His vast operatic repertoire encompassed Tamino to Florestan, Don José and Otello to Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes. In his stunning live performances Kollo identified completely with his roles and brought impressive character studies whether as Tannhäuser or Tristan, Herodes in Salome or Macheath in The Threepenny Opera.

Works
Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72 - Act II
Beethoven: Gott! Welch Dunkel hier! (from Fidelio)
Brahms: Rinaldo, Op. 50
Brahms: Stelle her der goldnen Tage (from Rinaldo, Op. 50)
Kalman: Auch ich war einst ein feiner Csárdákavalier … Komm, Zigan (from Gräfin Mariza)
Kalman: Gräfin Mariza
Kalman: Grüß mir mein Wien (from Gräfin Mariza)
Kücken: Ach, wie ist's möglich dann
Lehár: Bei einem Tee en deux
Lehár: Dein ist mein ganzes Herz (from Das Land des Lächelns)
Lehár: Immer nur lächeln (from Das Land des Lächelns)
Lehár: Von Apfelbluthen einen Kranz (from Das Land des Lachelns)
Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde
Mahler: Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde (from Das Lied von der Erde)
Mendelssohn: O Taler weit o Hohen
Strauss, J, II: Als ich ward ihr Mann (from Wiener Blut)
Strauss, J, II: Du süßes Zuckertäuberl mein (from Wiener Blut)
Strauss, J, II: Grüß Gott, mein liebes Kind (from Wiener Blut)
Strauss, J, II: Trinke Liebchen, trinke schnell (from Die Fledermaus)
Strauss, J, II: Wiener Blut (from Wiener Blut)
Wagner: Amfortas! Die Wunde! (from Parsifal)
Wagner: Inbrunst im Herzen (from Tannhäuser)
Wagner: Morgenlich leuchtend im rosigen Schein 'Prize Song' (from Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg)
Wagner: Noch ist kein Schiff zu sehn! (from Tristan und Isolde)
Wagner: Tristan! Isolde! Treuloser Holder! (from Tristan und Isolde)
Weber: Nein! länger trag' ich nicht die Qualen…Durch die Wälder (from Der Freischütz)
Weill, K: Die Ballade vom angenehmen Leben (from Die Dreigroschenoper)
Weill, K: Grabschrift
Weill, K: Pimp's Ballad (Tango)