Geoff Adams

George Bohm (1661-1733), was a German composer who was organist at Luneburg's Johanniskirche for 35 years, regarded as a minor figure with a small output of music until a few years ago.

Gekoski is an erudite and witty writer, presenting true stories in this entertaining hardback. It is a series of chapters broadly based on lost works of art and literature, in which ''lost'' has a number of different shades of meaning.

Southern Cross Soloists is a leading Australian chamber group comprising Paul Dean (artistic director, clarinet), Tania Frazer (oboe), David Mitchell (bassoon), Peter Luff (horn), Kevin Power (piano) and Margaret Schindler (soprano).

> Rossini: Petite Messe Solennelle. Orchestra and Choir, National Academy of Santa Cecilia and soloists. EMI 2 CDs

New York-based Noah Stewart began his singing career doing voice-overs for Sesame Street and backings for pop singers.

Couperin: Trois Lecons de Tenebres, etc. The King's Consort. Vivat CD.

Mendelssohn: Violin Concertos, Sonata in F minor. Tianwa Yang (violin). Naxos CD.

>''Le Violon Roi'' Renaud Capucon (violin) Virgin Classics (3 CDs)

''Alleluia''. Julia Lezhneva (soprano), Il Giardino Armonica. Decca CD

Wellington Media Collective: the name sounds like some sort of leftist pressure group and that is exactly what it is (or was) as the large book We Will Work With You clearly shows, being profusely illustrated.

As a youngster I was a devoted fan of Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons books, so I was pleased to see that the ''young adult'' literature of today is following a similar formula - it has been espoused and modernised by ace crime writer Kathy (''Bones'') Reichs and Brendan Reichs in their latest book Code.

Young Austrian pianist Wunder was about to make his 300th appearance in concert, so decided to celebrate 300 years of piano music in this disc release.

> ''Amour'' film music. Alexandre Tharaud (piano). Virgin CD

''Not another recording of The Four Seasons'', some will cry, as discs of the evergreen masterpiece abound.

Ferdinand Ries (1784-1838) was one of Beethoven's lesser contemporaries.

> Brahms: Violin Concerto in D major. Lisa Batiashvili (violin), Staatskapelle Dresden. Deutsche Grammophon CD.

Outstanding German pianist Michael Endres joined the University of Canterbury in 1999 as professor of piano. He performs worldwide as soloist and a chamber music partner, having gained his master's degree at the Juilliard School in New York and also studied in London.

An excellent oddity but with some flaws, this could be the best opera that Handel and Vivaldi never wrote! Jeremy Sams has devised a ''baroque pastiche'' in two acts combining music by them, Rameau, Purcell, Ferrandini and others.

> ''Bohemian Rhapsody''. Benaud Trio. Melba CD. Following its earlier release on this label, this fine Australian piano trio plays Smetana's Piano Trio in G minor, Op.15 and Dvorak's ''Dumky'' Piano Trio in E Minor Op.90 B166. The two Czech composers were great Bohemians and these romantic works are masterpieces, but the disc really awards its title to its closing brevity that is a world premiere recording.

Gillian Whitehead: Arapatiki. Steve De Pledge (piano), etc. Atoll CD.