Felix Delbrueck wrote:

>Same thing, curiously, with Handel: very popular in England, but not at
>all prominent in Germany itself.  There have been attempts to revive him,
>but none, to my knowledge, successful.  Curious, given that (as I just
>wrote in another post) German composers like Mozart and Beethoven were
>particularly enthusiastic admirers of Handel, more so, it seems, than of
>Bach - who has eclipsed Handel today.

I doubt whether Handel is not that popular in Germany.  Don't forget
that two of the most important Handel festivals take place in Germany
every year, in Gottingen and in Halle.  A respectable number of recent
opera recordings are linked to these festivals, in particular Gottingen.
And what about Britain: they like Handel, but how often his operas are
performed? I have the impression they like Handel especially because of
the music he composed for the kings and queens of his time, for the pomp
and circumstance.  As far as admirers of Handel are concerned, wasn't
Mendelssohn another one? He definitely has studied Handels oratorios
before composing his own.

Johan van Veen
Utrecht (Netherlands)
[log in to unmask]