George Frideric Handel : NPR

Tilda Swinton's Spaniels Are A Lot To Handel

Dogs mingle with the music of Handel in Tilda Swinton's new video. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

Deceptive Cadence

Tilda Swinton's Spaniels Are A Lot To Handel

November 1, 2018 • A new video, co-directed by actress Tilda Swinton, breaks the joy meter, as her vivacious dogs frolic to the strains of a Handel opera.

Anthony Roth Costanzo: A Countertenor For The 21st Century

Anthony Roth Costanzo takes opera to unlikely places, including NPR Music's Tiny Desk. Morgan Noelle Smith/NPR hide caption

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Morgan Noelle Smith/NPR

Deceptive Cadence

Anthony Roth Costanzo: A Countertenor For The 21st Century

September 21, 2018 • The resourceful singer is unafraid to bring opera — and his high-flying top notes — to unlikely places, from sixth-grade classrooms to the offices of NPR.

Anthony Roth Costanzo: A Countertenor For The 21st Century

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300 Years Of Handel's 'Water Music,' With A Splash Of Politics

A portrait of George Frideric Handel, presenting his Water Music to King George I. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images hide caption

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Deceptive Cadence

300 Years Of Handel's 'Water Music,' With A Splash Of Politics

July 17, 2017 • Three hundred years ago, England's embattled King George I decided to divert public attention from the country's woes with a big musical party on the River Thames.

300 Years Of Handel's 'Water Music,' With A Splash Of Politics

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In Chaotic Times, A Singer's Plea For Freedom

Opera singer Joyce DiDonato created this video to go with her new album, In War and Peace: Harmony through Music. Warner Classics hide caption

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Warner Classics

Music

In Chaotic Times, A Singer's Plea For Freedom

October 17, 2016 • Opera star Joyce DiDonato does more than sing — she lends her voice to social causes. Watch her new video, a haunting depiction of a woman trapped in conflict.

A Bicentennial For Boston's Handel And Haydn Society

Harry Christophers leads the Handel and Haydn Society, now celebrating its bicentennial. James Doyle/Handel and Haydn Society hide caption

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Deceptive Cadence

A Bicentennial For Boston's Handel And Haydn Society

December 13, 2014 • The group gave the first U.S. performance of Handel's Messiah, and still plays it today. Yet the ensemble has constantly evolved.

A Bicentennial For Boston's Handel And Haydn Society

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Melanie Burford for NPR

Classics in Concert

Ensemble Matheus At Carnegie Hall

WQXR radio

March 6, 2013 • Hear a top French chamber orchestra bring passionate life to operatic works by Vivaldi, Handel and the little-heard Nicola Antonio Porpora — a composer who was once Handel's rival.

Ensemble Matheus At Carnegie Hall

1:46:19

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Samantha West/courtesy of the artist

Review

Deceptive Cadence

The New Baroque And A Nod To Minnesota

February 12, 2013 • From Christopher Purves' bottomless bass voice and the soaring Sibelius Fifth to a violist's new take on the Baroque, it's this week's list of albums we can't stop listening to.

Hear Nadia Sirota Play Greenstein's 'In Teaching Others We Teach Ourselves'

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Scheming in Scotland: Handel's 'Ariodante'

December 18, 2009 • Handel, a German composer, became a superstar in London, England, by writing Italian operas. Ariodante, one of his best, is set in Scotland, and was premiered in 1735 in a then brand new theater at London's Covent Garden.

An Audio Introduction to the Opera

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The Best Music Of 2009

Classics Off The Beaten Path In 2009

American Public Media

December 9, 2009 • In keeping with the musically offbeat direction of his weekly show ("The New Releases") on Minnesota Public Radio, host Michael Barone introduces 10 overlooked but excellent classical albums from 2009.

Classical 2009: Next Generation And Beyond

Decca Classics

The Best Music Of 2009

Classical 2009: Next Generation And Beyond

90.9 WGUC

December 4, 2009 • With these 2009 releases, you'll find a few fresh faces: musicians hovering around age 30, including the young Jonathan Biss and the sublime Dutch fiddler Janine Jansen. Plus, this year proved exceptionally strong for music by and from Russians. Enjoy a sampling of both classic and less-familiar fare.

Concerts

Placido Domingo in Handel's 'Tamerlano'

October 16, 2009 • Tenor Placido Domingo takes on the 126th role of his legendary career, as Bajazet in Handel's Tamerlano. The Washington National Opera's production also features countertenor David Daniels in the title role.

Washington National Opera on World of Opera -- 'Tamerlano'

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Concerts

Handel: Ezio

August 21, 2009 • For this lively story of ancient Roman intrigue, Handel wrote nothing but recitatives and arias — no quartets, no trios, not even a duet. But he proved that in the right hands, the most predictable string of musical numbers blossom into an explosion of musical color and variety.

An Audio Introduction to the Opera

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SPCO In Concert: Fiddlers, Corn And Fireworks

Sarah Rubinstein

Classics in Concert

SPCO In Concert: Fiddlers, Corn And Fireworks

American Public Media

August 10, 2009 • Conductor Nicholas McGegan bids farewell to the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra in a concert that sparkles with Handel's Royal Fireworks and weaves an array of magic spells. Also featured are works by Edward Elgar and contemporary English composer Peter Maxwell Davies.

SPCO In Concert: Fiddlers, Corn And Fireworks

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Music

Quirky Brilliance: Handel's 'Faramondo'

June 26, 2009 • The story of Handel's vibrant, 1738 opera is a bit of a head-scratcher. Yet it's told through some of the composer's finest music, ranging from infectious tunes to profound lyricism. This production from Lausanne features a full cast of brilliant solo performers.

Lausanne Opera -- 'Faramondo'

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'Partenope': The Quirky Side of G. F. Handel

April 30, 2009 • Though Handel became a superstar in London with a string of deadly serious operas, he revealed his lighter side in the delightfully quirky comedy Partenope — an opera featuring a ditzy queen and a cross-dressing duellist.

Theater an der Wien on World of Opera -- 'Partenope'

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Music Interviews

Why George Frideric Handel Still Matters

April 14, 2009 • April 14 marks the 250th anniversary of the composer's death. In honor of the occasion, two preeminent Handel musicians explain why the music remains as popular as ever with both performers and audiences.

Why George Frideric Handel Still Matters

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Placido Domingo in Handel's 'Tamerlano'

November 14, 2008 • Tenor Placido Domingo takes on the 126th role of his legendary career, as Bajazet in Handel's Tamerlano. The Washington National Opera's production also features countertenor David Daniels in the title role.

Washington National Opera on World of Opera -- 'Tamerlano'

Audio is no longer available

Concerts

Handel's 'Julius Caesar,' Politics And Passion

July 25, 2008 • Hear Handel at the height of his powers, as he sets the conflicts among love, war, and backstabbing politics to gorgeous music. It's a production of Julius Caesar from the stage of the Metropolitan Theatre of Lausanne, Switzerland.

Hear an audio introduction to 'Julius Caesar'

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Music

Scandal in Scotland: Handel's 'Ariodante'

May 23, 2008 • Handel, a German composer, became a superstar in London, England, by writing Italian operas. Ariodante, one of his best, was premiered in 1735 at a then brand new opera house at London's Covent Garden.

Grand Theatre of Geneva on World of Opera -- 'Ariodante'

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Review

Music Reviews

Richard Egarr: The 'Bernstein of Early Music'

March 26, 2008 • The keyboardist delivers a historically informed performance worthy of the passion behind Handel's Organ Concertos on a new CD. Egarr possesses a remarkable gift for combining subtle musical gestures with forward–moving, irrepressible rhythms.

Richard Egarr: The 'Bernstein of Early Music'

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Music Lists

Classical Music for the Birds

91.7 WVXU

February 27, 2008 • From cuckoos to roosters, nightingales to goldfinches, composers have long been fascinated with the sounds of birds. Hear how their chirps, twitters, and songs are imitated by the instruments of the orchestra.

A Thanksgiving Feast For The Ears And Eyes

A Thanksgiving Feast With Handel

WNYC Radio

November 21, 2007 • What happens when a good feast goes bad? Find out in Handel's Oratorio Belshazzar, the tale of an arrogant Babylonian King and his demise. Kent Tritle conducts Handel's gorgeous music in concert at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola in New York.

Belshazzar

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