Handel
George Frideric Handel by Balthasar Denner Balthasar Denner - National Portrait Gallery, Wikimedia Commons
Early in the 20th century, little of Handel’s music was well known except Messiah. Sir Thomas Beecham, a great admirer of Handel, lamented this situation, and set about organizing from Handel’s operas, oratorios, and instrumental works into ballet suites, giving the music an update in sound as well. With the coming of the Baroque revival, the utility of Beecham’s Suites ended, but their charm remains. On Classics of the Phonograph, Saturday at 11 am on WILL-FM., we will enjoy those charms.