"As we might expect from a conductor of Glover’s experience, her descriptions of Handel’s music—of how the composer married text with sound to such extraordinary effect—are deeply perceptive. Her explanations of operatic form are clear and deft."
Description
In 1712, a young German composer followed his princely master to London and would remain there for the rest of his life. That master would become King George II and the composer was George Freidrich Handel. Handel, then still only twenty-seven and largely self-taught, would be at the heart of music activity in London for the next four decades, composing masterpiece after masterpiece, whether the glorious coronation anthem, Zadok the Priest, operas such as Rinaldo and Alcina or the great oratorios, culminating, of course, in Messiah. Here, Jane Glover, who has conducted Handel’s work in opera houses and concert halls throughout the world, draws on her profound understanding of music and musicians to tell Handel’s story. It is a story of music-making and musicianship, but also of courts and cabals of theatrical rivalries and of eighteenth-century society. It is also, of course the story of some of the most remarkable music ever written, music that has been played and sung, and loved, in this country—and throughout the world—for three hundred years.
Reviews
"Glover’s account of Handel in London examines how a German musician of strong opinions and unpredictable temperament captured the rhythms of a world capital. The merit of Handel in London is to focus on the mechanics and context of how Handel conceived and achieved music of deathless fascination. Ms. Glover, the first woman music director of a London orchestra when she led the London Mozart Players in the 1980s, has conducted more than 100 ‘Messiahs’; she ought to know."
"Grover brings all her knowledge and experience to bear in this thorough and revealing work about the prolific and prodigious George Frideric Handel. Lush and illuminating—a lovely structure built on a solid foundation of research, expertise, and affection."
"Glover narrates with rich detail the musical life of George Frideric Handel in this lively biography. Glover’s stirring and vibrant biography captures Handel’s remarkable output and his breathtaking innovation."
