Program Notes: Mozart & Handel

This Masterworks program celebrates Baroque and beyond with music by Handel, Haydn and Mozart. Handel’s Water Music — commissioned for King George’s 1717 Thames celebration — sparkles with regal pomp, innovative use of horns and vibrant dance movements. Mozart takes audiences on an irrepressible romp in the Overture to The Marriage of Figaro, which perfectly captures the opera’s comic energy. It's a different feel from his elegant Ballet Music from Idomeneo, a French-style suite that closes a tragic opera with festive dances, rich orchestration and the first use of clarinets in a Mozart opera. Music from Haydn's Uninhabited Island shows his symphonic genius, creating dramatic tension between calm and storm.

This episode includes music excerpts to illustrate each work.

Masterworks 4 of the 25/26 Season
Performances November 22 & 23, 2025