"The sheet is modest in size but immense in significance. Carefully inked across the page are the opening 20 bars of a fugue - not Mozart's own invention, but his transcription of a harpsichord work by George Frideric Handel, composed more than sixty years earlier. Mozart was 26 when he set to work on it in 1782-83, transforming Handel's keyboard fugue into the beginnings of a string quartet arrangement."
"Mozart's connection to Handel began early. During his family's European tour in 1764-65, the eight-year-old prodigy arrived in London and quickly encountered Handel's music in grand settings. These experiences left their mark. As he matured, Mozart returned repeatedly to Handel's fugues, oratorios and odes, studying their architecture and expressive force. He once wrote that "Handel understands effect better than any of us... when he chooses, he strikes like a thunderbolt.""
"Alongside the handwritten fugue transcription, visitors can see: An early printed score of Messiah re-orchestrated by Mozart in 1789, revealing his respectful yet inventive engagement with Handel's work. Eighteenth-century concert tickets and engravings of Hanover Square and Vauxhall Gardens, where the young Mozart performed during his London stay. A 1760 biography of Handel by John Mainwaring - the kind Mozart owned, studied and recommended."
The sheet contains the opening 20 bars of a fugue transcribed by Mozart from a Handel harpsichord work. Mozart began the transcription in 1782–83 at age 26, sketching the beginnings of a string quartet arrangement that remains unfinished and of unknown completion. The manuscript demonstrates a musical dialogue between a young Classical composer and a Baroque master. Mozart first encountered Handel during a family tour in London in 1764–65 and repeatedly studied Handel's fugues, oratorios and odes. The display 'Handel through Mozart's eyes' runs 25 February–13 September 2026 at 25 Brook Street and includes a re-orchestrated Messiah score, period tickets and a 1760 Handel biography.
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