Handel in the Strand

"Handel on the Strand" celebrates the musical life of eighteenth-century London. In the early 1700s, London was quickly becoming the musical hub of Europe, attracting the great Handel himself, alongside a multitude of French and Italian musicians who seized the opportunity to play in London's thriving theatre district. In this programme we capture the spirit of music-making across the city, from theatres to taverns and music in the home. On the Strand, the most vibrant of London's thorough-fares, and home to most of London's famous music shops and print houses, John Walsh first produced Handel's trio sonatas and Corelli's ever-popular Op. 5 violin sonatas. Only a matter of streets away, Scottish entrepreneurial musicians like James Oswald set up their own music shops along the Strand, feeding the craze for Scottish music in the capital.