Ludwig van Beethoven – Transcriptions and Studies on the Works of Handel
List of the transcriptions, studies, and variations that Beethoven made of Handel’s works.
“Toward the middle of February 1827 (Beethoven was by then gravely ill and no longer got out of bed), the harp virtuoso Stumpff had the complete works of Handel delivered to him as a gift—works Beethoven had long desired to possess. When I entered his room, he pointed with eyes sparkling with joy to the volumes on one of the two pianos. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘they gave them to me today. I had wanted them for so long because Handel is the greatest composer, and I can still learn from him.’ And in the afternoon, when I returned, he again began to speak of Handel’s greatness, the most classical and the most profound of composers.” (Von Breuning)
“Handel is the greatest composer who ever lived. I would like to take off my hat and kneel at his grave.” (L. v. Beethoven)
George Frideric Handel was a cosmopolitan genius of the Baroque era—born in Germany, shaped by Italy, and immortalized in England—whose music fused drama, grandeur, and spiritual depth in ways that still resonate today.
Born on February 23, 1685, in Halle, a modest town in what was then Brandenburg-Prussia, Handel’s early life was marked by tension between duty and passion. His father, a barber-surgeon in the service of the Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels, hoped his son would pursue law. But young Georg Friedrich Händel, as he was then known, was drawn irresistibly to music. He practiced secretly on a clavichord hidden in the attic until his talent could no longer be ignored. Under the tutelage of Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow, he absorbed the rigorous counterpoint of the German tradition and the expressive possibilities of keyboard and choral music.
In his twenties, Handel ventured to Hamburg, where he worked at the opera house and composed his first operas. But it was Italy—the cradle of opera and the “land of music”—that truly transformed him. Between 1706 and 1710, he traveled through Florence, Rome, Naples, and Venice, composing cantatas, sacred works, and operas that revealed his gift for melody and theatrical pacing. He met Corelli, absorbed the influence of Vivaldi and Alessandro Scarlatti, and began to blend German structure with Italian lyricism.
Handel’s destiny, however, lay in England. He arrived in London in 1710, and within a year, his opera Rinaldo was a sensation. The English public embraced him, and he embraced them in return. By 1727, he had become a naturalized British citizen, anglicizing his name to George Frideric Handel. His music became central to British cultural life: he composed for royal occasions, civic ceremonies, and public concerts. Works like Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks showcased his flair for spectacle and celebration.
Yet Handel’s greatest legacy lies in his oratorios, especially Messiah (1741), which he composed in just 24 days. Unlike opera, oratorios were sung in English, performed without staging, and accessible to a broader public. Messiah—with its iconic “Hallelujah” chorus—became a spiritual and cultural touchstone. Other oratorios, such as Israel in Egypt, Samson, and Jephtha, revealed his mastery of choral writing and biblical drama.
In his later years, Handel suffered from failing eyesight, possibly due to cataracts. He continued to compose and perform, relying on memory and assistants. He died on April 14, 1759, and was buried in Westminster Abbey, a rare honor for a musician. His funeral was attended by thousands, a testament to his stature in British society.
Handel’s music influenced generations—from Haydn and Mozart to Beethoven, who famously declared:
“Handel is the greatest composer that ever lived. I would uncover my head and kneel at his tomb.”
Handel’s genius lay in his ability to speak to both the heart and the intellect. His works traverse joy and sorrow, grandeur and intimacy, always with a sense of humanity and divine aspiration. He was, in every sense, a European composer—and a citizen of the world.
Among the variations, transcriptions, and notes that Beethoven made on Handel’s works, we recall:
Twelve Variations WoO 45, for cello and piano, on a theme from Judas Maccabaeus, dedicated to Princess Maria Christiane Fürstin von Lichnowsky, née Countess Thun-Hohenstein, 1796, published in Vienna by Artaria, summer or autumn 1797. GA. no. 110 (series 13 no. 6) – B. 157 – KH. (WoO)45 – L. IV, p. 317/5/A – N. p. 145 – P. 85 – T. 118. The original manuscript is preserved in the archive of the Society of Friends of Music in Vienna. The theme is that of the celebratory chorus See the conquering hero comes in the third part of Handel’s oratorio: a simple melody of festive serenity, which the two instruments present with a beautiful effect of sonority. The eighth variation (with a predominance of the piano part) and the ninth (expressively balanced between the two instruments) could suggest, in harmony with the biblical subject, the image of two choirs: one alternately impetuous and imploring, the other resting in the superposition and correspondence of voices in a prayer of trust. The eleventh (Adagio 4/4) expands and richly blossoms the melody, in which each phrase presented by the piano (some harp-like effects recall biblical celebrations) is repeated with analogous figurations by the cello. (See on our website)
1 – Three-act oratorio Esther, HWV 50b, copy of the Andante and Allegro from the Overture.
2 – Three-act oratorio Saul, HWV 53, copy of the opening bars of the funeral march.
3 – Beethoven deeply admired Handel’s Messiah, a work he knew only through Mozart’s orchestration (K 572), which was published in the early months of 1803, until he read the original edition in the complete works of Handel edited by Samuel Arnold, a few months before his death. He annotated the incipits of many numbers and made complete copies of four numbers—altogether over 36% of the oratorio’s numbers. His copies and excerpts have been identified and dated based on their watermark. The copies come essentially from four sources: two in Berlin, one in London, and one in Santa Barbara, at the Karpeles Manuscript Library, and the dating ranges from 1806 to 1820–21. The copy of the choral fugue And with His stripes, the basis of this article, located in Santa Barbara, may have been made when Beethoven revised the conclusion of the fugue in the Credo of the Missa solemnis Opus 123. A clear quotation of the Hallelujah chorus, otherwise omitted from the group of citations and copies, is transposed and figured in the Dona nobis pacem of the Mass.
4 – Hess 36: Transcription of a Fugue by Handel for string quartet, 1801–1817. Hess 36. The original manuscript is held at the Deutsche Staatsbibliothek in Berlin. The fugue is the second part of the Overture to the oratorio Solomon, HWV 67 (Allegro moderato), written for oboe I and II, violin I and II, viola, and basses. The oboes, except for a few simplified bars, merely double the violins. Beethoven limited himself to copying the string parts, introducing only slight modifications. The date cannot be precisely determined. Therefore, we place the work within the general time frame of Beethoven’s few other transcriptions: 1801–1817. (See on our website)
5 – Beethoven also transcribed for string quartet some parts of Handel’s Concerti Grossi, Opus 6, HWV 319–330, specifically: – From Concerto Grosso No. 4, HWV 322 – second movement. – From Concerto Grosso No. 7, HWV 325 – second movement. – From Concerto Grosso No. 12, HWV 330 – fifth movement. These manuscripts are preserved in Vienna, at the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek (Mus.Hs.40188 Mus).
6 – Pièces pour le clavecin: – Suite No. 1 in A major, HWV 426: fragment of the “Prelude”. – Suite No. 4 in E minor, HWV 429: the Allegro of the fugue.
7 – Kafka Skizzenbuch, page 195, folio 45 recto: Handel fugue in G minor, first eight bars. The autograph is found on folio 45 recto, lines 1 and 2 of the Kafka Skizzenbuch. It is a transcription of the fugue in G minor, the first of the six fugues that G.F. Handel wrote for harpsichord or organ, under the title Six Fugues or Voluntarys, HWV 605.
