GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL

Essential facts: 250th anniversary of death. Like the monarchs he served, George I and George II, he was a German who became a pillar of the British Establishment. Wrote 42 operas, mostly for London theatres, then turned his prolific pen to oratorios, producing 29 that set new standards for choral magnificence.

Place in history: One of history’s greatest tunesmiths, and a powerful dramatist who broke through the stifling conventions of 18th-century opera to create a series of tragic protagonists with real psychological depth. His oratorios remain the mainstay of the British choral tradition, and his instrumental music is scintillating.

Black mark: Tendency to pinch tunes from other composers. But, as a fellow-composer William Boyce generously admitted, he usually “took other men’s pebbles and polished them into diamonds”.

Must hear: Messiah, the ultimate oratorio; Giulio Cesare and Serse, both entertaining romps through ancient history with stunning music; and the brilliantly tuneful Music for the Royal Fireworks.

Not a lot of people know that: Handel lived near Edgware when he first came to London. Presumably tiring of delays on the Northern Line, he moved to Upper Brook Street in the West End, living in a house next door to one later occupied by Jimi Hendrix.

JOSEPH HAYDN

Essential facts: 200th anniversary of death. A former choirboy at St Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, he spent most of his adult years as a servant in an aristocratic Austro-Hungarian household as court composer to the Esterházy family. There he wrote many of his 100-plus symphonies, masses of Masses, dozens of operas and a vast output of chamber music. Only late in life, particularly with his two visits to England, did he achieve international fame.

Place in history: Pioneered the symphony as the most important way of making a big musical statement. Paved the way for his younger friend Mozart (they played string quartets together) and his wilful pupil Beethoven — but also a highly original and witty innovator in his own right.

Black mark: His marriage was a sham; he had a long affair with a young, married singer on the Esterházy payroll.

Must hear: His supremely optimistic choral masterpiece, The Creation; his last symphony, No 104; his Emperor String Quartet, later plundered and coarsened to provide Germany with its infamous national anthem; and his ebullient Trumpet Concerto.

Not a lot of people know that: Penniless after being chucked out of the Vienna choir school when his voice broke, Haydn survived by busking on the streets until an Italian composer, Porpora, took pity and employed him as his valet.

FELIX MENDELSSOHN

Essential facts: 200th anniversary of birth. Grandson of German-Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn and son of a wealthy banker, he and his sister Fanny were child prodigies. Felix wrote his brilliant Octet for Strings at 16, his magical overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream a year later, and never looked back. At 20 he exhumed and conducted the long-forgotten St Matthew Passion, and kickstarted the Bach revival. A workaholic, he died at 38.

Place in history: Light- fingered, technically impeccable, and bubbling with hummable tunes, his best works lift the spirits and exemplify German Romanticism without the angst.

Black mark: A “veritable abyss of superficiality” was Wagner’s acid comment. Crude anti-Semitism doubtless triggered the remark, but the feeling that his music is too facile or complacently sentimental to be taken seriously has never gone away.

Must hear: The gorgeous Violin Concerto; the gloriously atmospheric incidental music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream; the exhilarating Italian Symphony, and Elijah for its stirring choral climaxes.

Not a lot of people know that: Queen Victoria adored Mendelssohn, and commanded that the Wedding March from A Midsummer Night’s Dream be played at her daughter’s wedding. After that, every other wedding couple wanted it — and many still do.

HENRY PURCELL

Essential facts: 350th anniversary of birth. Just 36 when he died but, like Mozart, produced a huge amount of superb music in his short life, mostly for Charles II’s Chapel Royal; plus semi-operas and masques on the London stage.

Place in history: Undoubtedly the greatest composer England produced between the Tudors and the birth of Elgar in 1859 and, some would argue, the greatest in history. Dido and Aeneas is one of the Baroque era’s operatic masterpieces — worthy to be set alongside anything by Monteverdi or Cavalli. His musical setting of the English language has never been bettered, and much influenced 20th-century composers such as Britten and Tippett.

Black mark: Adapted story of A Midsummer Night’s Dream for his opera The Fairy Queen, but tragically never set a word of the original Shakespeare.

Must hear: Dido and Aeneas, with its great lament, When I am laid in earth; the ode, Hail, Bright Cecilia; the coronation anthem, My heart is inditing; and his sublime Funeral Music for Queen Mary, with the sombre march used by Stanley Kubrick in A Clockwork Orange.

Not a lot of people know that: Purcell nearly lost his job as organist at Westminster Abbey for selling tickets to the 1689 coronation on the black market. Also wrote obscene “catches”, or partsongs, for gentlemen’s clubs.

Where and when to sample their music this year

Radio

From Thursday, Radio 3 is broadcasting all 42 Handel operas throughout the year. Radio 3 is also working its way through all 104 of Haydn’s symphonies, every Wednesday and Friday.

Television

In March, BBC Two will present The Birth of British Music, a four-part series presented by Charles Hazlewood celebrating the four anniversary composers and their influence on British music.

Exhibitions

The Handel House Museum (Brook Street, London W1) is planning a number of special events and projects. From Jan 16, the Foundling Museum (Brunswick Square, London WC1) plays host to Handel the Philanthropist.

Concerts/Opera

The Wigmore Hall is celebrating the 200th anniversary of Haydn’s death with performances of all his mature string quartets and other selected works, concluding with a four- concert festival culminating on May 31, the day of his death.

Les Musiciens du Louvre- Grenoble/Minkowski

Three anniversary boys in one gig as Marc Minkowski conducts music by Handel, Haydn and Purcell. Barbican Hall, Barbican Centre, Silk Street, EC2 (www.barbican.org.uk 0845 1207500), Jan 18

London Handel Festival

The 2009 event celebrates Handel’s anniversary by running from his birthday (Feb 23) until his death day (Apr 14). Highlights include a new production of Handel’s neglected opera Allesandro (Mar 30, Apr 1 and 2). (www.handel.cswebsites.org)

Haydn the Innovator

The BBC Philharmonic go deep into Haydn, with concerts including a good clutch of the symphonies and his life-affirming Creation. Bridgewater Hall, Manchester (www.bbc.co.uk/orchestras/philharmonic 0161-907 9000), June 3-13

Mendelssohn 200

The highlight of this mini-fest sees Stephen Hough playing the Piano Concerto No 1, followed by the complete music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall (www.grch.com 0141-353 8000), Feb 21

Dido and Aeneas/Acis and Galatea

For the first time in years, the Royal Opera and the Royal Ballet perform together in this production of Purcell and Handel one- acters, directed by the Royal Ballet’s Wayne McGregor. Royal Opera House, Bow Street, London WC2 (www.royaloperahouse.org 020-7304 4000), in rep Mar 31-Apr 20. Also to be televised by the BBC

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