Music for the Royal Fireworks for outdoor performance. Together, these works constitute Handel's most famous music for what we would now consider the orchestra. Older recordings tend to use arrangements of Handel's score for the modern orchestra, for example, the arrangements by Hamilton Harty and Leopold Stokowski. More recent recordings tend to use more historically informed performance methods appropriate for baroque music and often use authentic instruments. There are also arrangements for pipe organ, alone or with brass. In 1970, José Feliciano recorded for his "Fireworks" LP part of the work transcribed for classical guitar by himself. This music was performed under the baton of
The Merry Wives of Windsor (opera) was to become his masterpiece in the German language. The composer himself made some changes to the libretto. It was difficult at first to find a stage that was willing to mount the opera, but following the premiere at the Königliches Opernhaus (Royal Opera House, now Berlin State Opera) in Berlin on 9 March 1849 under the baton of the composer, it achieved great success and its popularity continues to this day. Though the libretto and the dramaturgy may seem old-fashioned to today's audiences, the music is of such high quality that the work is nevertheless performed with increasing regularity.