Baroque music of the British Isles George III (reigned 1760–1820), and the aristocracy in general, continued to be patrons of music through the foundation of organisations like the Royal Concert of Music in 1776 and events like the Handel Festival from 1784. Outside of court patronage there were also a number of major figures, including the Scottish composer Thomas Erskine, 6th Earl of Kellie (1732–81) well known in his era, but whose work was quickly forgotten after his death and has only just begun to be reappraised. Baroque music of the British Isles Baroque music of the British Isles bridged the gap between the early music
Opera in German music, "Singspiele" were no match for contemporary opera serias in artistic sophistication. A milestone of German opera was Anton Schweitzer's "Alceste", with a libretto by Wieland, premiered in 1773 in Weimar. At the end of the 18th century a composer who would change all this would emerge: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. As music moved into the Classical era in the late 18th century, most German-born composers still avoided writing opera in their own language. The great figure of the early Classical period was Christoph Willibald von Gluck but his pioneering reforms were directed at Italian and French opera, not the German