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
Music of Germany the 20th century. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Die Zauberflöte" (1791) is usually said to be the beginning of German opera. An earlier starting date for German opera, however, could be Heinrich Schütz's "Dafne" from 1627. Schütz is said to be the first great German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach, and was a major figure in 17th-century music. In the 19th century, two figures were paramount in German opera: Carl Maria von Weber and Richard Wagner. Wagner introduced devices like the Leitmotiv, a musical theme which recurs for important characters or ideas. Wagner (and Weber) based his operas of German history and