European composers in London ‘The land without music’ is how one German critic described England in 1904. There was perhaps some truth to the jibe – in the 18th and 19th centuries, England produced very few great composers. But the English still welcomed new musical experiences and London became a magnet for foreign-born composers. They came from across Europe to perform, to compose, and to escape wars and revolutions abroad. London’s blue plaques celebrate many of them. Handel, who wrote of the English: ‘What [they] like is something that they can beat time to, something that hits them straight on the drum of the ear’