Like Anton Webern's transcription of Schubert's German Dances, Johan Halvorsen's 1897 adaptation of Handel's Suite #7 in G Minor has become more famous than the original work. Why? Is it because the adaptation resurrects a piece long buried in a little-known corner of Handel's output? Or because the interplay between the two stringed instruments in Halvorsen's reworking is more poignant than the original, which is scored for a lone harpsichord? Or because Halvorsen incorporates intriguing elements from Norwegian folk music? Perhaps because melancholic strains, as nostalgic as those in a Slavonic dance by Dvorak, weave throughout the fabric of this piece. But most likely it is simply this: the work dazzles the listener with demanding virtuosic displays, right down to its brusque and dramatic coda.

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