BOSTON (AP) β Before Beyonce, there were the Beatles. Before the Beatles, there was Brahms. And before Brahms was even born, there was the Handel & Haydn Society.
America’s oldest continuously operating arts organization turns 200 on Tuesday. It introduced the nation to composers like Chopin and Strauss, the Jay-Zs and Gagas of the 19th century who churned out tunes that were the equivalent of Top 40 hits.
But the Boston-based society says its bicentennial isn’t just about looking back β it’s about figuring out how to make classical and Baroque music cool for the iTunes generation and beyond.
An interactive exhibition at the Boston Public Library goes live Tuesday. Music fans will be able to use iPad stations to listen to a simulation of the society’s first concert in 1815.
