How did George Frideric Handel respond to Christoph Willibald Gluck’s music?

George Frideric Handel’s response to the music of Christoph Willibald Gluck was mixed. While Handel took an interest in Gluck—even performing a joint concert with him in London in 1746—he was famously critical of Gluck’s technical proficiency. Specifically, Handel remarked that Gluck "knows no more counterpoint than my cook".1

Despite this harsh assessment of his technique, Gluck held Handel in high regard, describing him as the "divine master of our art" and attempting to emulate his style. Over time, many critics have echoed Handel’s perspective, often finding Gluck’s technique to be severely flawed, though they acknowledge that his work contains powerful and affecting moments that helped reform the conventions of opera seria.12