George Frideric Handel

1685 - 1759

British

Biography

Georg Friedrich Händel was born on February 23rd 1685. He was born in Halle, Germany, and despite his eagerness to become a musician, was disallowed by his father, so had to conduct his musical training in secret. After spending a brief spell in Italy studying law to appease his father and, out of his control and knowledge, expanding his musical pursuits, Händel was appointed as Kapellmeister for German Prince George of the Hanoverian family in 1710. He moved with Prince George to London, where he was crowned King George I of Great Britain and Ireland. At this point he became George Friderich Handel and strove to be accepted by the British people. In 1712, he decided to settle in England permanently, receiving an annual income of £200 from the royal family. At this time, he was composing a large number of works for a number of different patrons. He is largely held to be one of the greatest composers of the Baroque era remaining reasonably popular today. Works such as Water Music, Music for the Royal Fireworks and Messiah are still regularly performed and operas such as Julius Cesar have seen a recent resurgence in interest.

News

Performances

2nd December 2023

PERFORMERS
St Paul's Knightsbridge Festival Choir and Orchestra
CONDUCTOR
Nicholas Danks
LOCATION
St Paul's Church Knightsbridge, London, United Kingdom

3rd February 2024

SOLOISTS
Sandrine Piau
PERFORMERS
Bochumer Symphoniker
CONDUCTOR
Enrico Onofri
LOCATION
Anneliese Brost Musikforum Ruhr, Bochum, Germany

3rd March 2024

PERFORMERS
Komische Oper Berlin
CONDUCTOR
David Bates
LOCATION
Schillertheater, Berlin, Germany

10th March 2024

PERFORMERS
Komische Oper Berlin
CONDUCTOR
David Bates
LOCATION
Schillertheater, Berlin, Germany

17th March 2024

PERFORMERS
Komische Oper Berlin
CONDUCTOR
David Bates
LOCATION
Schillertheater, Berlin, Germany

Photos