| Superstar, Philanthropist, A Musician's Musician Handel's career was an extraordinary success by any standards. He was an enormous star in his day in both Germany and England, important enough to be made an English citizen by Act of Parliament. He held the favour of royalty throughout his career. He remains the most popular baroque composer by far, with prolific output: oratorios, Italian operas, cantatas, concerti, suites, keyboard music. Handel's philanthropy is less remembered: he was a founding member of the Society of Musicians (now the Royal Society of Musicians of Great Britain) and was one of the early Governors of the Foundling Hospital. Above all, Handel was a composer's composer. Beethoven referred to him as "the master of us all", Bach as "the only person I would wish to be, were I not Bach". |
Places to go
Top of the list for any Handel lover should be the Foundling Museum, with an outstanding collection of memorabilia; also in London is Handel House, his home for 36 years. If you're truly reverent, you could go and visit his birthplace in Halle, Germany, or his grave in Westminster Abbey in London.
Top of the list for any Handel lover should be the Foundling Museum, with an outstanding collection of memorabilia; also in London is Handel House, his home for 36 years. If you're truly reverent, you could go and visit his birthplace in Halle, Germany, or his grave in Westminster Abbey in London.
The BBC is planning a "week of Handel" at Easter, together with a weekly broadcast of a Handel opera.
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