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". More about Handel's life and music...
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.
Read about selected Handel operas...
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Handel
on CD
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Events to attend
Handel's birthplace at Halle hosts a stellar cast in the week leading up to the anniversary: the other major Handel festival in Germany is at Göttingen festival. London hosts its own Handel Festival, together with events surrounding the "Baroque 2009" exhibition at the Victoria and Albert museum. The BBC is planning a "week of Handel" at Easter, together with a weekly broadcast of a Handel opera.
More events about Handel....
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.
Read about Handel and the Foundling Hospital...Handel
On Air
BBC Radio 3 has celebratory programmes through the year.
Anniversaries in 2009:
Purcell (b.1659) Handel (d.1759) Haydn (d.1809) Mendelssohn (b.1809) Tárrega (d.1909) Albéniz (d.1909)
Villa-Lobos (d.1959) Martinů (d.1959)
Portrait of Handel by George Knapton and "Gloria" score are reproduced by kind permission of the Royal Academy of Music.
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