George Frideric Handel was born in Halle, Germany, on February 23, 1685, the same year as Johann Sebastian Bach. Germany.1)
The lawyer father of Handel was not a supporter of his son's musical ambitions. Handel had to sneak up to the attic as a child to play a clavichord that had been concealed up there.2)
After a squabble with fellow composer Johann Mattheson in 1704, Handel's composition career may have been cruelly cut short. For unclear reasons, the two had a bitter feud in which Mattheson nearly murdered Handel with his sword, which thankfully struck a button on his chest rather than the chest itself.3)
When Handel arrived to London in 1712, Queen Anne gave him a very high salary of £200, indicating that he was a big hit.4)
Handel's success in London continued, and he was appointed musical director of the Royal Academy of Music.5)
In 1711, the first opera written specifically for the London stage was performed. The Queen's Theatre in Haymarket hosted the world premiere of Handel's Rinaldo.6)
Handel's first piece in the English language may not be his most well-known, but it was by far his most popular during his lifetime. In 1788, it was even given the honor of a minor rewrite by none other than Mozart.7)
Despite the fact that Handel was born and schooled in Germany, the British want to claim him as their own. He cherished his property at 25 Brook Street in London.8)
It has been restored to the condition in which Handel would have left it when he resided there from 1723 until 1759.9)
Because Handel was such a successful opera composer, he was given the freedom to choose his own leading women. This reward, however, resulted in a massive brawl between competing sopranos Faustina Bordoni and Francesca Cuzzoni, who ended up fighting on stage during a performance of Bononcini's Astianatte. To keep them from ripping portions off each other's outfits, they had to be pulled off stage.10)
In his later years, Handel created some of his most important and greatest compositions. That may not seem amazing, but he did have a stroke in 1737, was in a carriage accident in 1750, developed cataracts, and finally went blind after a botched eye procedure in 1751.11)
When the Hallelujah chorus began during the first London performance of Handel's Messiah, King George II stood up; it became customary for spectators to stand for this renowned chorus after that.12)
Jephtha, Handel's final oratorio, was a terrible event for him. As he composed it, he was gradually going blind, prompting him to remark on the score, “Reached here on 13 February 1751, unable to proceed on because to the deterioration of my left eye”.13)
Handel's burial was attended by 3,000 people and was a major state ceremony when he succumbed to his sufferings in 1759, following a life of upheaval and wonderful music.14)
Handel's works have been praised by Ludwig Van Beethoven, who remarked of them, “Go to him to learn how to achieve great effects, by such simple means”.15)