George Frideric Handel was born in Halle, Saxony (now Germany) and was the son of a 63-year-old barber-surgeon. His father wanted him to study law, but Hawwel was eager to explore music, so much so that he even hid a small clavichord in the attic. During a visit to the court of Saxe-Weissenfels, where the father of the court, the duke accidentally heard Haunted playing the organ and managed to convince the reluctant father of the boy's musical talent. Handndel then studied law and music, mastering the organ, violin and harpsichord, composing in different musical forms and spending hours copying notes from the manuscript collection of his teacher, the organist and composer Friedrich Zachau. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay He entered the University of Halle in 1702 and, within a month, was hired as a trainee organist at the Calvinist cathedral in Halle. For a year he had free accommodation and then moved to Hamburg, the only German city, other than the courts, that had an opera house. He was employed as a violinist at the opera, then as a performer, and after three years two of his operas were staged. In 1706 he met the heir of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, who invited him to Florence: the beginning of three years of training and creation in Italy. There he met many composers, including Corelli, Scarlatti and Vivaldi, whose influences can be seen in the music. He was inspired to write operas, most notably Agrippina, which was performed 27 times, as well as oratorios and over 150 cantatas. He gained some fame, especially in Venice, before leaving for Innsbruck to meet the governor of Tyrol. From there he went to Hanover to take up the post of chapel master of the Elector, the man destined to ascend the throne of England. In 1710 Besnell visited London to stage his opera Rinaldo, and its success led him to settle there permanently. Queen Anne gave her a pension of 200 pounds a year, but the underworld position became difficult after her death, and the Hanoverian reader, from whom he had retired, had ascended the throne of England. The story goes that there was a reconciliation when King George ascended the Thames on a boat trip, the royal boat was followed by a second barge with 50 musicians under the direction of Haunts playing the now famous Water Music. The king was so fascinated that he requested three performances of the hour-long concert, pardoning the composer and increasing his pension by £600. Composed of suites divided into 20 small movements, the score of Water Music was composed for trumpets, horns, oboes, bassoons, beveled flutes, transverse flutes and strings. This piece particularly demonstrates the talent of orchestration, and the trumpets and horns are particularly effective in the open air, in this particular case, during a river walk. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Between 1718 and 17290, Havel was musical director to the Duke of Chandos and during this period he wrote the Chandos hymns and the dramatic oratorio Acis and Galatea. It was usually easy to find patrons; in the winter of 1718-19, the nobility pooled their resources to create and establish the Royal Academy of Music for the purpose of promoting Italian opera in London, with the band as musical director. For eight years one of the centers of operatic activity in Europe was in London, and Handndel achieved many triumphs, including Giulio Cesare in 1724. He was appointed composer of the Chapel, moved to a house in Grosvenor Square and applied for English naturalization..