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Georg Friedrich Händel started his career as a child performer on the piano. Aged 9 he composed some early work. Händel had always had an affinity to opera and worked as violist and composer for Hamburg opera house.
Later, he moved to London and was promoted to director of the Royal Academy of Music. There, his name was adapted to British spelling, hence his pseudonym 'George Frederic Handel'.
Handel was a prolific composer. His œuvre consists of fifty operas, numerous oratorios and a large amount of church music and instrumental pieces. Today, his operas are mostly forgotten but Handel is still famous for his oratorios. 'The Messiah' ('Der Messias') is probably his best known composition. Another famous suite called 'Water Music' is said to have been the means of reconciliation between Händel and King George I of England.
