Handel in London: The Making of a Genius

Glover (Mozart’s Women) narrates with rich detail the musical life of George Frideric Handel (1685–1759) in this lively biography. In 1710, when he was 25, the confident young German composer strode into Princess Caroline’s court in Hanover, where he dazzled everyone with his good looks and his musical ability. He was offered a post as Kapellmeister (chief music maker), but Handel was restless and decided instead to travel to London (with its developing music scene), which he then used as a base most of the rest of his life. Glover astutely chronicles many of the works Handel composed, as with his assessment of the 1711 opera Rinaldo, which demonstrated Handel’s flair for the theatrical and his ingenuity in using the different voices of instruments in the orchestra. Glover points out that Handel consistently recognized and used the talents of his singers, librettists, and musicians to produce operas that were inventive and sometimes audacious, such as Radamisto, which launched the Royal Academy of Music in 1720. In 1741, Handel, who had already composed 70 dramatic works while in London, traveled to Dublin, where he wrote the oratorio Messiah, which was performed the following year to critical acclaim. Glover’s stirring and vibrant biography captures Handel’s remarkable output and his breathtaking innovation. (Dec.)