George Fredrick Handel was born in Germany in 1685. Unlike most composers of the time, he did not come from a musical family. His innate musical talent was recognized at a very young age, but his family did not support the development of his musical career. On the contrary, his father wished George to pursue a career in law. Nonetheless, George stuck with music.
He began studying with a local organist by the name of F. W. Zachow. Zachow taught young George the fundamentals of keyboarding and composition. At the age of thirteen, Handel visited Berlin, where he impressed the top Italian composers of the time. In fact, they were so impressed in him they offered to send him to study music in Italy. His family refused this offer. Instead, he studied law at the university of Halle, and was deputy to the organist at the cathedral.
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