George Frideric Handel - San Marino, CA - Statues of Historic Figures on Waymarking.com

This life-sized marble bust depicts German composer George Frideric Handel as a middle aged man. He wears a coat with many folds and a beret-like cap. His face is turned to the right.
The 1740 work is by Loius-Francois Roubiliac
Wikipedia (visit link) informs us:

"George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (/'hænd?l/; born Georg Friedrich Händel, German pronunciation: ['h?nd?l]; 23 February 1685 (O.S.) [(N.S.) 5 March] – 14 April 1759) was a German, later British Baroque composer who spent the bulk of his career in London, becoming well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, and organ concertos. Handel received critical training in Halle, Hamburg and Italy before settling in London in 1712; he became a naturalised British subject in 1727. He was strongly influenced both by the great composers of the Italian Baroque and the middle-German polyphonic choral tradition.

Within fifteen years, Handel had started three commercial opera companies to supply the English nobility with Italian opera. Musicologist Winton Dean writes that his operas show that "Handel was not only a great composer; he was a dramatic genius of the first order." As Alexander's Feast (1736) was well received, Handel made a transition to English choral works. After his success with Messiah (1742) he never performed an Italian opera again. Almost blind, and having lived in England for nearly fifty years, he died in 1759, a respected and rich man. His funeral was given full state honours, and he was buried in Westminster Abbey in London.

Born the same year as Johann Sebastian Bach and Domenico Scarlatti, Handel is regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Baroque era, with works such as Water Music, Music for the Royal Fireworks and Messiah remaining steadfastly popular. One of his four Coronation Anthems, Zadok the Priest (1727), composed for the coronation of George II, has been performed at every subsequent British coronation, traditionally during the sovereign's anointing. Handel composed more than forty operas in over thirty years, and since the late 1960s, with the revival of baroque music and historically informed musical performance, interest in Handel's operas has grown."

URL of the statue: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   12/31/2014 Metro2 visited it