G.F. Handel

1685-1759
Country: Germany
Era: Baroque

George Frederick Handel was a German baroque composer who spent much of his life in London where he formed the New Royal Academy of Music in 1727.  He started practicing secretly at home as a child because his father did not support him pursuing a career in music.  Nonetheless, by the time he was 10, he had composed for the organ, the oboe, and the violin alike!  He eventually made his debut as an opera composer but once opera went out of fashion, Handel took to writing oratorios and composed his most famous piece The Messiah.