The London Handel Festival is an annual music festival centred on the compositions of
George Frideric Handel which was founded in 1978. The festival also features other composers,
but its main purpose is to showcase a range of Handel's work. It includes a Handel Singing Competition, which gives the finalists opportunities to develop their careers.
History
It was founded by Denys Darlow, who was succeeded as musical director in 1999 by
Laurence Cummings. From 2011 Cummings combined his work in London with the artistic directorship of the
Göttingen International Handel Festival in Germany.
There is also a post of festival director currently held by
Gregory Batsleer.
Venues
A regular venue for concerts is the church the composer attended,
St George's, Hanover Square, near his home from 1723,
No. 25 Brook Street. The organ was completed in 1725, and
Thomas Roseingrave
Thomas Roseingrave (1690 or 1691 – 23 June 1766), like his father Daniel Roseingrave, was an English-born Irish composer and organist.
Early years
He was born at Winchester, where his father Daniel Roseingrave was the Cathedral organist, b ...
was appointed as organist. However, although the case survives, the instrument has been rebuilt more than once.
A
chamber organ by
Goetze and Gwynn has also been available to the festival at the church, although it is intended to have a permanent home at 25 Brook Street.
Other festival venues with a Handel connection include the
Foundling Museum
The Foundling Museum in Brunswick Square, London tells the story of the Foundling Hospital, Britain's first home for children at risk of abandonment. The museum houses the nationally important Foundling Hospital Collection as well as the Gerald ...
in
Bloomsbury.
Productions of
Handel operas are often given at the Britten Theatre,
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including performanc ...
.
The venue has 400 seats.
In 2019 there was a joint production of
''Berenice'' at the Royal Opera House's
Linbury Theatre, a studio theatre of a similar size to the Britten Theatre.
References
External links
*
{{George Frideric Handel
Handel festivals
Music festivals in London