Handel has generally been accorded high esteem by fellow composers, both in his own time and since.[1] Johann Sebastian Bach attempted, unsuccessfully, to meet Handel while he was visiting Halle.[2] (Handel was born in the same year as Bach and Domenico Scarlatti.) Mozart is reputed to have said of him, "Handel understands affect better than any of us. When he chooses, he strikes like a thunder bolt."[3] To Beethoven he was "the master of us all... the greatest composer that ever lived. I would uncover my head and kneel before his tomb."[3] Beethoven emphasised above all the simplicity and popular appeal of Handel's music when he said, "Go to him to learn how to achieve great effects, by such simple means."
- ^ "BBC Press Release". Bbc.co.uk. 13 January 2009. Archived from the original on 27 November 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
- ^ Dent 2004, p. 23
- ^ a b Young, Percy Marshall (1 April 1975) [1947]. Handel (Master Musician series). J. M. Dent & Sons. p. 177. ISBN 0-460-03161-9.