The Boy Who Was Overheard at the Chapel Organ

In 1692, a physician named Georg Handel had no intention of letting his eight-year-old son pursue music. The boy was destined for law — a respectable, practical career. But young George Frideric had smuggled a small clavichord into the attic of their home in Halle, Germany, and practiced late at night when his father was asleep, pressing the keys as softly as he could.…