Our greatest connection to a composer is through his music. And as a lot of the music we listen to is so exceptional, it is easy to imagine that the person who created it is also entirely exceptional. While there is no doubt they would have had exceptional musical talent and artistic insight, this almost makes it impossible for us to look at the other parts of their personality and life. Here is a rare photo collection of some famous composers showing some interesting aspects of their day-to-day activities.
Camille Saint-Saëns wearing some fancy pajamas.
Richard Strauss playing cards.
Sergei Prokofiev playing chess against violinist David Oistrakh with violinist Liza Gilels watching.
Heitor Villa-Lobos playing billiards.
Erik Satie having a drink.
Aaron Copland eating an ice cream cone.
Igor Stravinski rocking a speedo.
Leonard Bernstein going for a swim in Israel.
Tchaikovsky with his family.
Pierre Boulez and Simon Rattle chatting at a party in 1989.
Samuel Barber smoking under a tree.
Gian Carlo Menotti walking his dog in the rain.
Richard Wagner with his family.
Olivier Messiaen with his son, Pascal.
John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhausen flying a cartoon plane.
Giacomo Puccini at the Brooklyn Bridge.
Theodor Adorno at the beach.
John Corigliano having a beer with an eland.
Antonín Dvořák having a picnic with his family.
Morton Feldman playing cards on a train.
Giuseppe Verdi at a garden party surrounded by friends.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky properly dressed for winter.
George Gershwin painting a picture of Arnold Schoenberg.
Duke Ellington playing baseball.
Arvo Pärt and Alfred Schnittke reenact their high school yearbook photos.
Béla Bartók looking trim.
Ennio Morricone playing some ping-pong.
Igor Stravinsky having breakfast.
Arnold Schoenberg and Winfried Zillig rocking one piece bathing suits.
Claude Debussy holding an umbrella on a beach.
Krzysztof Penderecki doing yardwork.
John Philip Sousa reading daily news.
Manuel de Falla checking out a menu.
Jules Massenet petting his dog.
György Ligeti pouring water on Pierre-Laurent Aimard on a train.
Anton Webern bowling.
Zoltán Kodály playing with his children.
Dmitri Shostakovich showing off his billiard skills.
Benjamin Britten playing tennis.
Jean Sibelius having an afternoon tea.
Sergei Rachmaninoff cutting his birthday cake.
Gustav Mahler at a party.
Ruth Crawford Seeger chopping wood on a beach with Carl Sandburg.
Johannes Brahms having a picnic with violinist Marie Soldat and a couple other ladies.
Paul Hindemith at an early age playing with a toy carriage.
Edward Elgar smoking a cigarette with his dog Marco.
Source: composersdoingnormalshit.com
All photos © their original photographers
Very Very interesting! Thank you