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.
Aaron Copland eating an ice cream cone.
Edward Elgar smoking a cigarette with his dog Marco.
Arvo Pärt and Alfred Schnittke reenact their high school yearbook photos.
Johannes Brahms having a picnic with violinist Marie Soldat and a couple other ladies.
Anton Webern bowling.
Samuel Barber smoking under a tree.
Olivier Messiaen with his son, Pascal.
Igor Stravinsky having breakfast.
Gian Carlo Menotti walking his dog in the rain.
Heitor Villa-Lobos playing billiards.
Leonard Bernstein going for a swim in Israel.
Manuel de Falla checking out a menu.
Arnold Schoenberg and Winfried Zillig rocking one piece bathing suits.
Krzysztof Penderecki doing yardwork.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky properly dressed for winter.
Sergei Rachmaninoff cutting his birthday cake.
Duke Ellington playing baseball.
John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhausen flying a cartoon plane.
Claude Debussy holding an umbrella on a beach.
Igor Stravinski rocking a speedo.
Giuseppe Verdi at a garden party surrounded by friends.
John Corigliano having a beer with an eland.
Gustav Mahler at a party.
Jules Massenet petting his dog.
Paul Hindemith at an early age playing with a toy carriage.
Zoltán Kodály playing with his children.
Antonín Dvořák having a picnic with his family.
Richard Wagner with his family.
Ruth Crawford Seeger chopping wood on a beach with Carl Sandburg.
Morton Feldman playing cards on a train.
Camille Saint-Saëns wearing some fancy pajamas.
Béla Bartók looking trim.
Richard Strauss playing cards.
Jean Sibelius having an afternoon tea.
Tchaikovsky with his family.
Giacomo Puccini at the Brooklyn Bridge.
Dmitri Shostakovich showing off his billiard skills.
György Ligeti pouring water on Pierre-Laurent Aimard on a train.
Benjamin Britten playing tennis.
John Philip Sousa reading daily news.
Sergei Prokofiev playing chess against violinist David Oistrakh with violinist Liza Gilels watching.
Pierre Boulez and Simon Rattle chatting at a party in 1989.
George Gershwin painting a picture of Arnold Schoenberg.
Wonderful, thanks very much for sharing the wonderful photos.
Terrific photo’s. Thanks very much!!
Very Very interesting! Thank you