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