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