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