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