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