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