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