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