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