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