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