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