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