skip to navigation

    Classic FM

    On Air Now

    Anne-Marie Minhall 12pm - 4pm

    Anne-Marie Minhall

    Now Playing

    Violin Concerto No.1 in G minor Opus 26 (2) Max Bruch Download 'Violin Concerto No.1 in G minor Opus 26 (2)' on iTunes

    Violin Concerto No.1 in G minor Opus 26 (2) artwork
    • Playlist
    • Schedule
    Listen
    • Home
    • Radio
    • News
    • Discover Music
    • Composers
    • Artists
    • Win
    • Charity
    • Learning
    • Quizzes
    • Dating
    • Follow us on:
      Follow Classic FM on Twitter
      Follow Classic FM on Facebook
      Follow Classic FM on Instagram
      Follow Classic FM on Youtube

    Discover Music

    • Discover Music Home
    • Periods & Genres
    • Occasions
    • Mood
    • Instruments
    • Music Theory
    • Learning
    • Humour
    • Women in Music
    • More Classic FM

    Beautiful art by great composers and musicians

    Facebook share Twitter share

    Not content merely with creating beautiful music for us, some composers and performers were also talented visual artists. Here's a selection of the best - from Mendelssohn to Mozart.

    1. Mendelssohn watercolour Lake Lucerne

      1. Felix Mendelssohn: View of Lucerne

      From an early age, Felix Mendelssohn produced drawings, watercolours and oil paintings with great skill. Here he captures the tranquillity of Lake Lucerne in Switzerland, in 1847.

    2. Trees at Interlaken Felix Mendelssohn

      2. Felix Mendelssohn: Trees at Interlaken

      Mendelssohn was as good as many visual artists of his time. He produced more than 300 artworks. His landscapes and cityscapes demonstrate his formidable technique.

    3. George Gershwin painting

      3. A brush with George Gershwin

      George Gershwin's music made him fabulously wealthy, which allowed him to build a superb collection of modern art. After a few art lessons with his cousin, the painter Henry Botkin, Gershwin developed into quite an accomplished painter himself. His brother and lyricist Ira and their sister, Frances, also painted. Photo: PA

    4. Gershwin painting Schoenberg

      4. Gershwin paints Schoenberg

      Musically they were poles apart, but Gershwin and Arnold Schoenberg became friends when the arch-modernist arrived in Los Angeles in 1935 as an impoverished exile. Both men shared passions for painting and tennis. Gershwin was the better painter, but at tennis Schoenberg refused to yield a point, stomping off like John McEnroe, if challenged.

    5. Mozart embellished manuscript doodle

      5. Mozart: Portrait of Barbara Ployer

      This is a fine example of Mozart doodling on his music. It depicts his favourite pupil Barbara Ployer. He wrote his Piano Concerto No. 23 for her, and this is the only surviving portrait. Photo: Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

    6. Schoenberg painting Red Gaze Munchen

      6. Arnold Schoenberg: The Red Gaze

      Arnold Schoenberg had an enduring friendship with the pioneering abstract painter Wassily Kandinsky and they exchanged paintings with each other. They both believed art should express the subconscious. Schoenberg's stark expressionism is vividly seen in this portrait, possibly of himself, with its penetrating, red-eyed gaze.

    7. Luz Ingrid Fliter painting

      7. Ingrid Fliter: Light

      Composers aren't the only musicians who dabble with fine art. The contemporary Argentine pianist Ingrid Fliter is admired by audiences all over the world and has been particularly praised for her performances of Chopin. But when she discovered painting, she said it "unleashed a magical new world" for her. Picture: Ingrid Fliter

    8. Impromptu painting Stephen Hough

      8. Stephen Hough: Impromptu

      Is there anything Stephen Hough can't do? He's a pianist extraordinaire, a composer, professor, poet, newspaper columnist, blogger - and painter. No wonder 'The Economist' named him as one of 20 Living Polymaths. He even had a solo exhibition of paintings in London in 2012. Picture: Stephen Hough.

    9. Enrico Caruso self-portrait

      9. Enrico Caruso's selfie

      Not quite a master of fine art, but the greatest tenor of the early recording era, Caruso (1873-1921), was a talented caricaturist. Here's a cheeky, autographed self-portrait he scribbled for a fan in 1909. Picture: Schubertiade Music & Arts.

    10. Feodor Chaliapin Lawrence Tibbett

      10. Chaliapin draws Tibbett

      The great Russian bass, Feodor Chaliapin (1873-1938) was also celebrated for his drawing skills. Here is his sketch of the baritone Lawrence Tibbett (1896-1960), who made his debut at the Met in November 1923, alongside Chaliapin, whom Tibbett greatly admired. Picture: Schubertiade Music & Arts.

    11. Rolando Villazón Verdi Drawing

      11. Villazon draws Verdi

      The superstar Mexican tenor Rolando Villazón (1972-) is not only a great singer - he can knock out a great little cartoon too. Here's his version of the great Italian opera composer, Giuseppe Verdi.

    Facebook share Twitter share

    Latest features

    See more Latest features

    This little terraced house seems ordinary outside. But has an enormous musical surprise…

    This little terraced house seems ordinary outside. But has an enormous musical surprise…

    1 hour ago

    Bugs Bunny plays Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody

    Cartoonist breaks down how a whole generation learned classical music from watching old cartoons

    2 hours ago

    Egypt’s orchestra for blind women is challenging stereotypes with incredible music-making

    Egypt’s orchestra for blind women is challenging stereotypes with incredible music-making

    22 hours ago

    Beethoven’s Für Elise, but it’s for fiery flamenco guitar quartet

    Fiery flamenco guitar quartet plays Beethoven’s Für Elise with panache

    1 day ago

    Beethoven

    Incredible blind, autistic pianist Derek Paravicini can play any piece after hearing it once

    Meet the blind, autistic piano genius, who can play any piece after hearing it once

    1 day ago

    More From ClassicFM

    The best live-streamed and archive classical concerts available online 2021

    The best classical music and opera online streams available in 2021

    Frankfurt Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra perform stairwell concerts

    The orchestra moving their concerts from halls to stairwells, for pandemic times

    Coronavirus

    £400m for struggling arts sector announced in Rishi Sunak’s 2021 budget

    Musicians still ‘falling through the gaps’ as £400m announced for struggling arts sector

    Coronavirus

    Beyoncé sings the US National Anthem in 2019

    When Beyoncé sang the US National Anthem a cappella to combat miming criticism. And absolutely nailed it.

    Videos

    This AI has reconstructed actual Rachmaninov playing his own piano piece

    This AI has reconstructed actual Rachmaninov playing his own piano piece

    Rachmaninov

    Beethoven Orchestra Bonn has been named as the first Goodwill Ambassador of UN Climate Change

    An orchestra has been named as the first Goodwill Ambassador of UN Climate Change

    Beethoven

    Browse by

    See more Browse by

    Periods & genres

    Periods & genres

    Occasions

    Occasions

    Moods

    Moods

    Instruments

    Instruments

    Back to top

    Also on Classic FM

    • LBC News
    • handel
    • debussy
    • music theory
    • instruments
    • brahms
    • vivaldi
    • bach
    • tchaikovsky
    • chopin
    • andrea bocelli
    • beethoven
    • mozart
    • classical music tear jerkers
    • best classical music
    • Classic FM Live
    • classic fm requests
    • john suchet
    • piano world record
    • best pianists
    • harry potter music
    • classic fm app
    • saturday night at the movies
    • star wars soundtrack
    • best sopranos
    • best cellists
    • composer or pasta
    • music for studying
    • best violinists
    • sad music
    • composer birthdays
    • relaxing music

    Useful Links

    • Contact Us
    • Help
    • How To Listen
    • About Classic FM
    • Company Details
    • Cookies
    • Privacy
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Advertise

    Download the app

    Get it on the app store Get it on Google Play

    Follow Us

    Follow Classic FM on Twitter
    Follow Classic FM on Facebook
    Follow Classic FM on Instagram
    Follow Classic FM on Youtube
    © Global 2021
    30 Leicester Square, London, WC2H 7LA
    Privacy Manager