Composers at leisure: 17 amazing pictures of musicians in their down-time
Climbing trees, falconry, making salad... Great composers really know how to let their hair down, judging by these rare and occasionally odd photographs.
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1. Claude Debussy
What more you could want? Your beloved daughter and pet dog, a basket full of culinary delights and a shady forest? And yet Claude Debussy just doesn't look like he's enjoying his picnic one bit. Photo: Getty
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2. Benjamin Britten
English composer and conductor Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976) playing tennis at home in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, Picture: Getty
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3. Arnold Schoenberg playing tennis
"The strings of this racket are too logically arranged for my liking."
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4. Daniel Barenboim playing ping-pong
Hand on the table is a foul, Maestro. Photo: Getty
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5. Arvo Pärt jogging
And doesn't he look delighted about it?
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6. Leonard Bernstein up a tree
"Oh hey guys. I'm up a tree."
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7. Pierre Boulez making a salad
Pierre Boulez: insane music, spartan kitchen. Picture: Getty
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8. Herbert Von Karajan holding a falcon
Karajan a bird rather than a baton. 'Karajan'. Like 'carrying'. Ah, forget it. Picture: Getty
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9. George Gershwin painting Arnold Schoenberg
Proving himself to be a dab hand at more than one artistic discipline.
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10. Edvard Grieg chillaxing with his dog on a hill
Anyone else think there's a hint of Dr. Emmett Brown here?
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11. Benjamin Britten, Aaron Copland and Peter Pears standing next to a car
Crumbs-a-crikey, Peter, is your shirt open all the way down?
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12. Igor Stravinsky getting off a boat
Happy and intrepid. Picture: Getty
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13. Luciano Pavarotti plays football
Still some technique issues to sort out. Picture: Getty
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14. Sergei Prokofiev playing chess
Checkmate, Sergei. Checkmate.
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15. Edward Elgar with his bicycle
A strong look and no mistake, but is that hat really the pinnacle of road safety?
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16. Richard Strauss at the theatre
Gets his own box, obvs. Picture: Getty
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17. Bela Bartok listening to a gramophone
Bela Bartok listening to a gramophone while some awkward villagers look on, awkwardly. Picture: Getty
