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    Composers at leisure: 17 amazing pictures of musicians in their down-time

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    Climbing trees, falconry, making salad... Great composers really know how to let their hair down, judging by these rare and occasionally odd photographs.

    1. Claude Debussy picnic Chouchou

      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

    2. Benjamin Britten

      2. Benjamin Britten

      English composer and conductor Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976) playing tennis at home in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, Picture: Getty

    3. Schoenberg tennis

      3. Arnold Schoenberg playing tennis

      "The strings of this racket are too logically arranged for my liking."

    4. Daniel Barenboim playing ping-pong

      4. Daniel Barenboim playing ping-pong

      Hand on the table is a foul, Maestro. Photo: Getty

    5. Arvo Pärt jogging

      5. Arvo Pärt jogging

      And doesn't he look delighted about it?

    6. composers being normal

      6. Leonard Bernstein up a tree

      "Oh hey guys. I'm up a tree."

    7. Pierre Boulez

      7. Pierre Boulez making a salad

      Pierre Boulez: insane music, spartan kitchen. Picture: Getty

    8. composers being normal

      8. Herbert Von Karajan holding a falcon

      Karajan a bird rather than a baton. 'Karajan'. Like 'carrying'. Ah, forget it. Picture: Getty

    9. Gershwin painting Schoenberg

      9. George Gershwin painting Arnold Schoenberg

      Proving himself to be a dab hand at more than one artistic discipline.

    10. Grieg countryside dog

      10. Edvard Grieg chillaxing with his dog on a hill

      Anyone else think there's a hint of Dr. Emmett Brown here?

    11. Benjamin Britten Aaron Copland Peter Pears

      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?

    12. composers being normal

      12. Igor Stravinsky getting off a boat

      Happy and intrepid. Picture: Getty

    13. composers being normal

      13. Luciano Pavarotti plays football

      Still some technique issues to sort out. Picture: Getty

    14. Sergei Prokofiev

      14. Sergei Prokofiev playing chess

      Checkmate, Sergei. Checkmate.

    15. Elgar bike

      15. Edward Elgar with his bicycle

      A strong look and no mistake, but is that hat really the pinnacle of road safety?

    16. composers being normal

      16. Richard Strauss at the theatre

      Gets his own box, obvs. Picture: Getty

    17. composers being normal

      17. Bela Bartok listening to a gramophone

      Bela Bartok listening to a gramophone while some awkward villagers look on, awkwardly. Picture: Getty

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