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.

1. 

   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. 

   2. Benjamin Britten

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

3. 

   3. Arnold Schoenberg playing tennis

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

4. 

   4. Daniel Barenboim playing ping-pong

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

5. 

   5. Arvo Pärt jogging

   And doesn't he look delighted about it?

7. 

   6. Leonard Bernstein up a tree

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

8. 

   7. Pierre Boulez making a salad

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

9. 

   8. Herbert Von Karajan holding a falcon

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

10. 

    9. George Gershwin painting Arnold Schoenberg

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

11. 

    10. Edvard Grieg chillaxing with his dog on a hill

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

13. 

    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?

14. 

    12. Igor Stravinsky getting off a boat

    Happy and intrepid. Picture: Getty

15. 

    13. Luciano Pavarotti plays football

    Still some technique issues to sort out. Picture: Getty

16. 

    14. Sergei Prokofiev playing chess

    Checkmate, Sergei. Checkmate.

17. 

    15. Edward Elgar with his bicycle

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

19. 

    16. Richard Strauss at the theatre

    Gets his own box, obvs. Picture: Getty

20. 

    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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