# Pictures of Composers



## Jaime77

Do you have any pictures of composers on your desk or wall? Who are they and why?

Are there any favourite pictures? Post them here. 

I have a group of composers I have drawn from (as a composer myself), all nicely framed standing like my family on a shelf above the stairs. Satie, Reich, Messiaen, Feldman and Stravinsky

and a group of composers I have listened to a lot or admire a lot:

Bach, Beethoven, Debussy, Mahler 

I am missing Sibelius. He deserves his place there.


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## emiellucifuge

Wow that is a fantastic idea. I am going to frame this picture of Dvorak. He looks like a repectable old man, very Czech, you can see his humility and purity of thought in his eyes but he is nevertheless a great man.


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## Aramis

I have portrait of Chopin on my wall and smaller pictures of: Grieg, Brahms (photo with Joachim), Mozart, Verdi, Prokofiev, Mahler, Sibelius, R. Strauss and Liszt around my desk. I still have some others to put.


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## Jaime77

*emiellucifuge* .... that is a great one of Antonin yeah


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## msegers

Since you mentioned Messiaen, there is a Brazilian page with a charming picture (which I've never seen anywhere else) of him with his first wife, Claire Delbos. I'm not sure of the copyright status, so, I'll just give a link. The original page (in Portuguese) is here -
http://www.sescsp.org.br/sesc/revis...307&Artigo_ID=4787&IDCategoria=5469&reftype=2

And, here is a link for the page run through Google's translation -
http://translate.google.com/transla...ria=5469&reftype=2&sl=pt&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8


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## Mirror Image

I had this picture of Rued Langgaard on my desktop:


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## Jaime77

Tell us a little about Langgaard MI, if you wouldn't mind. I don't know him. I could google but I'd like your take on him. It's a pensive portrait - I like it.


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## Mirror Image

jaibyrne said:


> Tell us a little about Langgaard MI, if you wouldn't mind. I don't know him. I could google but I'd like your take on him. It's a pensive portrait - I like it.


I have already said a lot about him. Checkout this thread:

http://www.talkclassical.com/4901-rued-langgaard.html

Here's a quote from yours truly pulled from the Langgaard thread:



Mirror Image said:


> He lived in obscurity all of his life. He was an organ virtuoso and spent much of his life as a cathedral organist. His music could have taken off if the debut of first symphony had been widely received. It was premiered by the Berlin Philharmonic and didn't create much interest. After that, Langgaard I'm sure realized that his music wasn't in popular favor. He continued to compose music, but was labeled an "outcast" or "eccentric" by the Danish government and so he would never be given any kind of chance again, but slowly after his death he was being performed more and more until we arrive here today almost 50 years after his death and we're discussing a composer whose music during his lifetime was almost non-existent. Totally amazing to think about really.
> 
> It's interesting really to think about his life. He certainly was a mad genius. You will find that he could compose in a very wide variety of styles everything from faux Mendelssohn to almost pure atonality. He pushed the limits of the symphony to it's extreme boiling point.
> 
> There's a lot of beauty to be found in his music. He also has quite crazy names for his symphonies like "Yon Hall of Thunder," "From Queen Dagmar's City," and "The Heaven-Rending."


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## Dim7

Which composition(s) of Langgaard are almost atonal?


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## Jaime77

Thanks Mirror. He sounds like a very interesting guy.


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## Mirror Image

Dim7 said:


> Which composition(s) of Langgaard are almost atonal?


If I recall Symphony No. 4 deals with some atonality. That's the only one that comes to mind at the moment.


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## Mirror Image

jaibyrne said:


> Thanks Mirror. He sounds like a very interesting guy.


Yeah, check him out. Like Mahler on steroids.


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## Weston

I have the famous portrait of Beethoven by Steiler on my desktop at work. My coworkers think he looks mean. 










I also have a bust of Beethoven atop my computer desk at home, but sadly he looks more like Gregory Peck than Ludwig.

I've never been much interested in the other composers mugs, but when I am, I need only look at this forum and see them rotate in MI's avatars.


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## Mirror Image

Weston said:


> I've never been much interested in the other composers mugs, but when I am, I need only look at this forum and see them rotate in MI's avatars.


Yeah, I like to keep them in rotation. One might last a week, another one might last a month. My image is always changing.


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## Jaime77

A rare photo of Ravel. A difficult face to read.


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## Mirror Image

jaibyrne said:


> A rare photo of Ravel. A difficult face to read.


I've seen this picture before. I wonder where he's at? Looks like he's in a cornfield.


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## 52paul

> I am missing Sibelius. He deserves his place there.


You're missing Sibelius?
Here is a portrait I did last year:









You can get more info about it on my website at 52composers.com

Paul


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## Mirror Image

Here's one of Bruckner. It's not a good picture, but it's still pretty neat to see him at a piano instead of his trusty organ:


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## haydnguy

52paul said:


> You're missing Sibelius?
> Here is a portrait I did last year:
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> You can get more info about it on my website at 52composers.com
> 
> Paul


That's a very nice website you have Paul, but did you know you left Mahler off your list??


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## 52paul

> That's a very nice website you have Paul, but did you know you left Mahler off your list??


He's on my rather long 'To do' list!
I've done his portrait (see below) now I have to do the webpage - coming soon!


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## Jaime77

Thanks for the Sibelius... that's something different too. Very nice. Will see the site. 

check this out... It is in the form of an attachment cos it is not on the web and I don't know how to link picture to my hard drive.


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## michael walsh

Nicola Benedetti but as she is not a composer .. okay, I cheated. I do have a bust of Chopin though. The difficulty I find is that most composers, perhaps because we all change as we grow older but especially pre-photography, are images of apparently different men. 
I look at Brahms for instance and I find it difficult to match the handsome young man with the bearded tubby and avuncular 'elder statesman'; the same goes for Robert Schuman.


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## Guest

i have a photo album of composers. old photos. really old. rachmaninoff, scriabin, paderewski,liszt, ives, faure, ravel, tchaikovsky etc.

a rach photo on my desk inspires me to keep my musical fire alive.


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## starry

If only photography had been invented 50 years earlier we could have had several other great composers photographed.

First portrait photograph seems to have been made in 1839.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_photography


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## 52paul

> Quote:
> That's a very nice website you have Paul, but did you know you left Mahler off your list??Unquote
> 
> Reply:
> He's on my rather long 'To do' list!
> I've done his portrait (see below) now I have to do the webpage - coming soon!


I've now done the webpage as well at:
www.52composers.com/mahler.html


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## Tapkaara

Some composer images from my home office. The one with all of the Japanese people is an early photo of the family of Akira Ifukube, my other fav with Sibelius. And speaking of Sibelius, you see that he reigns supreme where I live!


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## SalieriIsInnocent

One of my favorite portraits of Beethoven in 1804. The expression of Beethoven's face is very much like the music he was writing at the time.










I can't help but hear the 3rd symphony when looking at it.


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## Il Seraglio

A very nice photo of Stravinsky


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## Tapkaara

Il Seraglio said:


> A very nice photo of Stravinsky


Never seen that photo. Love it!


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## andruini

I just found a remarkable picture!









Samuel Barber, Igor Stravinsky, Lukas Foss, Aaron Copland and Roger Sessions


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## LatinClassics

andruini said:


> I just found a remarkable picture!
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> Samuel Barber, Igor Stravinsky, Lukas Foss, Aaron Copland and Roger Sessions


That is an incredible picture! I love Barber, Stravinsky, and Copland so much.


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## Mozartgirl92

I have a picture of Mozart on my desktop


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## Aramis




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## handlebar

I have countless photos of Mahler on my desktop (computer) as well as one of him at work on my desk.

This pic is my favourite Mahler photo:










He looks happy and rather serene. There are few pics of Herr Mahler smiling and this is a great shot from 1909.

My other favourite is of America's premier composers all together:










(l-r: Virgil Thomson,Leonard Bernstein,Roy Harris,William Schuman and Aaron Copland)


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## Aramis

handlebar said:


> This pic is my favourite Mahler photo:
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> He looks happy and rather serene. There are few pics of Herr Mahler smiling and this is a great shot from 1909.


I don't like this one. This facial expression doesn't fit him. This photo is best description of his musical style:


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## handlebar

Aramis said:


> I don't like this one. This facial expression doesn't fit him. This photo is best description of his musical style:


To each his own I suppose. Granted, I DO like the photo you posted. A classic and one of a strong and determined Mahler. 
He was a difficult subject to photograph in many ways. Look at the complete collection in Kaplan's book and there are many "designed" shots set up by the photographer but among the candid and impromptu pics one sees a different man. His social shots do not give a good picture (pardon the pun) of the man as he looks stiff and uncomfortable to me. The photos with his family look genuinely happy,especially the pics with either daughter. So often we see photos of composers in ardent concentration and always stern and terse.
Hence a reason among many that I like the subtle smile GM gives in the above 1909 photo.

As far as I can tell, I have every pic of GM known to the public (between 5-6 different books).
There is a newly discovered photo found by a Mahler lover on a different email list that shows GM conducting the M8. 
It is possible that there are some others in private collections never published.

Jim


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## SalieriIsInnocent

My favorite Stravinsky









Gustav Holst 









My favorite Mahler


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## SalieriIsInnocent

Here is a 2fer










Strauss and Brahms


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## LatinClassics

handlebar said:


> My other favourite is of America's premier composers all together:
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> (l-r: Virgil Thomson,Leonard Bernstein,Roy Harris,William Schuman and Aaron Copland)


That is not Roy Harris in this picture. It is Walter Piston.


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## LatinClassics

Aramis said:


>


Poulenc looks kind of mischievous in this picture. Almost like he's done something he shouldn't have.


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## Aramis

LatinClassics said:


> Poulenc looks kind of mischievous in this picture. Almost like he's done something he shouldn't have.


Rather kind of "looks with doubt" I would say.


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## handlebar

LatinClassics said:


> That is not Roy Harris in this picture. It is Walter Piston.


You are right. I stand corrected. When I was linking this photograph I was concentrating on a Harris work  Shame on me!!

How could I get that wrong!!!

Jim


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## SalieriIsInnocent

This Photograph of Mahler was the first I had ever seen.










My parents had subscribed to many magazines like Readers Digest, but a CD of Mahlers Unfinished 10th came from BBC. So my first impression of Mahler was in this photo. I avoided the CD for some time because of it being realised by somebody else (Deryck Cooke)

After I bought his Complete Symphonies conducted by Solti, I came to appreciate this recording.


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## andruini

I really like these pictures:









Stravinsky and Debussy









Stravinsky and Ravel









Edvard Grieg on the left and Percy Grainger in the middle.


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## Aramis

Great pics, andruini. Especially this one showing difference in deviation angle of ears from head between Ravel and Stravinsky.

Debussy and Stravinsky reminded me of other photo including Debussy and Satie:


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## handlebar

andruini said:


> I really like these pictures:
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> Stravinsky and Debussy
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> Stravinsky and Ravel
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> Edvard Grieg on the left and Percy Grainger in the middle.


I believe that is Grieg's wife next to Grainger but am not sure of the other fellow. TO be honest it looks like Max Reger.

Jim


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## andruini

handlebar said:


> I believe that is Grieg's wife next to Grainger but am not sure of the other fellow. TO be honest it looks like Max Reger.
> 
> Jim


Well looking around in the Grieg Society site I found the picture and its caption.
"Nina and Edvard Grieg with Julius Röntgen and Percy Grainger at Troldhaugen, 1907"

So you were right about Grieg's wife.


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## handlebar

andruini said:


> Well looking around in the Grieg Society site I found the picture and its caption.
> "Nina and Edvard Grieg with Julius Röntgen and Percy Grainger at Troldhaugen, 1907"
> 
> So you were right about Grieg's wife.


Hehe. At least I got THAT one correct. The other I was way off on.A stab in the dark. 
Grainger has quite the look on his face.


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## andruini

handlebar said:


> Grainger has quite the look on his face.


Well considering his psychological profile, if I were Grieg, I'd be worried by that look..


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## handlebar

andruini said:


> Well considering his psychological profile, if I were Grieg, I'd be worried by that look..


True. He was not the most steady of fellows. He did compose some truly delightful music but his persona was not of a soul I would call all there.

Jim


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## Aramis

handlebar said:


> True. He was not the most steady of fellows. He did compose some truly delightful music but his persona was not of a soul I would call all there.
> 
> Jim


C'mon, he was kewl guy. At least much more interesting person than some boring geezers of classical music. I would be glad to meet him.


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## handlebar

Aramis said:


> C'mon, he was kewl guy. At least much more interesting person than some boring geezers of classical music. I would be glad to meet him.


Not only was he extremely anti-Semitic, he was prone to horrid fits of anger and depression as well as a major pain in the behind. Interesting to the nth degree but not someone I would invite to dinner for fear of all the crockery and utensils either breaking or flying through the air.

He would be quite a hoot for some though.

Jim


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## TresPicos

I really liked the pictures where a whole bunch of composers got together.

Reminds me a bit of this one: http://i47.tinypic.com/4n79v.jpg


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## andruini

TresPicos said:


> I really liked the pictures where a whole bunch of composers got together.
> 
> Reminds me a bit of this one: http://i47.tinypic.com/4n79v.jpg


Yeah those pictures are always the best! 

Another Grainger one!









With Frederick Delius..

And Britten, Pears and Copland:









And how about Stravinsky with (technically) Sibelius?


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## TresPicos

andruini said:


> And how about Stravinsky with (technically) Sibelius?


How about Beethoven (technically) with Schubert (technically) then?


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## SalieriIsInnocent

How about Mozart(technically)


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## beetzart

Love your pics TresPicos. I have visited Beethoven's grave in Vienna and it was a pilgrimage for me. When I stood beside the grave I felt a shiver go down my back.


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## alfine

I love it that some composers are always a "particular age" in popular/collective memory - you know, Brahms is always an old man with a beard, Schumann always middle aged, Mozart a child.


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## Vic

SalieriIsInnocent said:


> Here is a 2fer
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> Strauss and Brahms


I wish I was to find a man with a mustache like Strauss's... Sigh...


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## Guest

*Look what they've done to my Man, Man*


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## Aramis

I very likes this picture of composer Wagner:










He's young and wears a beret and writes poor symphonies and he fights for kwel stuff and you known.


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## emiellucifuge

I have a book in which there is an aged stravinsky, whose minute figure sits in a chair with a score on his lap. He is ponting at a bar and a young man with a pencil bends over him and marks something on the score.

I cannot find it online unfortunately.


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## Polednice

The following two always make me laugh:






View attachment 809


And in the next one, he's clearly sick of being photographed while sitting awkwardly on small, rickety chairs:
View attachment 810


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## Aramis

This is the most terrible thing you could ever find:


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## xuantu

Polednice said:


> The following two always make me laugh:
> View attachment 808
> View attachment 809
> 
> 
> And in the next one, he's clearly sick of being photographed while sitting awkwardly on small, rickety chairs:
> View attachment 810


He looks a bit like Karl Marx in this hilarious Monty Python clip . Enjoy!


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## Polednice

Aramis said:


> This is the most terrible thing you could ever find:
> 
> http://www.graphpaper.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/brahms.gif


I know, I saw that and daren't put it up!



xuantu said:


> He looks a bit like Karl Marx in this hilarious Monty Python clip . Enjoy!


Hilarious! I haven't seen that particular sketch before. It's funny you should mention it - there's a poster on a post-box in one of the high streets nearby with a picture of Karl Marx. _Every_ time I walk past it, I think, "Ooo, is there a Brahms concert on?!" - Nope, it's Marx again


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## Guest

Aramis said:


> This is the most terrible thing you could ever find:


*What is wrong with it? apart from the mildew spots.*


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## Polednice

Andante said:


> *What is wrong with it? apart from the mildew spots.*


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## Aramis

Andante said:


> *What is wrong with it? apart from the mildew spots.*


He looks like a donat.


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## TresPicos

Polednice said:


>


Oh, man, I can't stop laughing.


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## Guest

Aramis said:


> He looks like a donat.


A donat ?? do you mean











Polednice said:


>


I see a face that only a Mother could love


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## Polednice

It actually took me a minute to work out what was wrong with this (click to enlarge)!

View attachment 829


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## ScipioAfricanus

Brahms using Finale Allegro composition software........NEVA


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## Lukecash12

Polednice said:


>


Don't mock him, he's a genius! I'd do the same if I had his roommate. And it's good to see other people's minds have been contaminated by that sick minded show 

"*Bitty!*"

"*My name not ting tong, my name tong ting! *"


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## Aramis

I've found! I've found! Young Grieg!


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## mueske

Polednice said:


> The following two always make me laugh:
> View attachment 808
> View attachment 809
> 
> 
> And in the next one, he's clearly sick of being photographed while sitting awkwardly on small, rickety chairs:
> View attachment 810


I can't help but think this when I see those: "Excuse me gentlemen, I have to fart." - Immediately after that: "Oh, the theme for my new symphony!".


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## SPR

Couple of years ago - a painting was found of Mozart that seems authentic and might be the best portrait of him yet. It even agrees with a description in a letter he wrote to his father...right down to the buttons.









_'As for the beautiful red coat, which attracts me enormously… I must have a coat like that, for it is one that will really do justice to certain buttons which I have long been hankering after. They are mother-of-pearl with a few white stones around the edge and a fine yellow stone in the center. I should like all my things to be of good quality, genuine and beautiful.' Vienna, September 28, 1782_

http://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/news_details.php?news_id=754&year=2008

The 'other' most famous picture of him was painted 18 years after his death...


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## Conor71

SPR said:


> Couple of years ago - a painting was found of Mozart that seems authentic and might be the best portrait of him yet. It even agrees with a description in a letter he wrote to his father...right down to the buttons.
> 
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> _'As for the beautiful red coat, which attracts me enormously… I must have a coat like that, for it is one that will really do justice to certain buttons which I have long been hankering after. They are mother-of-pearl with a few white stones around the edge and a fine yellow stone in the center. I should like all my things to be of good quality, genuine and beautiful.' Vienna, September 28, 1782_
> 
> http://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/news_details.php?news_id=754&year=2008
> 
> The 'other' most famous picture of him was painted 18 years after his death...


Thats really cool - the portraits match up quite nicely, good to know thats what Mozart may really have looked like .


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## Jaime77

yes cool ... i like this 'recently' discovered one


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## starry




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## Conor71

starry said:


>


Nice! - cheers for adding that.


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## Aramis

Me is searching for one of less famous photos of Tchaikovsky - he is already gray-haired and bearded there. He stands with his hands in pockets and looks aside. Anyone could help?


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## Serge

Tchaikovsky photo album:

http://www.tchaikov.ru/photo.html

and some royalty free mp3s while we are at it:

http://www.tchaikov.ru/music.html


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## Serge

Aramis said:


> Me is searching for one of less famous photos of Tchaikovsky - he is already gray-haired and bearded there. He stands with his hands in pockets and looks aside. Anyone could help?


Could it be this one here:

http://www.tchaikov.ru/photo12.html

The size of the pic is not that great though.


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## Aramis

Size is quite kewl, thanks very much for posting it.


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## Serge

Conor71 said:


> Thats really cool - the portraits match up quite nicely, good to know thats what Mozart may really have looked like .


Another Mozart. Love him or hate him. I do neither.


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## Huilunsoittaja

I'll just post my profile picture up, which I like a lot. It's Sergei Prokofiev, but it's a very rare picture. "Sergei Prokofiev at a ball in the St. Petersburg Conservatoire, January 1908." I think he was still 16, and hadn't really composed anything yet. Not yet the Enfant Terrible.


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## Aramis

Very good photo of Igor Stravinsky:


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## Huilunsoittaja

Aramis said:


> Very good photo of Igor Stravinsky:




Exactly.


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## Aramis




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## Huilunsoittaja

^ Ahhh, pretty masterful.

I think Prokofiev could have been a great suit model, do you? Or, maybe a model for GQ.


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## Aramis

Huilunsoittaja said:


> I think Prokofiev could have been a great suit model, do you? Or, maybe a model for GQ.


Boozy mug.


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## Aramis

What do ya think about my new portrait of renaissance composer, Wacław of Szamotuły:










No contemporary portrait of him survived so I've decided to make my own so there will be proper profile picture on Last FM.


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## emiellucifuge

That score looks pretty bad


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## Aramis

What? Visually? It's cut a little bit but who cares.


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## emiellucifuge

Musically.


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## Aramis

Och, well, it's not his music - I just typed "score" in google images and took first thing with proper size.

I think that's it:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Janaganamana-score.png


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## emiellucifuge

Thought so..


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## Aramis

Is Klemperer so tall or Schoenberg so short?

http://cache2.asset-cache.net/xc/56...9C60054AEB621569B91077E0BB0275CAEAACEED08D90F


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## Guest

I made a reply post to one of your posts Aramis but your post has disappeared ? and I am left talking about nothing to no one


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## Webernite

Aramis said:


> Is Klemperer so tall or Schoenberg so short?
> 
> http://cache2.asset-cache.net/xc/56...9C60054AEB621569B91077E0BB0275CAEAACEED08D90F


I think this photo was doctored by fans of Stravinsky.


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## Aksel

Aramis said:


> I've found! I've found! Young Grieg!


I haven't seen that picture of him before. He looks so young. But that might be because he's 15 in the picture ...
Anyway, I much prefer older Grieg. He had a really admirable mustache. But people generally had that in those days, I guess.


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## Aramis




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## Webernite

Do you wear a suit like that one, Aramis?


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## starthrower

Zappa/Boulez


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## Aramis

Webernite said:


> Do you wear a suit like that one, Aramis?


It's sort of, you know, too modern for my taste.


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## Webernite

Thought so.


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## Couchie

What I want for Christmas:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/STUNNING-19T...t_Paintings&hash=item43a7eb86c0#ht_500wt_1144


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## Guest

Couchie said:


> What I want for Christmas:
> 
> http://www.ebay.ca/itm/STUNNING-19T...t_Paintings&hash=item43a7eb86c0#ht_500wt_1144


So! What's stopping ya


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