# Great caricatures of composers



## DavidMahler

Post them here


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## aleazk




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## Sid James

A famous caricature by Cham, at Getty Images HERE, with* Berlioz *standing holding his baby _Les Troyens _& a young *Wagner* in the costume of _Tannhauser_, trying to steal the baby.* Basically says that Wagner did nothing much else but steal Berlioz's thunder, so to speak.* Quite a controversial statement this, with a good grain of truth, but I don't know much else of it, except first saw it in a book (which I still have) decades ago.

It's title is _Success and Failure_, alluding to the failure of _Les Troyens _and the success of _Tannhauser_, suggesting it's unfair as the latter was rehash of the former. It is quite an ironic contrast.

Sorry couldn't paste image as it's under copyright restriction, protected, for some reason...


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## starthrower




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## Sid James

Our Aussie label Tall Poppies has some good caricatures on it's covers.

Here's one of* Shostakovich *-










Some great ones of *Edgard Varese*, looking a bit of a scientist of sound, which is exactly how he saw himself (he said he wasn't a composer, well not in the conventional sense of the word). SEE THIS for example at Lebrecht Collection (again, protected).

PIcasso's portrait of Stravinsky is not necessarily a caricature, but near enough, I think. Simply a masterpiece of line drawing (Image a bit large so just click link)...


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## Alberich




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## Sid James

THIS famous caricature of* Bartok*, which actually gives a bit of an idea of what his music is like, or must have been like to audiences back in the 1920's (damn, again copyright protected, so pls click link)...


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## Sid James

There are some really good ones of* Rossini *floating around. Here is one, but I couldn't find another one I saw a while back of him cooking pasta, his favourite hobby being cooking. He even published some cookbooks! But this will have to do for now -


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## Meaghan

DavidMahler said:


>


The Raisin Brahms commercial is my favorite thing ever. Including everything.


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## Hector

American caricaturist made some great pictures of many famous people that captures also somewhat their personality, including many composers, sometimes he made multiple drawings of the same composer. Here's a couple I found right now:


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## peeyaj

Here's a famous one:

* Schubert, with the singer-friend, Michael Vogl*










No wonder he left so many fragments!!


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## eorrific

Here's one of Mahler's conducting gestures. Despite the nature of the caricature, Mahler IS considered a composer, right?


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## Manxfeeder

Here are a couple of Erik Satie.


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## elgar's ghost

Here's a similar one of Mahler - a particular favourite.


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## Klavierspieler

Hector said:


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Gotta love the image of Beethoven in this one. :lol:


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## elgar's ghost

Klavierspieler said:


> Gotta love the image of Beethoven in this one. :lol:


I like that - sadly it seems that poor old Wagner must have failed to receive his invitation!


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## BurningDesire

elgars ghost said:


> I like that - sadly it seems that poor old Wagner must have failed to receive his invitation!


I think its supposed to be composers who contributed to piano/keyboard literature. You have Johann Sebastian Bach and Wolfgang Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Schubert, and (I think) Franz Joseph Haydn, and Chopin and Brahms and Mendelssohn. I wasn't sure who the pianist was supposed to be, my guess is Horowitz.


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## DeepR




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## StevenOBrien

BurningDesire said:


> I think its supposed to be composers who contributed to piano/keyboard literature. You have Johann Sebastian Bach and Wolfgang Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Schubert, and (I think) Franz Joseph Haydn, and Chopin and Brahms and Mendelssohn. I wasn't sure who the pianist was supposed to be, my guess is Horowitz.


Chopin? Hmm, he looks more like Schumann to me. The pianist could be Stravinsky or Prokofiev... or the Dalai Lama?


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## elgar's ghost

StevenOBrien said:


> Chopin? Hmm, he looks more like Schumann to me. The pianist could be Stravinsky or Prokofiev... or the Dalai Lama?


I agree that it's Schumann - another habitual sufferer of post-wig whipped hair syndrome. If the pianist is Prokofiev then that's the only time I've seen a picture/photo/cartoon where he seems to be a bit of a party guy, and I can't imagine Stravinsky allowing anyone THAT close to his piano. . I'm guessing the pianist is likely to be Austrian or German seeing all the composers are?


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## Toddlertoddy

The (kind of) abstraction is wonderful.


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## Huilunsoittaja

DeepR said:


>


In the first one, Rachmaninoff looks like a spidery vampire. Sometimes I wonder.... 

Scriabin looks so prim in the next. And why is he turned _away _from "Russia"? Likely looking at those Indian Himalayas way over there. :tiphat: :lol:


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## SottoVoce

BurningDesire said:


> I wasn't sure who the pianist was supposed to be, my guess is Horowitz.


I'm pretty sure that's old Rudolf Serkin


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## aleazk

:lol:


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## aleazk




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## belfastboy

Harry Potter inspired!


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## Huilunsoittaja

I like this one for obvious reasons. 









And another one.









:lol:


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## elgar's ghost

Rossini was a caricaturists dream...


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## jani

The reason why Beethoven never married


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## Norse




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## StevenOBrien

"Brahms arrives in heaven" (L to R on top row: Gluck(?), von Weber, Wagner, Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Handel, Haydn. L to R from bottom: Brahms, Schumann, Bruckner, Mendhelssohn, Schubert, Liszt, ???, ???)









"Bruckner arrives in heaven" (L to R: Bruckner, Liszt, Wagner, Schubert, Schumann, von Weber, Mozart, Beethoven, Gluck, Haydn, Handel, Bach)









"Johann Strauss II conducting in heaven" (L to R on bottom row: Bach, Liszt, Wagner, Beethoven. L to R on top row: Haydn, Schumann(?), Mozart, Bruckner, Handel, Mendelssohn, Johann Strauss II, ???, Brahms, von Weber, Schubert)


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## Huilunsoittaja

StevenOBrien said:


> "Johann Strauss II conducting in heaven" (L to R on bottom row: Bach, Liszt, Wagner, Beethoven. L to R on top row: Haydn, Schumann(?), Mozart, Bruckner, Handel, Mendelssohn, Johann Strauss II, ???, Brahms, von Weber, Schubert)


Once again, Russians underrepresented. Is that because they were Russian Orthodox, and go to a different heaven?   

Maybe the ??? guy is Chopin? Just a guess.

:tiphat:


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## dionisio

StevenOBrien said:


> "Brahms arrives in heaven" (L to R on top row: Gluck(?), von Weber, Wagner, Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Handel, Haydn. L to R from bottom: Brahms, Schumann, Bruckner, Mendhelssohn, Schubert, Liszt, ???, ???)
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> "Bruckner arrives in heaven" (L to R: Bruckner, Liszt, Wagner, Schubert, Schumann, von Weber, Mozart, Beethoven, Gluck, Haydn, Handel, Bach)
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> "Johann Strauss II conducting in heaven" (L to R on bottom row: Bach, Liszt, Wagner, Beethoven. L to R on top row: Haydn, Schumann(?), Mozart, Bruckner, Handel, Mendelssohn, Johann Strauss II, ???, Brahms, von Weber, Schubert)


Probably (if) Wagner is in heaven annoying God why He is sitting in His place! hehehehehhe


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## StevenOBrien

Huilunsoittaja said:


> Once again, Russians underrepresented. Is that because they were Russian Orthodox, and go to a different heaven?
> 
> Maybe the ??? guy is Chopin? Just a guess.
> 
> :tiphat:


Yes, that's probably correct! Maybe the unknown composer with a beard is a Russian?



dionisio said:


> Probably (if) Wagner is in heaven annoying God why He is sitting in His place! hehehehehhe


In the first picture, it looks to me as if Wagner is asking Bach to quit hogging the organ and let him play, much to Beethoven's annoyance.


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## dionisio

StevenOBrien said:


> Yes, that's probably correct! Maybe the unknown composer with a beard is a Russian?
> 
> In the first picture, it looks to me as if Wagner is asking Bach to quit hogging the organ and let him play, much to Beethoven's annoyance.


Nahh...Beethoven wouldn't hear anything of it though


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## elgar's ghost

In the earlier silhouette of Bruckner entering heaven neither Chopin or Mendelssohn were there so it's nice that the artist had a reappraisal for the Brahms one and included at least one of them. At least the composers were almost in chronological order on that one as there are a couple on the Brahms picture that are bamboozling me - even though he wasn't renowned as a composer I wonder if the guy with the pointy beard is Hans von Bulow? Perhaps the man next to him could be Berlioz?


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## Dimboukas

StevenOBrien said:


> "Brahms arrives in heaven" (L to R on top row: Gluck(?), von Weber, Wagner, Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Handel, Haydn. L to R from bottom: Brahms, Schumann, Bruckner, Mendhelssohn, Schubert, Liszt, ???, ???)


These two last could be von Suppé and Berlioz.


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## drpraetorus

Gottschalk as a pianist 







Those are his fast fingers, not and elizabethen ruff


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## drpraetorus

The Fab 4


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## KenOC

A nice one.


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## drpraetorus

Mahler







Mozart







Chopin







Berlioz







Liszt


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## HaydnBearstheClock

(25 characters).


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## HaydnBearstheClock

In 'Brahms arrives in heaven':
I love how one cherub holds up the drum for Haydn's 'drum-roll', while another's cutting off the tail of his wig .


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## Aramis

My all-time favourite:

















Liszt and George Sand by Maurice Sand.

He did some Chopin caricatures too, but not as brilliant.


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## HaydnBearstheClock

"Johann Strauss II conducting in heaven" (L to R on bottom row: Bach, Liszt, Wagner, Beethoven. L to R on top row: Haydn, Schumann(?), Mozart, Bruckner, Handel, Mendelssohn, Johann Strauss II, ???, Brahms, von Weber, Schubert)[/QUOTE]

I actually think it's Beethoven dancing with Haydn in that one. Schumann would then have to be the dude standing at the rightmost end of the bottom row. Excellent caricatures .


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## Alfacharger

Drawn by Bohuslav himself.

The Composer.










The Conductor.










The Player.


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## Headphone Hermit

ha ha - i like this one (in case you couldn't guess!)


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## BaronScarpia

Not a caricature, but still satirising composers:


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