This list contains only those composers dedicated enough to nurture non-musical interests – with photo proof.

Table tennis

For Arnold Schoenberg, proverbial “father of modern music” and great lover of tone rows, table tennis was less of a hobby and more of a pastime. Yes – there is a difference.

But we still wanted to include him anyway.

There’s a certain enjoyment to be had in seeing the dread of many a music student in his summer linens, casually lobbing a ball across a tiny table, you know?

Football

And while we’re on the subject of sports – here’s Dmitri Shostakovich, looking like he’s having the time of his life at a football match.

A lesser known fact, and somewhat, surprising, too, given his sombre looks in more official photos, but – Shostakovich was a huge football fan. He regularly went to matches, kept record of statistics, got certified as a referee, and even dabbled in some sport journalism!

He was also a keen poker player, but, it seems, not always favoured by lady luck – resulting in him losing his concert piano in 1930.

Biking

Edward Elgar, looking very dapper beside his fancy bicycle, a modern gentleman’s mode of transportation.

Kite-flying

And another one of Sir E. E. True to his social standing, Elgar partook in many fashionable outdoorsy hobbies of late-Victorian day – such as boxing and kite-flying, too.

Trainspotting

On the more nerdy side of hobbies within the composing crew, stands Arthur Honegger, fan of engines and all things associated.
The Swiss-French composer famously once said: “I have always loved locomotives passionately. For me they are living creatures and I love them as others love women or horses.”
And the passion was, to be sure, immortalized in his legendary orchestral piece Pacific 231.

Chess (pt. 1)

Chess could well earn a separate article on its own, as it was the pastime of quite a large number of composers.

Here, looking remarkably serious for his age, is Sergei Prokofiev.
Prokofiev carried his youthful affair with chess throughout the rest of his life, dedicating hours to devising strategies and theorizing moves on the board.

Chess (pt. 2)

As talk goes, the dedication paid off – Prokofiev’s proficiency was on master level. And he seemed to take quite a bit of pride in that, challenging violinist David Oistrakh to a much publicized chess match back in 1937, which he – won!

Chessbase.com reports  a secret insider tip that there was a bet behind the match: whoever lost, would have to go on a concert tour, while the winner would get to stay home. While not really a confirmed fact, we have to admit it makes for a good story.

Hunting

And here we have a rare photograph of none other than Giacomo Puccini partaking in one of his favourite hobbies, when visiting Argentina in 1905.

Speedboating (a word, surely)

Out of all the people on our list, Puccini seems to have veered the most toward the more rugged, macho-type activities in his free time. A lover of rapidly evolving world of technology in his age (an expensive hobby then and now), he enjoyed admiring and driving cars and speedboats – and here you see him in his own hydro-vehicle which he named (guess what?) Butterfly.

Shroomin’ (pt. 1)

Quite possibly the most famous hobbyist was John Cage – cottagecore king.
Here he is pictured having an absolute marvelous time during his favourite activity – collecting mushrooms. The artist’s interest in fungi started during the Great Depression, when, in lack of other food resources, he had to resort to foraging.

Shroomin’ (pt. 2)

Ultimately, Cage’s interest in the world of  fungi appeared to have influenced aspects of his worldview and aesthetic approaches.

As he wrote in 1954: “I have come to the conclusion that much can be learned about music by devoting oneself to the mushroom.”

Birding

And another 20th century composer seems to have found inspiration from quiet contemplation in nature: Olivier Messiaen – the amateur ornithologist.

Those even faintly familiar with his work will know of Catalogue d’Oiseaux, a collection of pieces for solo piano dedicated to capturing bird calls within the rigid notational system. 

When walking, Messiaen would always carry a notebook and pen with him, to be able to instantly capture and transcribe the bird song he would hear. At the time of his death, there were over 200 of these filled-out notebooks in his possession!

Face-stuffing en général

And finally, a composer even the laziest of us can relate to – gourmand supreme, Giochino Rossini.

After retiring from composing at 37, the obscenely rich Rossini had time for wine, women, and song aplenty. His interest in gastronomy was, to put it mildly, thorough.

As Rossini himself said on one occasion, describing the art of eating with great gusto and, noticeably, a musical ear: „I know of no more admirable occupation than eating, that is really eating. Appetite is for the stomach what love is for the heart. The stomach is the conductor, who rules the grand orchestra of our passions, and rouses it to action. The bassoon or the piccolo, grumbling its discontent or shrilling its longing, personify the empty stomach for me. The stomach, replete, on the other hand, is the triangle of enjoyment or the kettledrum of joy.“

• Orlande de Lassus (born 1532/possibly 1530, Mons – died 1594, Munich) was a polyglot. He spoke and composed in several different languages like French, Italian, German, Latin, and was one of the most influential and prolific composers of the late Renaissance – he wrote over 2,000 works. 

• In his childhood he used to work as a choirboy, and it is said that Lassus, because of his magnificent voice, was abducted three times by other churches to sing in their choirs.

• When he moved to Rome his career advanced quite quickly and successfully. There he worked for Cosimo I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and he also obtained a very prestigious post – he was in charge of music of the Archabasilica of St. John Lateran, the Cathedral Church in Rome, Italy.
  
• The composer traveled a lot, and worked in many cities of Europe. While working in Munich for the Duke of Bavaria, he married the daughter of a maid of Honor of the Duchess – Regina Wackinger, in 1558. With her, Lassus had a daughter and two sons. Both of his sons later became composers too. 

• In 1563 in Munich he was appointed on court as maestro di cappella for Albrecht V, in Munich, where he remained for the rest of his days. 

• Lassus was famous even outside musical circles, so much so that the Emperor Maximilian II, conferred nobility upon him in 1570, which was an exceptionally rare achievement for a composer.
  He was also appointed as Knight of the Golden Spur by Pope Gregory XIII in 1571, and by the king of France, Charles IX in 1573.

• All of these noble men wanted Lassus to work for them, but Lassus turned all of them down – he didn’t want to leave a stable position. “I do not want to leave my house, my garden, and the other good things in Munich”, he wrote in one of the letters in which he rejected the offers.  

• He is the author of what is regarded as the best “Madrigale Spirituale” ever written. It is a cycle of 20 madrigals – Lagrime di San Pietro. 

• It is interesting that Lassus never wrote compositions that were purely instrumental.
  
• Some of his motets mirror his humor – in one he ridicules bad singers by making music that stops, then starts or stutters. It is a kind of a musical joke – and it’s related in concept to “A Musical Joke” by Mozart.

• Lassus even wrote drinking songs that are suitable to taverns. Lyrics of one of the most famous ones were used by Shakespeare in his play Henry IV, Part 2, and are sung by the drunken Justice Silence in Act V, Scene III.

• Furthermore, in “The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans“, a short story written by sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes is working on a monograph about the polyphonic motets of Lassus. 

References: 

• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Orlando-di-Lasso 
• https://www.allmusic.com/artist/orlande-de-lassus-mn0001416262/biography
• https://interlude.hk/mapping-musical-genome-lassus-family/ 
• https://factspage.blogspot.com/2011/12/who-was-orlandus-lassus.html 
• https://www.sunsigns.org/famousbirthdays/d/profile/orlando-lassus/ 
• https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/orlando-lassus-452.php 

• Although he was “popularly” referred to as Palestrina (the name of his birth town), he always signed himself with his given name – Giovanni Petraloysio.

• His earliest contact with music is reminiscent of fairy tales.
  As a boy, he used to sell products from his family farm on the streets of Rome and grace said streets with his songs.
  The choir master of Santa Maria Maggiore once heard him sing, and was so impressed that he offered to teach him music.

• Palestrina was very picky – he resigned from a prominent position with St. John Lateran (a position which was previously assigned to Lassus) because he wasn’t satisfied with his food and with accommodation conditions that were offered for his choir boys.
  Furthermore, when the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II offered him a place as imperial choirmaster in Vienna, he declined the offer because the terms of the job weren’t good enough. 

• He was dismissed from the Papal Chapel:
  Firstly, even being appointed was controversial because he wasn’t in the Holy Orders  (a requirement to join the group), but the Pope appointed him because of his musical contribution to the Catholic church. It is said that numerous members weren’t happy with this decision because, by their standards, Palestrina wasn’t a very good singer. So, when the new Pope came, Palestrina was quickly dismissed with the explanation that he can’t continue to be member of Pope’s Choir because he was married. 

• The composer married twice during his lifetime. His first marriage was to Lucrezia Gori, and they had two sons, Rodolfo and Angelo. His wife inherited a vineyard after her father died, so Palestrina sold sacramental wine to the church to make extra money.

• He almost became a priest when his brother, wife and two sons who died of the plague in the 1570s. But, he changed his mind, and a year after his wife died he remarried. 

• His second wife, a wealthy widow, financed him, so he didn’t have to worry about money while creating music. He wasn’t a lazy man, he engaged in business to some extent: investing in real estate. He also took over her dead husband’s fur and ermine business, a fairly successful endeavor – they supplied ermine to the Papal court. 

• He owned four houses, which he rented out to tenants.

• “The Prince of Music” is how his contemporaries called him, because his music was “perfect”, sacred music. 

• Giuseppe Verdi called him “the real king of sacred music, and the Eternal Father of Italian music.” 

• Palestrina became known as “The Savior of Music” – allegedly, his Pope Marcellus Mass is the composition that prevented the Council of Trent from banning polyphonic music in church. However, that story is not true. (But his work is justifiably held as the perfect example of reformation style!)
  
• His compositions became a permanent part of the repertoire of the Sistine Chapel, a most unusual practice at that time. 
  

References:

• https://wwnorton.com/college/music/enj10/short/content/composers/palestrina.asp?chap=14
• https://www.allmusic.com/artist/giovanni-pierluigi-da-palestrina-mn0001213399/biography
• https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/giovanni-pierluigi-da-palestrina-451.php
• https://www.chicagochorale.org/blog/palestrina-savior-music
• https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11421b.htm
• http://londiniumtown.blogspot.com/2008/11/palestrina-part-i.html 

“Two houses, both alike in dignity”…

Corelli came from a long line of well-endowed agrarian signori (that can be traced back to the 15th century and further), but his lineage suffered major indignities right before his birth. Rodolfo Corelli (likely Arcangelo’s great-grandfather) brought a years-old Fusignano family feudal rivalry to an explosive finish in the first decades of the 1600s, when he attempted an unsuccessful rebellion against the powerful Calcagninis. This coup ended rather poorly for the Corellis – Rodolfo was beheaded and quartered (meaning the body was hacked into four parts – oof) by a papal executioner in 1632. 

Stop trying to make ‘Il Bolognese’ happen 

The fact Corelli received his first music lessons from a priest in Faenza is well-known, as well as his subsequent prolonged stay in Bologna, where he spent four years studying the violin. The young man’s fascination with the instrument became all-consuming, finally driving him toward the decision to dedicate his life to music. The splendor of Bologna, even in its recuperation from a horrible plague wave that decimated its population by a full third, charmed and inspired Corelli to the point of him wanting to assert and assume the rather unfortunate nickname “Il Bolognese” for the remainder of his days. 

Luckily for Corelli, the nickname didn’t quite catch on (even though it can be found in some documents referring to the composer, and is still sparingly used even today). We can’t help but feel it was overall for the better, as for the average person today the term would still probably sooner evoke images of pasta than musical prodigy.  

A virtuoso unlike any other

Even though we primarily remember Corelli as a composer, during his lifetime he achieved fame as a violin virtuoso. His contemporaries rarely challenged the title: James Drummond, Earl of Perth, wrote of Corelli’s skill in characteristically direct and charmingly gruff English terms, calling him “the best player on the fiddle that ever was.” Yet today, more and more of Corelli’s reputation as a great violinist is being disputed, owing to the vastly different standards set in terms of instrumental technique. Research has shown that Corelli presented one of the last followers of the old school of violin playing – with the instrument on his chest, holding it firmly in place with his left hand. For younger players of his time and especially today, this different style of playing would appear old-fashioned, stuffy, and fundamentally limited in terms of technical ability (and would later lead to several embarrassments to Corelli in his career). There is, still, something to be said for the wealth of melody the composer wrote into his music, while being someone who apparently claimed it was literally impossible to play higher than the high D (E string, third position) on the violin. 

Scarlatti’s opinion

A series of letters between Charles Burney and tea magnate Thomas Twining reveals a lot of detail on how Corelli was viewed by his contemporaries, notably another great Italian master of instrumental music, Alessandro Scarlatti. 

According to one testimonial, Scarlatti did not particularly like Corelli’s compositions, but he was “extremely struck with the manner in which he played his concertos, and his nice management of his band, the uncommon accuracy of whose performance, gave the concertos an amazing effect; and that, even to the eye as well as the ear.” A few more tidbits on Corelli’s character and professionalism – the composer apparently exerted great discipline on his chamber orchestra, dictating that all bow movements must be uniformly precise, instantly stopping rehearsals if at any point he noticed any discrepancies in his player’s strokes. 

Registral limits and spats with Handel

Corelli’s temperamental character, as opposed to the sweet nature of much of his compositions, came to prominence whenever he would come into contact with other famed composers during his career. 

One of several noted incidents he had with Handel dates back to a tour Corelli and his chamber orchestra made in London. Remember the composer’s insistence that it was impossible to play above the high D on the violin? One Handel’s composition, a violin sonata he was supposed to play, required a note one step higher than Corelli’s supposed limits. Upon reaching the (impossibly, improbably, indecently) high E, Corelli, some sources claim, stopped and took a long hard look at Handel, who was right there on the same stage. Taking this register break-through an act of great offense, Corelli put down his instrument in indignation and walked off the stage. 

A lover of long walks and art

The few precious existing fragments of Corelli’s private life mostly detail his retirement, when he moved into the lovely Palazzetto Ermini where he accumulated an enviable collection of art and expensive instruments. Piero Buscaroli claims it contained “one hundred and thirty-six paintings and drawings, including twenty-two Trevisani, two Maratta, three Cignani, landscapes by Poussin (or by his brother-in-law Dughet), a Madonna del Sassoferrato and numerous Flemings and Emilians.”

Handel’s memories of Corelli further paint a picture of a well dressed man of elegant taste and some peculiar customs, such as his refusal to take a carriage whenever it was possible, preferring instead to walk everywhere – a habit very much unsuited to the great fortune and renown the composer had already acquired at this point in his life.