Composers. You’ve seen them literally put on pedestals, in bronze and granite. Here they are in daily life – and it’s charming.
Yes, it’s “Composers doing normal s***”, and in the midst of truly grotesque things on Twitter, it’s the breath of fresh air we need right now. Behold!
https://twitter.com/NormalComposers
Classic photos are often so exceptional that we forget that sometimes … they weren’t. Here’s Varese caught in a dull moment:
Edgard Varèse having a miserable time at dinner with his friends. pic.twitter.com/gbSB4yBJKy
— composers doing normal shit (@NormalComposers) May 20, 2019
Pauline Oliveros, with coffee, and also with an elephant:
Pauline Oliveros drinking coffee. pic.twitter.com/Rjdd6wwBQP
— composers doing normal shit (@NormalComposers) May 20, 2019
Pauline Oliveros riding an elephant. pic.twitter.com/l0FdtUKxia
— composers doing normal shit (@NormalComposers) February 8, 2019
Xenakis and Feldman:
Iannis Xenakis lighting Morton Feldman's cigarette. pic.twitter.com/XMYzQxSKGx
— composers doing normal shit (@NormalComposers) April 24, 2019
Debussy, slumbering, as you would expect a French composer to do:
Claude Debussy sleeping. pic.twitter.com/TcSXW21ANC
— composers doing normal shit (@NormalComposers) January 30, 2019
Laurie Anderson may be “doing normal s***” but somehow looks awesome at it, retro NYC style:
Laurie Anderson buying an apple. pic.twitter.com/e85Mo4SAUg
— composers doing normal shit (@NormalComposers) May 10, 2019
Laurie Anderson shopping for shoes. pic.twitter.com/Zychdp3n4o
— composers doing normal shit (@NormalComposers) March 16, 2019
Laurie Anderson looking at negatives. pic.twitter.com/R9aeKp8TP4
— composers doing normal shit (@NormalComposers) February 8, 2019
Different trains? Different bikes. It’s a good activity, as long as it’s not gonna rain.
Steve Reich riding a bike. https://t.co/pful4Ar5pI
— composers doing normal shit (@NormalComposers) April 20, 2019
Meanwhile, Igor Stravinsky is all over the feed, always winning … and yes, even really clicking with some animals:
Igor Stravinsky meeting a koala. https://t.co/Xp2wot3QWq
— composers doing normal shit (@NormalComposers) April 22, 2019
Igor Stravinsky lovin’ on a donkey. pic.twitter.com/4yVVJYmQEz
— composers doing normal shit (@NormalComposers) March 22, 2019
Igor reigns supreme. He’s only briefly outdone, as by Lutoslawski eating soup:
Witold Lutosławski eating soup. pic.twitter.com/gy6UroYu8M
— composers doing normal shit (@NormalComposers) April 8, 2019
I’ll just conclude with a few more… my alma mater Sarah Lawrence College, which fellow music school graduate Meredith Monk models for … well, really, kind of on the nose, the be honest:
Meredith Monk holding a cat. pic.twitter.com/yPNw3vf9XJ
— composers doing normal shit (@NormalComposers) March 8, 2019
Sorry, this is a music technology site. Fine. Pierre Schaeffer with a record player. (DJ Concrete…)
Pierre Schaeffer playing a record. pic.twitter.com/62jWVy77k0
— composers doing normal shit (@NormalComposers) January 23, 2019
Too low tech? Here’s Penderecki with a Nokia.
Penderecki texting. pic.twitter.com/PMGw32iYDl
— composers doing normal shit (@NormalComposers) February 6, 2019
Happy? But that’s kind of a down note to end on, so here’s Lenny Bernstein on a swing – pure joy:
Leonard Bernstein swinging. pic.twitter.com/aDLKsGa84B
— composers doing normal shit (@NormalComposers) January 30, 2019
Speaking of Stravinsky, I wish I could find some of the photos of him and other great composers lounging at his pool. But the “famous composer who would most easily fit into an episode of MTV’s cribs” is undoubtedly mister Rite of Spring himself, who escaped the Soviet Union, embraced capitalism in a major way, and found this sweet pad with an enormous pool in Hollywood. Seriously.
Igor Stravinsky home Los Angeles [Russian architectural landmarks]
…and it was on sale for a cool $4 mil [classical WCRB]