A generational comparison.

Johann Strauss I:


Johann Strauss II:


Johann Strauss III:


And unrelated (but he has the same last name so there's got to be SOME connection, right?...right??)
Richard Strauss


I think I like number 2 the best, aside from his wondrous moustache (which only gets better with age...) he's wearing TWO jackets and a bowtie. Now that's a man if ever I saw one.
Although, speaking of manliness, Number 1 has a bit of a pout thing going on....and number 3 has an almost Dali-esque look with his Mo, and that wicked stripy high necked shirt...Oh! I can't choose.
Richard kind of missed out on the awesome Strauss attractive gene I'm thinking, but that may have something to do with not actually being related. So I suppose he can't be blamed.

Sorry, Eric, I forgot you for a while.

Eric Whitacre.
I'd forgotten about him until my wise friend inquired as to where he was on this blog? HE WAS NOT HERE. I had failed you up until now.
Anyway. Eric Whitacre. American composer who wanted to be a rockstar until one day he attended a choral performance and had a Music Epiphany (TM), deciding to become a composer.
AND WHAT A COMPOSER.
A favourite with high school-aged bands all over the place (and I assume others as well, whatever)if you've heard "Ghost Train" or "Sleep" or "October" or "Godzilla Eats Las Vegas" you will understand how completely awesome he is. Download the choral version of "Sleep" - you will not be disappointed.
He also happens to be a mega babe. WHAT A HOTTIE. Check out that chiseled jaw, that lush chin-length hair, that manly stubble... be still my beating heart.
Excuse me.
xx

Vincent d'Indy

Despite looking more like John Cleese in his later years, and marrying his cousin, Frenchman Vincent d'Indy was nevertheless the very picture of romanticism in his youth

Yann Tiersen

Yann Tiersen - he wrote the soundtrack to Amelie, his website has a video of him tooling about on a motorbike sort thing, he has Chris Martin eyes and a very tasteful beard. Good work him.

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

When he wasn't writing mad hard music about bumblebees, or teaching Stravinsky and Prokofiev and refusing to play their compositions if they submitted them in pencil... "I do not wish to go blind because of you!" (picky bastard), he was being attractive with side part and killer pout.

Sarah Blasko

AHA!

I hear you say.

Or whatever is the totes cool interweb equivalent.

MusicJuice has lost it! She is breaking her own totalitarian decrees!

Sarah Blasko, whilst being a babe and rather wonderful maker of very interesting and often lovely music (as well as having a terrific dance style), is NOT A COMPOSER.

AHA!

I hear me say.

WE'RE BOTH RIGHT.

Kind of.

I get to post the lovely Ms Blasko today because she actually composed the score for the recent Bell Shakespeare production of Hamlet, as well as appearing as a singer in the travelling band of musicians during the play.

HURRAH.

Johannes Brahms

See, THIS is how you find a babe in classical music. (none of this wishy-washy "leftovers" stuff...)


Brahms, other than writing lovely lovely music, seemed like a pretty nice guy too. He hung out with Clara Schumann when her husband was all "Im in an insane asylum..."and (according to wikipedia, which I know is not a scholarly source but REALLY, life doesn't revolve around academic writing I'm not going to bloody footnote everything to university standards, end rant:) he often brought penny candy with him to hand out to children when he went walking in the woods.

Also his favourite pub in Vienna was called the "Red Hedgehog." Now there's a man of taste.

Leftovers

I was scared I wouldn't find anything tonight, and got terribly worried, and so found these stop gaps, who aren't really babealicious enough for their own posts, but make quite a nice package deal.


Giuseppe Gariboldi - good mo, isn't wearing a zip up jumper with a tie. There's two ticks. I'm also quite enjoying his hair.

Aside from having the most awesome name since Johann Joseph Fux, Benoit-Tranquille Berbiguier seems like the lovely forgotten one in a Jane Austen novel - you know, a Weatherby or someone. Once all the flashy ones have gone away, they're the ones left - possibly not terribly passionate, but THERE.

Marin Marais - nothing special really, except you know what they say about men with large gamba...they develop back problems but have a really nice tone.

Niccolo Paganini

I was concerned. I don't like it when we go a couple of days without a post. Even one day stresses me out a little.

And I was desperate, it seemed like, as in the real world, we were suffering some kind of internet-based man drought - you know what I'm talking about, don't you ladies?

And then I found Niccolo, looking several different types of lovely.

A Paganini for all seasons. That's not a pun, or a joke. It's just an opinion.

Esa Pekka Salonen

Esa Pekka Salonen. The only reason I know this guy is because we studied his version of Bartok's "Concerto for Orchestra" for Music Performance in VCE (for the record, it was a pretty good version).
ANYWAY. But he's a finnish conductor who has some pretty excellent hair flicking action and some relatively toned forearms, and these are essentially my criteria for crushing on someone (and I wish I was joking but NOT EVEN A LITTLE).
Also, he appears to be vaguely reminiscent of Patrick Swayze in the first picture.
And we all love ourselves some Swayze, right?

Peter Maxwell Davies

Ooh now we're getting modern. Also, finding good-looking female composers is a little bit hard. Just putting it out there. Seriously, you try it. Yeah, YOU.

The Mysterious and Enigmatic Spanish Conductor

That's just a little MEMM joke, for all of you playing along at home.

I cannotforthelifeofme find this guy's name. I have followed hyperlinks all over teh interwebz, used Google Translate, THERE'S NOTHING ELSE THAT CAN BE DONE.

And yes, I know he's a conductor, not a composer, but ebrown set a precedent.

Also, because I don't actually know who he is, HE COULD VERY WELL BE THE GREATEST COMPOSER IN THE AFTER MOZART DIVISION.

MEMM jokes really aren't funny, are they?

Tansy Davies

Ok, so someone pointed out that there weren't that many girls on this blog. Which is true - even our male contributors are big on the boys.

So I found Tansy Davies. I know very little about how, except that her website has all sorts of hip new feaures, like an MP3 JUKEBOX, CHILDREN!

Also, I like freckles. And purple hair.

Hector Berlioz

Hector Berlioz - not really a babe, but has excellent hair and cravat, which makes up for lack of babeness.

Ben Martin

It was only a matter of time before someone found an ok photo him. Appaz his composition "Brazil" has been performed world over. Sigh. I might just melt a little...

Max Reger

Yeah! WORK THAT POUT! And that is an epic cravat-like thing. Jealous.

Pietro Mascagni

Ahh, the guy who wrote that thing!! "Cavalleria Rusticana", yeah, that's it. Mmm intermezzo. Don't look him up, he gets a bit pudgy later on in life...

Gustav Mahler

Gustav. Gustav Mahler. A full, lush head of hair. Intense, brooding eyes, recalling the likes of a young Marlon Brando, lamenting 'Stella! Oh! Stella!'.... These days, such laments come from within the deep throes of passion one feels when they spin his record on Classical FM. MAHLER! OOOH! MAHLER! ... and the song isn't too bad either.

George Enescu

I've always had a bit of a thing for male violinists. Helped out, of course, by a certain dreamboat at a certain university. Who shall remain nameless, mainly because I've forgotten his name, but also because that would be AWKWARD.

But he's not in first year, in case anyone's getting any ideas.

Francois Devienne

Francois Devienne - raising the prestige of French wind music - and heartrates - since the late 18th century.

André Jolivet

I am going to have to retract, or at least reconsider my previous "don't google composers, you'll just get ugly old pictures of them" philosophy.

Jolivet totally got more attractive as the years passed him by.

And no, I've never really heard of him either. He wrote flute music, appaz.

Francis Poulenc

N'AAAAAAAAWWWWWWW. nuff said.

Ralph Vaughan Williams

While he DOES have a little of the James Fleet about him, Vaughan Williams est pas mal.

He's got dreamy eyes, rather wonderful hair, and the ever popular skeewif tie.

He even looks alright as an old man! Mainly because of the cat, though...

William Byrd

I was most disappointed to find that William Byrd, despite writing beautiful music, looks rather creepy. His ridiculously pointy beard looks like it's about to strike and stab somebody and his eyes can't be trusted.

However, I feel I should give Willy some credit in this next picture. In comparison to the first, he looks incredibly soft and gentle (I think it's cos of the colour)..But anyway, what a kind-looking soul - any woman (or man's) dream really. I just want to fluff up his hair and ruffle up that beard a little bit.

Scriabin

I'm thinking without the moustache he'd be a bit of a babe.


Oh what the hell, even with the mo. That slightly askew tie is doing things to me...

Jacques Offenbach

Offenbach? More like Offen-gay! No, not really, but have you EVER seen a more comfortable looking man IN A MONOCLE! I didn't think so...

Henry, you're all right.

Henry Purcell. I stumbled upon this rather flattering photo while researching some MEMM stuff (for those of you unfamiliar with MEMM, I HATE YOU WITH THE FIRE OF A THOUSAND SUNS). Anyway.
That hair.
That pout.
WHO WOULDN'T FALL FOR THIS GUY?!?!?! I'm sure he had all the luck with the ladies.
Also, he uh, like, wrote some music or something. What am I, a fucking encyclopaedia? Look it up yourself, lazy.
xx

Paul Hindemith.

Paul Hindemith. Interesting fellow... rocked out on the organ hardcore style and wrote some crazy screechy pieces that kind of sound like a war in which the only implements to throw at each other are vicious feral cats. Also, he wrote for the nazis despite the fact that his wife was jewish.
In his spare time, Paul enjoys long walks along the beach, drawing pictures of unicorns, raves, long island iced tea and life drawing. He also enjoys posing creepily with his balding, baby-esque head resting on his fist, with that alluring look that says, "come and get me ladies."
He also enjoys making you play as many octave leaps to high B's as possible!!!! He sure knows how to impress.
Oh, by the way, I'm going to bed now. Good night.

Herbert Von Karajan

Clearly the most handsome gentleman posted on this blog thus far. He made growing old sexy long before Richard Gere or George Clooney. They are such posers. I can only hope to be as fantastic as Herbert Von Karajan (or 'B' as I used to call him- we were bros), when I grow older.

I tell ya, if I was gay! IF I WAS GAY! THE THINGS I WOULD DO TO HIM!

See Ferrucio Busoni Grow Up!

Yep, he grows ever more tempestuous and tortured a la Beethoven.

Carl Maria von Weber

Oh no he di-dn't!
The over-the-shoulder with fur. Such a classic.

Giuseppe Verdi

A gen-yu-ein Italian Stallion huh
Fathers: lock up your daughters, Verdi's in town!!!

Mikhail Glinka

I can feel it coming in the air tonight.......
...
(yes I realise this is completely unrelated)

Samuel Barber

I love a composer in profile. I also love that Barber didn't actually align himself with any school of compositional thought - he called himself a "melodist". Bless.