Tennis playing composers
Last updated 7th Jul 2022
Wimbledon is in full swing, there's no better time than the present to look back at some classical composers who enjoy serving on the court almost as much as they do on the podium.
Here's a list of some of the tennis-mad composers
Not only did Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel often challenge each other to a game, but Debussy's ballet Jeux is set around the game, as it begins with a boy and two girls searching for a tennis ball.
'My primary occupations are playing tennis and scoring the opera,' once commented Sergey Prokofiev. However, whilst he was certainly a keen player, it seems he takes after John McEnroe as he would often end up arguing every point.
It wouldn't be a rare occurrence to find George Gershwin taking on Arnold Schoenberg on the court in his Beverly Hills home. Apparently, Gershwin was 'nonchalant' and 'chivalrous', whereas Schoenberg was 'overly eager' and 'choppy'.
British composer Benjamin Britten could often be found enjoying a game of tennis, though you'd have to be careful if playing against him! Author Jonathan Gathorne-Hardy commented 'When you were beaten by him at squash or tennis… you literally felt that he'd been "beating" you.'
Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg was so taken by the game he devised a notation system for recording tennis matches, this included everything from 'player rushes to the net' to 'foot fault'.