Composers and pets have found companionship together for centuries, as evidenced by medieval manuscripts decorated with animals! Here are a few composers and musicians who love their pets (and vice versa)!

1. Nineteenth-century composer and pianist Carl Czerny lived with as many as seven cats at time. Czerny was a contemporary of Franz Schubert, who seems to have been more of a dog lover.

Image: Portrait of a Man (Franz Schubert) by Gabor Melegh, 1827.

2. Maurice Ravel could reportedly speak the language of the felines, and he allowed his cats to wreak all kinds of havoc on his writing table.

3. Pulitzer prize winner Jennifer Higdon is another cat-loving composer. But her kitties don't always stick around to support her creative efforts. In an interview with the New York Times, Higdon stated that the anxiety which sometimes accompanies the start of a new piece can last for weeks, and makes her cats run and hide.

Image: Jennifer Higdon with her cat. Photo by Candace DiCarlo. 

4. Richard Wagner loved dogs, and one of his beloved pooches is buried at his feet in Bayreuth. They say he used to play bits of his music to his dogs for their approval.

Image: Richard Wagner at Bayreuth (detail) by Georg Papperitz, 1846-1918.

5. Violinist Lara St. John's taste in pets runs to the exotic. Fascinated by dinosaurs as a child, she grew up to become favorite human to several pet iguanas.

6. Pet owners know how hard it can be to leave the critters at home all day while at work. Pianist John Browning took his beloved papillon with him everywhere, even to restaurants, sequestered in a shoulder bag. Samuel Barber, another dog lover, composed his piano concerto for Browning.

7. Finally, Liberace was a huge dog lover, and was understandably thrilled to meet the famous piano-playing dog Rowlf.

Image: Liberace and Rowlf on The Muppet Show, 1978. From the Jim Henson Archives. 

Join us on Wednesday, September 21 for Pet Pledge Day on KMFA!