Nicky was the first of the young prodigy's several canine companions. By his own admission, Gould got along better with animals than humans, and once even claimed he was a collie . The chillingly anthropomorphic Nicky again:

It's a little-known fact that Glenn Gould's earliest duet partner was an English setter.

Richard Wagner was another great dog lover, owning many over the years. Peps the spaniel sat with him while he composed and could allegedly distinguish between various keys. But the dog below is the famous Newfoundland Russ, who was buried at Wagner's feet, and is immortalised in statue form all over Bayreuth.

Another Newfoundland owner was Ferruccio Busoni. Here he is, whip ominously in hand, with Lesko:

Later, Busoni owned a St Bernard named Giotto:

Claude Debussy had a collie and a fox terrier:

Debussy again, mid-déjeuner sur l'herbe with a shy friend:







Edward Elgar was so fond of dogs he dedicated the 11th Enigma Variation to one - Dan, a bulldog owned by the organist of Hereford Cathedral. The composer had several dogs of his own over the years - here he is with his spaniel:





Edvard Grieg prowled the fjords with what looks like a rather handsome chocolate Labrador:





Same moustache, different composer. Leoš Janáček and a firmly-controlled friend:

Two dogs, one leash, for Bohuslav Martinů:

Francis Poulenc cuddles a wire-haired terrier:





Small talk with a giant collie came naturally to Frank Martin:





Looks like Arnold Schoenberg's dog Witz is having more fun than Arnold Schoenberg:

Sergei Rachmaninov and a sopping wet dog getting to its feet. This can only end badly:

Shostakovich's dog and Shostakovich's cat eye each other up:





The token female - Dame Ethel Smyth with her old English sheepdog:

Benjamin Britten would often fondle a dachshund to help German visitors feel at home:





Clytie, a miniature smooth-haired dachshund, was a favourite pet.





Same composer, different dog:

Forward to the 21C - Hans Werner Henze and James the greyhound:





The Italian-American Gian Carlo Menotti with a golden cocker spaniel:





Another American, Bernard Herrmann:

The 'March King 'John Philip Sousa and more sheepdogs than he knows what to do with:

Anything went in the 60s, including bringing your puppy to rehearsals. Luciano Berio conducts Rostropovich:

The diva checklist - jet, turban, gloves, corsage, poodle: