This Day in Music
Chronology of Events in Music
Sep 17 1179: Hildengard von Bingen, mystic and composer, died in Germany at about the age of 80.
Mar 04 1525: Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, composer best known for church music, born in Palestrina, near Rome, Italy.
May 15 1567: Baptism of Claudio Monteverdi, composer, in Cremona, Italy. He was presumably born a few days earlier.
Sep 13 1583: Birth of Girolamo Frescobaldi, composer, in Ferrar, Italy.
Nov 23 1585: Death of Thomas Tallis, composer of church music, in Greenwich, England, at about the age of 80.
Feb 02 1594: Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, composer best known for church music, died in Rome, Italy, at the age of 58.
Aug 12 1612: Giovanni Gabrieli, composer, died in Venice, Italy, at the age of at least 55. His date of birth is not known.
Feb 20 1626: John Dowland, lutenist and song composer, died in London, England, at the age of about 63.
Nov 28 1632: Jean-Baptiste Lully, composer, born in Florence, Italy.
Mar 01 1643: Girolamo Frescobaldi, composer, died in Rome, Italy, at the age of 59.
Nov 29 1643: Claudio Monteverdi, composer, died in Venice, Italy, at the age of 76.
Mar 04 1648: Antonio Vivaldi, composer and violinist, born in Venice, Italy.
Jan 17 1651: Death of Johannes Hieronymus Kapsberger, lutenist and composer, in Rome, Italy, age about 71.
Apr 15 1651: Domenico Gabrielli, composer and cellist, born in Bologna, Italy.
Feb 17 1653: Arcangelo Corelli, composer, born in Fusignano, northern Italy.
Mar 16 1653: Composer and musician Jean-Baptiste Lully appointed Compositeur de la Musique intrumentale de la chamber at the court of King Louis XIV in France.
Sep 01 1653: Johann Pachelbel, composer best known for Canon in D, born in Nuremberg, Germany.
Jul 25 1654: Agostino Steffani, composer, diplomat and cleric, born in Castelfranco, in the Veneto, Italy.
Apr 22 1658: Guiseppe Torelli, composer, born in Verona, Italy.
Sep 10 1659: Probable birthdate of composer Henry Purcell, in Westminster, London, England.
Aug 24 1669: Alessandro Marcello, composer, born in Venice, Italy.
Jun 08 1671: Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni, composer, born in Venice, Italy.
Mar 14 1681: Georg Philipp Telemann, composer, born in Magdeburg, Germany.
Sep 25 1683: Jean-Philippe Rameau, composer, especially noted for keyboard music, born in France.
Apr 12 1684: Nicolò Amati, violin maker, died in Cremona, Italy, aged about 88.
Feb 23 1685: George Frideric Handel, composer, born in Halle, Germany.
Mar 21 1685: Birth of Johann Sebastian Bach, composer, in Eisenach, Germany.
Jun 24 1686: Domenico Montagnana, violin and cello maker, born in Lendinara, Italy.
Jan 08 1687: While conducting a performance of his Te Deum, Jean-Baptiste Lully accidentally hit his toe with the heavy staff he was using to pound the floor to keep time for the orchestra. The toe turned gangrenous and he died from the effects of the injury about eight weeks later.
Mar 22 1687: Jean-Baptiste Lully, composer, died in France at the age of 54, from gangrene and blood poisoning after accidentally hitting himself on the foot with the staff he was using to pound the floor to keep time for the orchestra he was conducting.
Nov 10 1688: François Couperin, composer, born in Paris.
Jul 10 1690: Domenico Gabrielli, composer and cellist, died in Bologna, Italy, at the age of 39.
May 02 1692: World première performance of Henry Purcell's dramatic opera The Fairy Queen, in London, England.
Nov 21 1695: Henry Purcell, composer, died in Westminster, London, England, at the age of 36.
Jan 30 1697: Johann Joachim Quantz, musician and composer, born in Oberscheden, Germany.
Aug 21 1698: Giuseppe Guarneri, violin maker, born in Cremona, Italy.
Mar 03 1706: Johann Pachelbel, composer best known for Canon in D, died in Nuremberg, Germany, at the age of 52.
Feb 08 1709: Guiseppe Torelli, composer, died in Bologna, Italy, at the age of 60.
Nov 22 1709: Franz Benda, violinist and composer, baptized in Staré Benátky, Bohemia. His exact date of birth is unknown but presumably was just a few days earlier.
Jan 04 1710: Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, composer, born in Jesi, a town in east Italy.
Mar 12 1710: Thomas Arne, composer, born in Covent Gardens, London, England.
Jan 24 1712: Frederick the Great of Prussia, ruler, musician, composer and patron of the arts, born in Berlin, Germany.
Jan 08 1713: Arcangelo Corelli, composer, died in Rome, Italy, at the age of 59.
Mar 08 1714: Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, composer, born in Weimar, Germany. He was one of two gifted musician sons of Johann Sebastian Bach.
Jul 02 1714: Christoph Willibald Ritter von Gluck, composer best known for operas, born Erasbach, Bavaria, Germany.
Jul 17 1717: First performance of the Water Music by George Friderich Handel. The performance was given on a barge on the River Thames as entertainment for King George I. Apparently, he enjoyed the music so much that he commanded the musicians to repeat the performance three times on the trip.
Mar 24 1721: Date of the dedication Bach inscribed in the collection of the Brandenburg Concertos that he presented to the dedicatee, Christian Ludwig, the Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt.
Jul 09 1724: World première performance of Bach's "We nur den lieben Gott lässt walten", a Cantata, BWV 93, in Leipzig, Austria.
Feb 20 1724: World première performance of Giulo Cesare, an opera by George Frideric Handel, at the King's Theatre in London, England.
Feb 13 1725: World première performance of Handel's opera Rodelinda at the King's Theatre in the Haymarket, London, England.
Nov 17 1726: World première performance of Bach's Cantata BWV 55 "Ich armer Mensch" ("I, a wretched man") in Leipzig, Austria.
Feb 12 1728: Agostino Steffani, composer, diplomat and cleric, died in Frankfurt, Germany.
Mar 31 1732: Joseph Haydn, composer, born in Rohrau, Austria.
Dec 07 1732: Inaugural performance at the Royal Opera House, also known as Covent Garden, in London, England.
Sep 11 1733: François Couperin, composer, died in Paris, at the age of 64.
Feb 19 1736: World première performance of Handel's Harp Concerto in B-flat major, Opus 4, No. 6, in London, England.
Feb 19 1736: World première performance of Handel's Organ Concerto in G Minor, Opus 4, No. 1, in London, England.
Mar 16 1736: Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, composer, died in Pozzuoli, a town in west Italy, at the age of 26.
Dec 18 1737: Antonio Stradivari, violin maker, died in Cremona, Italy, aged about 93.
Jul 27 1741: Antonio Vivaldi, composer and violinist, died in Vienna, Austria, at the age of 63.
Apr 13 1742: World première performance of Messiah, an oratorio written by George Frideric Handel, in Dublin, Ireland.
Feb 19 1743: Luigi Boccherini, composer and cellist, born in Lucca, Italy.
Oct 17 1744: Giuseppe Guarneri, violin maker, died in Cremona, Italy, at the age of 46.
May 07 1747: Johann Sebastian Bach arrives at the court of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, at Potsdam. He is visiting his son, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, who is a court musician.
Jun 19 1747: Alessandro Marcello, composer, died in Padua, Italy, at the age of 77.
Apr 21 1749: First public performance of Music for the Royal Fireworks by Handel in Vauxhall Gardens, London.
Apr 27 1749: Command performance of Music for the Royal Fireworks by Handel in Green Park, London, for King George II, as part of a celebration commemorating the ending of the War of the Austrian Succession by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.
Dec 17 1749: Domenico Cimarosa, composer, born in Aversa, in Campania, Italy.
Mar 06 1750: Domenico Montagnana, violin and cello maker, died in Venice, Italy, at the age of 63.
Jul 28 1750: Death of Johann Sebastian Bach, composer, in Leipzig, Germany, at the age of 65.
Aug 18 1750: Antonio Salieri, composer and conductor, born in Legnago, northern Italy.
Jan 17 1751: Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni, composer, died in Venice, Italy, at the age of 79.
Jul 30 1751: Birth of Maria Anna Mozart, older sister of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who called her 'Nannerl', in Salzburg, Austria. She was a gifted keyboardist and musician in her own right.
Jan 27 1756: Birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, musician and composer, in Salzburg, Austria.
Apr 14 1759: George Frideric Handel, composer, died in London, England, at the age of 74.
Sep 08 1760: Probable birthdate of composer Luigi Cherubini in Florence, Italy.
Oct 05 1762: World première performance of Christoph von Gluck's opera Orfeo ed Euridice, held in Vienna, Austria.
Jun 25 1767: Georg Philipp Telemann, composer, died in Hamburg, Germany, at the age of 86.
Dec 16 1770: Probable birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven, composer, born in Bonn, Germany.
Jul 12 1773: Johann Joachim Quantz, musician and composer, died in Potsdam, Germany, at the age of 76.
Jun 04 1774: Eighteen-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart completed the score of his Bassoon Concerto in B-flat major, K191/186e.
Sep 12 1775: Nineteen-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart completed the score of his Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major, K.216.
Mar 05 1778: Thomas Arne, composer, died in London, England, at the age of 67.
Jun 18 1778: World première performance of Mozart's Symphony No. 31 in D major, in Paris, France, hence its nickname, Paris Symphony.
May 18 1779: World première performance of Gluck's opera Iphigénie en Tauride in Paris, France.
Sep 06 1781: Birth of Vincent Novello, in London, England. Novello was a musician and music publisher, establishing the firm that became Novello and Co.
Nov 23 1781: World première performance of Mozart's Concerto No. 10 for Two Pianos in E-flat major, K365/316a, in Vienna, Austria. The soloists were Mozart and Josepha Auernhammer.
Oct 27 1782: Niccolò Paganini, violinist and composer, born in Genoa, Italy.
Sep 12 1764: Jean-Philippe Rameau, composer, especially noted for keyboard music, died in Paris, France, at the age of 80.
Feb 11 1785: World première performance of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K466, in Vienna, Austria.
Mar 10 1785: World première performance of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Minor, K467, in Vienna, Austria.
Nov 17 1785: World première performance of Mozart's orchestral piece Maueriche Trauermusik (Masonic Funeral Music) at a funeral in Vienna, Austria.
Dec 09 1785: First concert performance of Mozart's orchestral piece Maueriche Trauermusik (Masonic Funeral Music) Vienna, Austria.
Mar 07 1786: Franz Benda, violinist and composer, died in Potsdam, Germany, at the age of 76.
May 01 1786: World première performance of Mozart's opera The Marriage of Figaro, at the Burgtheater, Vienna, directed by the composer.
Aug 17 1786: Frederick the Great of Prussia, ruler, musician, composer and patron of the arts, died in Potsdam, Germany, at the age of 74.
Nov 18 1786: Probable date of birth of composer Carl Maria von Weber, in Eutin, Germany.
Dec 04 1786: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart completed the score of his Piano Concerto No. 25 in C major, in Vienna, Austria.
Oct 29 1787: World première performance of Mozart's opera Don Giovanni, at the Teatro di Praga (now the Estates Theatre) in Prague.
Nov 15 1787: Christoph Willibald Ritter von Gluck, composer best known for operas, died in Vienna, Austria, at the age of 73.
Aug 03 1788: Inaugural opera performance at the La Scala opera house in Milan, Italy.
Aug 10 1788: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart completes the composition of his Symphony No. 41 in C major, nicknamed Jupiter, in Vienna, Austria.
Dec 14 1788: Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, composer, died in Hamburg, Germany, at the age of 74. He was one of two gifted musician sons of Johann Sebastian Bach.
Jan 26 1790: World première performance of Mozart's opera Così Fan Tutte at the Burgtheater, in Vienna, Austria.
Feb 21 1791: Carl Czerny, pianist and composer, born in Vienna, Austria.
Mar 03 1791: Mozart completed the composition of Fantasy in F Minor for Mechanical Organ, K608.
Mar 04 1791: World première performance of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat Major, K595, in Vienna, Austria.
Mar 11 1791: World première performance of Franz Josef Haydn's Symphony No. 92 in G major, the Oxford Symphony, in London, England.
Apr 16 1791: World première performance of Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K550, in Vienna.
Jun 17 1791: Mozart autographed the manuscript of "Ave verum corpus", K618, which presumably dates the completion of its composition.
Aug 19 1791: World première performance of Mozart's Fantasy and Rondo in C Minor, K517, in Vienna.
Sep 06 1791: World première performance of Mozart's opera La Clemenza di Tito at the Estates Theatre in Prague. The performance was conducted by the composer and took place as part of the celebration of the coronation of Leopold II as King of Bohemia.
Sep 30 1791: World première performance of Mozart's opera The Magic Flute at the Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna. The performance was conducted by the composer.
Dec 05 1791: Death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, musician and composer, in Vienna, Austria, at the age of 34.
Feb 29 1792: Gioachino Rossini, composer, born in Pesaro, Italy.
Feb 17 1793: World première performance of Domenico Cimarosa's opera buffa Il matrimonui segreto at the La Scala opera house in Milan, Italy.
Jan 31 1797: Franz Schubert, composer especially known for lieder or songs, born in Vienna, Austria.
Nov 29 1797: Gaetano Donizetti, opera composer, born in Bergamo, Lombardy, in the north of Italy.
Apr 02 1800: World première performance of Symphony No. 1 in C major (Opus 21), composed by Ludwig van Beethoven, at the Hofburgtheater in Vienna, Austria.
Jan 11 1801: Domenico Cimarosa, composer, died in Venice, Italy, at the age of 51.
May 29 1801: First performance of Franz Josef Haydn's oratorio Die Jahreszeiten (The Seasons), in Vienna, Austria.
Nov 03 1801: Vincenzo Bellini, opera composer, born in Catania, Sicily.
Apr 05 1803: World première performance of Symphony No. 2 in D major, (Opus 36), composed by Ludwig van Beethoven, in Vienna, Austria.
Apr 05 1803: World première performance of Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, (Opus 37), composed by Ludwig van Beethoven, in Vienna, Austria, with the composer as the soloist.
Dec 11 1803: Hector Berlioz, composer, born in La Côte-Saint-André, France.
Jun 01 1804: Mikhail Glinka, composer, born in Novospasskoye, a small village in the Smolensk region of Russia.
Apr 07 1805: First public performance of Symphony No. 3 in E flat major (Opus 55), nicknamed the Eroica, composed by Ludwig van Beethoven, in Vienna, Austria.
May 28 1805: Luigi Boccherini, composer and cellist, died in Madrid, Spain, at the age of 62.
Nov 20 1805: World première performance of Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera Fidelio, at the Theater an der Wien, in Vienna, Austria.
Mar 29 1806: World première performance of Ludwig van Beethoven's Leonore Overture No. 3 (Opus 72a) in Vienna, Austria.
Dec 23 1806: World première performance of Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D major (Opus 61) at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna, Austria, with Franz Clement as the soloist.
Dec 22 1808: A remarkable concert at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna, Austria, that consisted of nine premières of works by Ludwig van Beethoven, conducted by the composer. Among the works were the Symphony No. 5, Symphony No. 6. the Choral Fantasy, and the Fourth Piano Concerto (with Beethoven as the soloist). The orchestra was under-rehearsed, the concert hall was very cold, the audience was not enthused, and the concert was not a success. It was also long, lasting over four hours.
Jan 20 1809: Sebastián Iradier, composer, born in Lanciego, in the Basque region of northern Spain.
Feb 03 1809: Felix Mendelssohn, composer, born in Hamburg, Germany.
May 31 1809: Joseph Haydn, composer, died in Vienna, Austria, at the age of 77.
Mar 01 1810: Frédéric Chopin, pianist and composer, born in Zelazowa Wola, Poland.
Jun 08 1810: Robert Schumann, composer, born in Zwickau, Saxony, Germany.
Aug 05 1811: Birth of composer Ambroise Thomas, best known for his opera Hamlet, in Metz, France.
Oct 22 1811: Franz Liszt, composer and pianist, born in Doborján, a village now part of Hungary.
Nov 28 1811: World première performance of Ludwig von Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5, the Emperor Concerto, in Vienna, Austria.
May 22 1813: Richard Wagner, composer best known for his operas, born in Leipzig, Germany.
Oct 10 1813: Probable birthdate of Giuseppe Verdi, composer best known for his operas, born in Le Roncole, a village in northern Italy.
Nov 30 1813: Birth of Charles-Valentin Alkan, composer and pianist, in Paris, France.
Dec 08 1813: First public performance of Symphony No. 7 in A major (Opus 92), composed by Ludwig van Beethoven, in Vienna, Austria.
Feb 27 1814: First public performance of Symphony No. 8 in F Major (Opus 93), composed by Ludwig van Beethoven, in Vienna, Austria.
May 23 1815: World première performance of the two-act version of Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera Fidelio, at the Kärntnertortheater, in Vienna, Austria. It is this version that is most often performed today
Feb 20 1816: World première performance of Rossini's opera Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) at the Teatro Argentina, in Rome, Italy.
Jan 25 1817: World première performance of Gioachino Rossini's opera La Cenerentola at Teatro Valle, in Rome, Italy.
Nov 11 1817: World première performance of Gioachino Rossini's opera Armida, at the Teatro di San Carlo, Naples, Italy.
Jun 18 1818: Charles Gounod, composer, born in Paris, France.
Dec 24 1818: The Christmas carol Stille Nachte, heilige Nacht or Silent Night, composed by Franz Xaver Gruber with lyrics by parish priest Father Joseph Mohr, was performed for the first time, at Saint Nicolas parish church in the small town of Oberndof bei Salzburg, Austria.
Apr 18 1819: Franz von Suppé, composer best known for his light operas, born in Split, Dalmatia, now in Croatia.
Apr 11 1819: Charles Hallé, composer, conductor, and founder of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, England, born in Hagen, Westphalia, Germany.
Jun 20 1819: Birth of Jacques (Jacob) Offenbach, composer especially known for operettas, in Cologne, Germany.
Sep 13 1819: Clara Wieck, pianist and future wife of Robert Schumann, born in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany.
Aug 13 1820: George Grove, founding editor of Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, born in Clapham, England.
Oct 08 1820: World première performance of the overture to Weber's opera Der Freischütz (The Marksman) in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Apr 27 1821: Henry Willis, pipe organ builder, born in London, England.
Jun 18 1821: World première performance of Weber's opera Der Freischutz (The Marksman) in Berlin, Germany.
Dec 22 1821: Giovanni Bottesini, conductor, composer and double-bass player, born in Crema, Lombardy, Italy.
Dec 10 1822: César Franck, composer, born in Liège, Belgium.
Jan 27 1823: Édouard Lalo, violinist and composer, born in Lille, France.
Feb 03 1823: World première performance of Rossini's opera Semiramide at La Fenice in Venice, Italy.
Mar 02 1824: Bedrich Smetana, composer, born in Litomysl, in Bohemia, now Czech Republic.
May 07 1824: World première performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, the Choral Symphony, in Vienna, Austria.
Sep 04 1824: Anton Bruckner, composer, born in Ansfelden, Austria.
May 07 1825: Death of Antonio Salieri, composer and conductor, in Vienna, Austria, at the age of 74.
Oct 25 1825: Birth of composer Johann Strauss II in St. Ulrich near Vienna, Austria.
Nov 06 1825: Birth of Charles Garnier, architect of the Paris Opéra, otherwise known as the Palais Garnier, in Paris, France.
Jun 05 1826: Death of Carl Maria von Weber in London, England, at the age of 39.
Aug 06 1826: Felix Mendelssohn completes his composition of A Midsummer Night's Dream Overture. He was just seventeen and a half years' old at the time.
Feb 20 1827: World première performance of Felix Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream Overture, Opus 21, in Stettin, Poland, conducted by Carl Loewe.
Mar 26 1827: Ludwig van Beethoven, composer, died in Vienna, Austria, at the age of 56.
Mar 29 1827: The funeral of composer Ludwig van Beethoven was held in the afternoon in Vienna, Austria. An estimated 20,000 people turned out to watch the funeral procession.
Apr 24 1827: A decade after its composition, composer Franz Schubert dedicates his song "An die Musik" ("To Musik") to the Viennese pianist Albert Sowinsky.
Aug 20 1828: World première performance of Giaochino Rossini's opera Le Comte Ory at the Paris Opéra.
Nov 19 1828: Franz Schubert, composer especially known for lieder or songs, died in Vienna, Austria, at the age of 31.
Sep 19 1829: Birth of Gustav Schirmer, founder of Schirmer music publishers, in Konigsee, Saxony, Germany.
Oct 29 1829: Death of Maria Anna Mozart, older sister of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who called her 'Nannerl', in Salzburg, Austria, at the age of 78. She was a gifted keyboardist and musician in her own right.
Nov 28 1829: Anton Rubinstein, pianist and composer, born in Vikhvatinets, Russia.
Jan 08 1830: Hans von Bülow, conductor, pianist and composer, born in Dresden, Germany.
Mar 17 1830: World première performance of Frédéric Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Opus 21, in Warsaw, Poland, with the composer as the soloist.
Oct 11 1830: World première performance of Frédéric Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Opus 11, in Warsaw, Poland, with the composer as the soloist.
Dec 26 1830: World première performance of Gaetano Donizetti's opera Anna Bolena, at the Teatro Carcano, Milan, Italy.
Mar 06 1831: World première performance of Vincenzo Bellini's opera La Sonnambula, at the Teatro Carcano, Milan, Italy.
Jun 28 1831: Birth of violinist Joseph Joachim in Kittsee, then in Hungary, now in Austria.
Oct 17 1831: World première performance of Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Opus 25 in Munich, Germany.
Dec 26 1831: World première performance of Vincenzo Bellini's opera Norma, at La Scala, Milan, Italy.
May 12 1832: World première performance of Gaetano Donizetti's opera L'Elisir d'Amore at the Teatro della Canobbiana, Milan, northern Italy.
May 07 1833: Johannes Brahms, composer, born in Hamburg, Germany.
May 13 1833: World première performance of Felix Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony (Symphony No. 4), in London England, at a London Philharmonic Society concert. The performance was conducted by the composer.
Nov 12 1833: Alexander Borodin, composer, born in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Jan 24 1835: World première performance of Vincenzo Bellini's opera I Puritani, at the Théâtre-Italien, in Paris, France.
Sep 23 1835: Vincenzo Bellini, opera composer, died in Puteaux, a suburb of Paris, France, at the age of 33.
Sep 26 1835: World première performance of Gaetano Donizetti's opera Lucia di Lammermoor, at the Teatro San Carlo, in Naples, Italy.
Oct 09 1835: Camille Saint-Saëns, composer, born in Paris.
Dec 30 1835: World première performance of Donizetti's opera Maria Stuarda, at La Scala, in Milan, Italy.
Nov 18 1836: Sir William Gilbert, librettist, born in London, England.
Mar 12 1837: Félix-Alexandre Guilmant, organist and composer, born in Boulgne-sur-Mer, France.
Jan 06 1838: Max Bruch, composer, born in Cologne, Germany.
Sep 10 1838: World première performance of Hector Berlioz's opera, Benvenuto Cellini, at the Paris Opera, France.
Oct 25 1838: Georges Bizet, composer probably best known for the opera Carmen, born in Paris, France.
Mar 21 1839: Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky, composer, born in Karevo, Russia.
Jul 19 1839: Richard Wagner boards ship at Pillau, Prussia, bound for London. The ship is blown off course in a vicious storm and takes refuge in a Norwegian fjord. Wagner later claimed this incident as the motive force for his opera The Flying Dutchman
Aug 24 1839: Eduard Nápravník, conductor, born in Býšt, Bohemia, now Czech Republic.
Sep 12 1839: Robert Schumann married Clara Wieck, at Schönefeld, near Leipzig, Germany. She was daughter of his piano teacher and an accomplished pianist in her own right.
Nov 07 1839: Birth of Hermann Levi, conductor, in Gießen, Germany.
Nov 24 1839: World première performance of Roméo et Juliette by Hector Berlioz at the Paris Conservatoire, with the composer conducting.
Feb 11 1840: World première performance of Gaetano Donizetti's opera La fille du régiment from the Opéra-Comique, Paris.
May 07 1840: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, composer, born in Votkinsk, Russia.
May 27 1840: Niccolò Paganini, violinist and composer, died in Nice, France, at the age of 57.
Sep 12 1840: Composer Robert Schumann marries pianist Clara Wieck, the daughter of his music teacher, in Schönefeld, Leipzig, Austria, despite the opposition of her father.
Jan 18 1841: Emmanuel Chabrier, composer, born in Ambert, Puy-de-Dôme, France.
Sep 08 1841: Antonin Dvorák, composer, born in Nelahozeves, near Prague, Czech Republic.
Mar 03 1842: World première performance of Felix Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 3 in A minor, the "Scottish" Symphony. The performance took place in Leipzig, Austria.
Mar 09 1842: World première performance of Guiseppe Verdi's opera Nabucodonosor at La Scala, Milan, Italy. The opera was re-worked and re-named Nabucco.
Mar 15 1842: Death of composer Luigi Cherubini in Paris, France, at the age of 81.
May 12 1842: Jules Massenet, composer best known for opera, born in Montaud, Saint-Étienne, central France.
May 13 1842: Sir Arthur Sullivan, composer, born in Lambeth, London, England.
Jan 02 1843: World première performance of Richard Wagner's opera The Flying Dutchman / Der Fliegende Holländer in Dresden, Germany. The performance was conducted by the componser
Jan 03 1843: World première performance of Gaetano Donizetti's comic opera Don Pasquale at the Comédie-Italienne in Paris.
Feb 10 1843: Adelina Patti, soprano and opera performer, born in Madrid, Spain.
Apr 04 1843: Birth of Hans Richter, conductor, in Raab, Hungary. He is best known for conducting in 1876 the first complete performance of the Ring Cycle of operas by Richard Wagner.
Jun 15 1843: Edvard Grieg, composer, born in Bergen, Norway.
Oct 14 1843: World première performance of Felix Mendelssohn's incidental music for A Midsummer Night's Dream, Opus 61, in Potsdam, Germany.
Mar 09 1844: World première performance of Guiseppe Verdi's opera Ernani, at La Fenice Theatre, Venice, Italy.
May 03 1844: Birth of Richard D'Oyly Carte in London, England. He was a theatre impressario best known for founding the Savoy Theatre and for bringing together W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan to write comic operas.
Mar 10 1844: Pablo de Sarasate, violinist and composer, born in Pamplona, Spain.
Mar 18 1844: Birth of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, composer, in Tikhvin, near St Petersburg, Russia.
Mar 13 1845: World première performance of Felix Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor, in Leipzig, Germany, with Ferdinand David as the soloist.
May 12 1845: Gabriel Fauré, composer, born in Pamiers, a village in southwest France.
Oct 19 1845: World première performance of Richard Wagner's opera Tannhaäuser, at the Royal Theatre in Dresden, Germany.
Dec 04 1845: World première performance of Robert Schumann's Piano Concerto in A minor (Opus 54) in Dresden, Germany.
Dec 06 1846: World première performance of Hector Berlioz's dramatic work La Damnation de Faust at the Opéra-Comique, Paris.
Mar 14 1847: World première performance of Verdi's opera Macbeth at the Teatro della Pergola in Florence, Italy.
Nov 04 1847: Felix Mendelssohn, composer, died in Leipzig, Germany, at the age of 38.
Feb 27 1848: Hubert Parry, composer best known for choral music, born in Bournemouth, Hampshire, UK.
Apr 08 1848: Gaetano Donizetti, opera composer, died in Bergamo, Lombardy, in the north of Italy, at the age of 50.
Oct 04 1848: Frederic Weatherly, lawyer and lyricist best known for "Danny Boy" and "Roses of Picardy", born in Portishead, Somerset, England.
Oct 17 1849: Frédéric Chopin, pianist and composer, died in Paris, France, at the age of 39.
Dec 08 1849: World première performance of Guiseppe Verdi's opera Luisa Miller, at the San Carlo Opera in Naples, Italy.
Aug 28 1850: World première performance of Richard Wagner's opera Lohengrin, under the direction of Franz Liszt, at the Staatskappelle, in Weimar, Germany. The opera is best known for its "Bridal Chorus", the music of which is often performed at weddings.
Mar 11 1851: World première performance of Guiseppe Verdi's opera Rigoletto, at the Teatro La Fenice, Venice, Italy.
Jan 19 1853: World première performance of Guiseppe Verdi's opera It Trovatore, at the Teatro Apollo, Rome, Italy.
Mar 06 1853: World première performance of Guiseppe Verdi's opera La Traviata, at the Teatro La Fenice, Venice, Italy.
Sep 01 1854: Birth of Engelbert Humperdinck, composer best known for the opera Hansel and Gretel, in Siegburg, Germany.
Jan 20 1855: Ernest Chausson, composer, born in Paris, France.
May 05 1856: Hector Berlioz begins working on the libretto of his opera Les Troyens, based on Virgin's Aeneid.
Jul 29 1856: Robert Schumann, composer, died in Bonn, Germany, at the age of 46.
Feb 15 1857: Mikhail Glinka, composer, died in Berlin, Germany, at the age of 52.
Mar 12 1857: World première performance of Guiseppe Verdi's opera Simon Boccanegra at Teatro La Fenice, Venice, Italy.
Jun 02 1857: Birth of Edward Elgar, composer, in Broadheath, Worcestershire, UK.
Jul 15 1857: Carl Czerny, pianist and composer, died in Vienna, Austria, at the age of 66.
Feb 24 1858: Birth of Arnold Dolmetsch in Le Mans, France. Dolmetsch was an early music specialist and instrument maker especially associated with the revival of the recorder.
Apr 12 1858: Hector Berlioz finishes the score for his opera Les Troyens
Jul 16 1858: Eugène Ysaÿe, composer and violinist, born in Liège, Belgium.
Dec 22 1858: Giacomo Puccini, opera composer, born in Lucca, Tuscany, Italy.
Feb 17 1859: World première performance of Un Ballo in Maschera, an opera by Guiseppe Verdi, at the Teatro Apollo in Rome, Italy.
Mar 19 1859: World première performance of Faust, an opera by Charles Gounod, at the Théatre-Lyrique in Paris, France.
Nov 22 1859: Cecil Sharp, English folk music and dance collector, born in Denmark Hill, London, England.
Mar 13 1860: Hugo Wolf, composer of art songs, born in Windischgrätz, now in Slovenia.
Jul 07 1860: Gustav Mahler, composer, born in Kaliste, Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic.
Nov 06 1860: Ignacy Jan Paderewski, pianist, born in the village of Kurylówka, now in Ukraine.
Apr 06 1861: First performance of Arthur Sullivan's suite The Tempest, at the Leipzig Gewandhaus, Germany. This was Sullivan's graduation composition while an 18-year-old music student at the Leipzig Conservatory.
Aug 09 1861: Death of Vincent Novello, in Nice, France, at the age of 79. Novello was a musician and music publisher, establishing the firm that became Novello and Co.
Jan 29 1862: Birth of Frederick Delius, composer, in Bradford, Yorkshire, England.
Jan 30 1862: Birth of conductor Walter Damrosch in Breslau, Silesia (now in Poland).
Aug 09 1862: First performance of part of Hector Berlioz's opera Béatrice et Bénédict at the Theater der Stadt, Baden-Baden, Germany.
Dec 09 1862: Conductor and composer Karel Kovarovic born in Prague, now Czech Republic.
Sep 30 1863: First performance of part of Georges Bizet's opera Les pêcheurs de perles . The performance was given at the Théâtre Lyrique, in Paris, France.
Nov 04 1863: First performance of part of Hector Berlioz's opera Les Troyens. The performance comprised the last three acts, with many cuts, and was given at the Théâtre Lyrique, in Paris, France.
Jun 11 1864: Richard Strauss, composer, born in Munich, Germany.
Apr 19 1865: World première performance of Guiseppe Verdi's opera Macbeth, in Paris, France.
Jun 09 1865: Carl Nielsen, composer, born in Sortelung, Denmark.
Jun 10 1865: World première performance of Richard Wagner's opera Tristan und Isolde, at the Munich Opera with Hans von Bülow conducting.
Oct 01 1865: Paul Dukas, composer, born in Paris, France.
Dec 06 1865: Sebastián Iradier, composer, died in Vitoria, in the Basque region of northern Spain, at the age of 56.
Dec 08 1865: Jean Sibelius, composer, born in Hämeenlinna, Finland.
Apr 01 1866: Ferruccio Busoni, composer, conductor, and pianist, born in Empoli, Italy.
May 17 1866: Erik Satie, composer, born in Honfleur, France.
Mar 11 1867: World première performance of Guiseppe Verdi's opera Don Carlo, at the Théâtre Impérial de l'Opéra (now the Paris Opera) in Paris, France.
Mar 25 1867: Arturo Toscanini, conductor, born in Parma, in northern Italy.
Apr 27 1867: World première performance of the opera Romeo et Juliette by Charles Gounod, at the Thèâtre Lyrique, Paris.
Jul 27 1867: Enrique Granados, composer and pianist, born in Lleida, Catalonia, southeastern Spain.
Jan 06 1868: Vittorino Monti, composer and violinist, born in Naples, Italy.
Mar 09 1868: First public performance of Ambroise Thomas's opera Hamlet at the Paris Opéra, France.
Jun 21 1868: World première performance of Richard Wagner's opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in Munich, Germany.
Nov 13 1868: Gioachino Rossini, composer, died in Passy, a district in Paris, France, at the age of 76.
Mar 03 1869: Birth of Sir Henry Wood, conductor best known for his association with the Proms concerts, in London, England.
Apr 05 1869: Albert Roussel, composer, born in Tourcoing, northern France.
Sep 06 1869: Walford Davies, composer, born in Oswestry, Shropshire, England.
Sep 22 1869: World première performance of Richard Wagner's opera Das Rheingold, at the National Theatre, Munich, Germany. This is the first of the Ring Cycle operas.
Mar 28 1870: World première performance of the Romeo and Juliet Fantasy-Overture by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, in Moscow, Russia.
Apr 30 1870: Franz Lehár, composer best known for his light operas, born in Komárno, now in Slovakia.
Jun 26 1870: World première performance of Richard Wagner's opera Die Walküre at the National Theatre, Munich, Germany. This is the second of the Ring Cycle operas.
Oct 08 1870: Louis Vierne, organist and composer, born in Poitiers, Vienne, France.
Mar 29 1871: Queen Victoria officially opened the Royal Albert Hall in London, England.
Dec 24 1871: World première performance of Guiseppe Verdi's opera Aïda, at the Khedivial Opera House in Cairo, Egypt. It was conducted by composer Giovanni Bottesini.
Dec 26 1871: World première performance of Thespis, or The Gods Grown Old, a burlesque-style musical entertainment that marked the first collaboration between W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. The work première at the Gaiety Theatre, London, and ran for 63 performances.
Jan 06 1872: Birth of Alexander Scriabin, composer, in Moscow, Russia.
Mar 31 1872: Birth of Sergei Diaghilev, ballet impresario and founder of the Ballet Russes, born in Selischi, Russia. Through his commissions, he was responsible for much fine music in the early twentieth century.
Mar 08 1872: Last performance of Thespis, or The Gods Grown Old, a burlesque-style musical entertainment that marked the first collaboration between W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. The work première at the Gaiety Theatre, London, and ran for 63 performances but was never revived by Gilbert and Sullivan.
Oct 12 1872: Ralph Vaughan Williams, composer, born in Down Ampney, Gloucestershire, England.
Jan 19 1873: World première performance of Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Opus 33, by Camille Saint-Saëns, in Paris, France.
Feb 02 1873: Leo Fall, conductor of operettas, born in Olmütz, Austria, now in the Czech Republic.
Mar 19 1873: Max Reger, conductor, composer, organist, and pianist, born in Brand, Bavaria.
Apr 01 1873: Sergei Rachmaninoff, composer and pianist, born in Semyonovo, Russia.
Nov 02 1873: World première performance of Johannes Brahms' Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Opus 56a, in Vienna, Austria.
Nov 13 1873: Egisto Tango, conductor, born in Rome, Italy.
Jan 27 1874: World première performance of Modest Mussorgsky's opera Boris Godunov at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg, Russia.
Apr 05 1874: World première performance of Johann Strauss II's operetta Die Fledermaus at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna.
May 22 1874: World première performance of Guiseppe Verdi's Requiem Mass, in the cathedral of Milan, Italy.
Jul 26 1874: Serge Koussevitzky, conductor best known for his association with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, born in Vyshny Volochyok, Russia.
Sep 13 1874: Arnold Schoenberg, composer, born in the Leopoldstadt district of Vienna, Austria.
Sep 21 1874: Gustav Holst, composer, born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.
Jan 05 1875: Inauguration ceremony for the Paris Opéra, otherwise known as the Palais Garnier, in Paris, France. The ceremony was attended by many dignitaries and crowned heads from across Europe.
Jan 15 1875: Inaugural performance at the Opéra Garnier, otherwise known as the Paris Opéra, in Paris, France.
Apr 04 1875: Pierre Monteux, conductor, born in Paris, France.
Feb 02 1875: Fritz Kreisler, violinist, born in Vienna, Austria.
Mar 03 1875: World première performance of Georges Bizet's opera Carmen at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, France.
Mar 07 1875: Maurice Ravel, composer, born in Ciboure, southwest France.
Mar 25 1875: World première performance of Trial by Jury, an operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan, at the Royalty Theatre, London, England. Though their second collaboration, this was their first hit.
Jun 03 1875: Georges Bizet, composer probably best known for the opera Carmen, died in Paris, France, at the age of 36.
Oct 25 1875: World première performance of Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, with Hans von Bülow as the soloist.
Aug 16 1876: World première performance of Siegfried, the third of four operas in the Ring cycle by Richard Wagner. The opera was performed at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, Germany, and was conducted by Hans Richter.
Aug 17 1876: World première performance of Götterdämerung, the fourth of four operas in the Ring cycle by Richard Wagner. The opera was performed at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, Germany, and was conducted by Hans Richter.
Nov 04 1876: World première performance of Johannes Brahms's Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Opus 68, in Carlsruhe, Germany, conducted by Felix Otta Dessoff.
Nov 23 1876: Manuel de Falla, composer, born in Cádiz, Spain.
Dec 29 1876: Pablo Casals, cellist, born in El Vendrell, Catalonia, Spain.
Jan 13 1877: Date on the manuscript of The Lost Chord, a song composed by Arthur Sullivan.
Nov 17 1877: World première performance of The Sorcerer, an operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan, at the Opera Comique, London, England.
Dec 30 1877: World première performance of Brahm's Symphony No. 2, conducted by Hans Richter, in Vienna, Austria.
May 25 1878: World première performance of H.M.S. Pinafore, an operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan, at the Opera Comique, London, England.
Nov 23 1878: André Caplet, composer, born in Le Havre, France .
Feb 26 1879: Frank Bridge, composer, born in Brighton, England.
Mar 29 1879: World première performance of Tchaikovsky's opera Eugene Onegin, in Moscow, Russia.
Apr 29 1879: Sir Thomas Beecham, conductor, born in St. Helens, Lancashire, England.
Jul 09 1879: Ottorino Respighi, composer, born in Bologna, Italy.
Aug 13 1879: John Ireland, composer, born in Bowdon, near Altrincham, Manchester, England.
Oct 21 1879: Marie-Joseph Canteloube de Malaret, composer best known for Chants d'Auvergne, born in Annonay, a town in south-central France.
Dec 04 1879: Hamilton Harty, composer and conductor especially associated with the Hallé Orchestra, born in Hillsborough, Northern Ireland.
Dec 31 1879: World première performance of The Pirates of Penzance, an operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan, at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City, USA.
Apr 03 1880: First British performance of The Pirates of Penzance, an operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan, at the Opera Comique in London, England.
Apr 23 1880: Birth of Michel Fokine, ballet choreographer and dancer best known for his work with the Ballet Russes, in St Petersburg, Russia.
Sep 19 1880: Zequinha de Abreu, composer and songwriter, born in Santa Rita do Passa Quattro, São Paulo, Brazil.
Oct 05 1880: Death of Jacques (Jacob) Offenbach, composer especially known for operettas, in Paris, France, at the age of 61.
Oct 12 1880: Birth of Healey Willan, organist and composer best known for church choral music, in London, England.
Jan 04 1881: World première performance of the Academic Festival Overture by Johannes Brahms, conducted by the composer. The performance took place at the University of Breslau, Poland.
Feb 10 1881: World première performance of Jacques Offenbach's opera Les contes d'Hoffmann at the Opéra-Comique, Paris.
Feb 22 1881: World première performance of the Scottish Fantasy by Max Bruch. The soloist was Joseph Joachim, and the performance was in Liverpool, England.
Mar 24 1881: World première performance of the revised version of Guiseppe Verdi's opera Simon Boccanegra at La Scala, Milan, Italy.
Mar 25 1881: Beéla Bartók, composer and pianist, born in Sannicolua Mare, then in Hungary, now Romania.
Mar 28 1881: Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky, composer, died in St Petersburg, Russia, at the age of 42.
Apr 23 1881: World première performance of Patience, or Bunthorne's Bride, an operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan, at the Opera Comique, London.
Oct 10 1881: Patience, or Bunthorne's Bride, an operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan, was transferred to the Savoy Theatre, London, as the inaugural event at the new theatre, which was innovative in being the first in the world to use entirely electric lighting.
Nov 09 1881: World première performance of Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major by Johannes Brahms. The performance took place in Budapest with the composer as the soloist and Hans von Bülow as the conductor.
Mar 25 1882: Haydn Wood, violinist and composer perhaps best known for the tune for "Roses of Picardy", born in Slaithwaite, Yorkshire, England.
Apr 18 1882: Leopold Stokowski, conductor, born in London, England.
Jun 17 1882: Igor Stravinsky, composer, born in Oranienbaum, Russia.
Jun 26 1882: World première performance of Richard Wagner's opera Parsifal, at the Festspielhaus in Bayreuth, Germany, with the Hermann Levi conducting.
Aug 20 1882: World première performance of Tchaikovsky's stirring 1812 Overture, at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia.
Oct 24 1882: Emmerich Kálmán, composer of operettas, born in Siófok, Hungary.
Nov 25 1882: World première performance of Iolanthe, or The Peer and the Peri, an operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan, at the Savoy Theatre, London, England.
Dec 16 1882: Zoltán Kodály, composer and ethnomusicologist, born in Kecskemét, Hungary
Feb 13 1883: Richard Wagner, composer best known for his operas, died in Venice, Italy, at the age of 69.
Mar 15 1883: Pablo de Sarasate, violinist, performed Max Bruch's Scottish Fantasy, with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Although Bruch had written the piece for Sarasate in 1879, this was the first time the violinist had performed the piece in a concert.
May 04 1883: Birth of Nikolai Malko, conductor, in Semaky, Ukraine.
Sep 05 1883: Birth of Otto Erich Deutsch, musicologist and music historian, in Vienna, Austria. Deutsch is especially known for his work on establishing the chronologies of works by Mozart, Handel, and particularly Schubert.
Oct 22 1883: Metropolitan Opera in New York opens for the first time. The inaugural performance was of Charles Gounod's Faust.
Nov 08 1883: Sir Arnold Bax, composer, born in Streatham, London, England.
Dec 15 1883: World première performance of the cello and piano version of Élégie in C minor, Opus 24, by Gabriel Fauré, in Paris, France.
Jan 05 1884: World première performance of Princess Ida, or Castle Adamant, an operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan, at the Savoy Theatre, London, England.
Jan 19 1884: World première performance of Manon, an opera by Jules Massenet, at the Opéra-Comique, Paris, France.
May 12 1884: Bedrich Smetana, composer, died in Prague, now Czech Republic, at the age of 60.
Mar 14 1885: World première performance of The Mikado, an operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan, at the Savoy Theatre, London, England.
May 18 1885: Otto Klemperer, conductor, born in Breslau, now in Poland.
Jul 12 1885: Birth of George Butterworth, composer, in London, England.
Oct 25 1885: World première performance of Symphony No. 4 in E-minor, Opus 98, by Johannes Brahms. The performance took place in Meiningen, Germany, with the composer as the conductor.
Apr 19 1886: World première performance in its final form of the Romeo and Juliet Fantasy-Overture by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, in Tiflis (now Tbilisi, Georgia).
Jul 31 1886: Franz Liszt, composer and pianist, died in Bayreuth, Germany, at the age of 74.
Jan 22 1887: World première performance of Ruddigore, an operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan, at the Savoy Theatre, London, England.
Jan 28 1887: Arthur Rubinstein, pianist, born in Lódz, Poland.
Feb 05 1887: World première performance of Guiseppe Verdi's opera Otello, at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, Italy.
Feb 27 1887: Alexander Borodin, composer, died in Saint Petersburg, Russia, at the age of 53.
Mar 05 1887: Heitor Villa-Lobos, composer, born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Aug 31 1887: Kosti Verhanen, pianist and accompanist, born in Turku, Finland.
Sep 16 1887: Nadia Boulanger, musician and influential teacher, born in Paris, France.
Sep 23 1887: World première performance of Johannes Brahms' Concerto for Violin and Cello in A minor, Opus 102, at a private concert in Baden-Baden, Germany, with Brahms conducting and violinist Joseph Joachim and cellist Robert Hausmann as the soloists. The work was written to mend the friendship between Joachim and Brahms.
Oct 18 1887: World première public performance of Johannes Brahms' Concerto for Violin and Cello in A minor, Opus 102, in Cologne, Germany, with Brahms conducting and violinist Joseph Joachim and cellist Robert Hausmann as the soloists.
Mar 29 1888: Death of Charles-Valentin Alkan, composer and pianist, in Paris, France, at the age of 74.
Apr 11 1888: Inaugural concert at the Concertgebouw concert hall in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Apr 14 1888: The phonograph, Thomas Edison's invention, was unveiled to the public at a press conference in London, England. The demonstration piece was a recording of The Lost Chord by composer Arthur Sullivan.
Aug 22 1888: César Franck completes the composition of his Symphony in D minor, the only symphony he produced.
Oct 03 1888: World première performance of The Yeomen of the Guard, an operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan, at the Savoy Theatre, London, England.
Nov 03 1888: First concert by the resident Concertgebouw Orchestra at the Concertgebouw concert hall in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Nov 17 1888: World première performance of Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Opus 64, in St Petersburg, Russia, with the composer conducting.
Dec 19 1888: Fritz Reiner, conductor, born in Budapest, Hungary.
Feb 17 1889: World première performance of César Franck's Symphony in D minor at the Paris Conservatory in Paris, France.
Apr 08 1889: Sir Adrian Boult, conductor, born in Chester, Cheshire, England.
May 08 1889: Edward Elgar, composer, married Alice Roberts. She supported and encouraged him in his musical career.
Jul 07 1889: Giovanni Bottesini, conductor, composer and double-bass player, died in Parma, north-central Italy, at the age of 67.
Dec 07 1889: World première performance of The Gondoliers, an operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan, at the Savoy Theatre, London, England.
Feb 02 1890: World première performance of Antonin Dvorák's Symphony No. 8 in G major, Opus 88, in Prague.
Nov 08 1890: César Franck, composer, died in Paris, France, at the age of 67.
Dec 06 1890: First evening of the world première performance of Hector Berlioz's opera Les Troyens at the Hoftheatre in Karlsruhe, Germany, conducted by Felix Mottl. Due to the length of the opera, the performance was spread over two evenings. This was twenty-one years after the composer's death.
Dec 07 1890: Second evening of the world première performance of Hector Berlioz's opera Les Troyens at the Hoftheatre in Karlsruhe, Germany, conducted by Felix Mottl. Due to the length of the opera, the performance was spread over two evenings. This was twenty-one years after the composer's death.
Dec 08 1890: Bohuslav Martinů, composer, born in Polička, Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic.
Apr 27 1891: Sergei Prokofiev, composer, born in Sontsovka, Ukraine.
May 16 1891: Richard Tauber, tenor, born in Linz, Austria.
Aug 02 1891: Sir Arthur Bliss, composer, born in London, England.
Sep 26 1891: Birth of Charles Münch, conductor best known for his association with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, in Strasbourg, now in France.
Feb 16 1892: World première performance of Jules Massenet's opera Werther, at the Hofoper in Vienna, Austria, conducted by Wilhelm Jahn.
Mar 10 1892: Arthur Honegger, composer, born in Le Havre, France.
Apr 22 1892: Édouard Lalo, violinist and composer, died in Paris, France, at the age of 69.
Sep 04 1892: Darius Milhaud, composer, born in Marseilles, France.
Oct 17 1892: Birth of Herbert Howells, composer, in Lydney, Gloucestershire, England.
Dec 18 1892: World première performance of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker in the Mariinsky Theatre, in St Petersburg, Russia, conducted by Eduard Nápravník.
Dec 18 1892: World première performance of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's last opera Iolanta in the Mariinsky Theatre, in St Petersburg, Russia, conducted by Eduard Nápravník.
Jan 15 1893: Ivor Novello (David Ivor Davies), songwriter, singer, and actor, born in Cardiff, Wales.
Feb 01 1893: World première performance of Giacomo Puccini's opera Manon Lescaut in the Teatro Regio in Turin, northwest Italy.
Feb 09 1893: World première performance of Guiseppe Verdi's opera Falstaff at La Scala, Milan, Italy.
Feb 18 1893: Hector Berlioz's dramatic work La Damnation de Faust first performed as an opera, at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, Monaco.
Feb 21 1893: Andrés Segovia, classical guitarist, born in Linares, Spain.
May 26 1893: Birth of Eugene Goossens, composer and conductor, in Camden Town, London, England.
Oct 07 1893: World première performance of Utopia (Limited), an operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan, at the Savoy Theatre, London.
Oct 18 1893: Charles Gounod, composer, died in Saint-Cloud, a suburb of Paris, France, at the age of 75.
Nov 06 1893: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, composer, died in St Petersburg, Russia, at the age of 53.
Dec 06 1893: World première performance of Antonin Dvorák's Symphony No. 9 "From the New World", by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Anton Seidl, at Carnegie Hall, New York.
Dec 23 1893: World première performance of Engelbert Humperdinck's opera Hänsel und Gretel, in Weimar, Germany.
Feb 12 1894: Hans von Bülow, conductor, pianist and composer, died in Cairo, Egypt, at the age of 64.
Mar 16 1894: World première performance of Thaïs, an opera by Jules Massenet, at the Paris Opera.
Apr 27 1894: Nicolas Slonimsky, musician and conductor best known for the Lexicon of Musical Invective, born in St Petersburg, Russia.
Jun 29 1894: World première performance of Lady Radnor's Suite, composed by Hubert Parry, at St. James Hall, London. Lady Radnor conducted her chamber orchestra in this performance.
Aug 28 1894: Karl Böhm, conductor, born in Graz, Austria.
Sep 13 1894: Emmanuel Chabrier, composer, died in Paris, France, at the age of 53.
Oct 30 1894: Peter Warlock, pseudonym used by Philip Heseltine, composer and music critic, born in London, England.
Nov 20 1894: Anton Rubinstein, pianist and composer, died in St. Petersburg, Russia, at the age of 64.
Dec 22 1894: World première performance of Claude Debussy's symphonic poem Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun at a National Society of Music concert in Paris, France.
Dec 31 1894: Ernest John Moeran, composer, born in Heston, Hounslow, London, UK.
Apr 29 1895: Malcolm Sargent, known principally as a conductor, born in Ashford, Kent, England.
May 21 1895: Franz von Suppé, composer best known for his light operas, died in Vienna, Austria, at the age of 76.
Jul 10 1895: Carl Orff, composer, born in Munich, Germany.
Aug 06 1895: Death of Gustav Schirmer, founder of Schirmer music publishers, in Thuringia, Germany, at the age of 65.
Aug 10 1895: First Queen's Hall Promenade Concert took place and was conducted by Henry Wood. The concert series later became famous as 'the Proms'.
Oct 25 1895: Charles Hallé, composer, conductor, and founder of the Hallé Orchestra, died in Manchester, England, at the age of 79.
Nov 16 1895: Paul Hindemith, conductor, composer and violinist, born in Hanau, Germany.
Feb 01 1896: World première performance of Giacomo Puccini's opera La Bohème in the Teatro Regio in Turin, northwest Italy. The performance was conducted by Arturo Toscanini.
Feb 12 1896: Death of composer Ambroise Thomas, best known for his opera Hamlet, in Paris, France.
May 20 1896: Clara Schumann, pianist and widow of composer Robert Schumann, died in Bonn, Germany, at the age of 76.
Jun 02 1896: World première performance of Camille Saint-Saëns's Piano Concerto No. 5 in F Major, "Egyptinan", in Paris, France.
Aug 15 1896: Léon Theremin, inventor of the eponymous instrument, born in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Oct 11 1896: Anton Bruckner, composer, died in Vienna, Austria, at the age of 72.
Feb 27 1897: Marian Anderson, African-American contralto and recitalist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Apr 03 1897: Johannes Brahms, composer, died in Vienna, Austria, at the age of 63.
May 29 1897: Erich Wolfgang Korngold, composer, born in Brno, now in the Czech Republic.
Jun 07 1897: George Szell, conductor best known for his association with the Cleveland Orchestra, born in Budapest, Hungary.
Oct 08 1897: Composer Gustav Mahler appointed as the director of the Vienna Court Opera.
Aug 03 1898: Death of Charles Garnier, architect of the Paris Opéra, otherwise known as the Palais Garnier, in Paris, France, at the age of 72.
Sep 26 1898: George Gershwin, composer best known for Broadway tunes, born in Brooklyn, New York.
Oct 05 1898: World première performance of Caractacus, a choral work composed by Edward Elgar. The work was commissioned for the Leeds Festival.
Jan 07 1899: Birth of composer Francis Poulenc in Paris, France.
Feb 15 1899: Georges Auric, composer, born in Lodève, Hérault, France.
Jun 03 1899: Death of composer Johann Strauss II in Vienna, Austria, at the age of 73.
Jun 10 1899: Ernest Chausson, composer, died in Limay, a suburb of Paris, France, in a bicycle accident at the age of 44.
Jun 13 1899: Carlos Chávez, composer and conductor, born in Mexico City, Mexico.
Jun 19 1899: World première performance of the Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar, at St James's Hall, London.
Jul 30 1899: Gerald Moore, pianist and accompanist, born in Watford, England.
Oct 13 1899: Marcell de Manziarly, pianist and composer, born in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
Nov 18 1899: Eugene Ormandy, violinist and conductor best known for his association with the Philadelphia Orchestra, born in Budapest, Hungary.
Dec 02 1899: Sir John Barbirolli, conductor especially associated with the Hallé Orchestra, born in London, England.
Dec 16 1899: Sir Noël Coward, playwright, composer, and actor, born in Teddington, London, England.
Jan 14 1900: World première performance of Puccini's opera Tosca, at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome.
May 13 1900: Death of Hermann Levi, conductor, in Munich, Germany, at the age of 60.
May 28 1900: George Grove, founding editor of Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, died in Sydenham, England, at the age of 79.
Nov 14 1900: Aaron Copland, composer, born in Brooklyn, New York, USA.
Nov 22 1900: Sir Arthur Sullivan, composer, died in London, England, at the age of 58.
Jan 27 1901: Giuseppe Verdi, composer best known for his operas, died in Milan, Italy, at the age of 87.
Feb 02 1901: Jascha Heifetz, violinist, born in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Feb 11 1901: Henry Willis, pipe organ builder, died in London, England, at the age of 79.
Mar 31 1901: World première performance of Rusalka, an opera by Antonín Dvorák. The performance took place in Prague, and was conducted by Karel Kovarovic.
Apr 03 1901: Death of Richard D'Oyly Carte in London, England, at the age of 56. He was a theatre impressario best known for founding the Savoy Theatre and for bringing together W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan to write comic operas.
Jul 14 1901: Birth of Gerald Finzi, composer, in London, England.
Oct 27 1901: World première performance of the complete Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff. The performance took place in Moscow with the composer as the soloist.
Nov 22 1901: Joaquín Rodrigo, composer and pianist, born in Sagunto, Valencia, Spain.
Jan 11 1902: Birth of Maurice Duruflé, composer and organist, in Louviers, northern France.
Mar 29 1902: William Walton, composer, born in Oldham, Lancashire, UK.
Jun 26 1902: Hugues Cuénod, tenor, recitalist and opera performer, born in Corseaux-sur-Vevey, Switzerland.
Feb 06 1903: Claudio Arrau, pianist, born in Chillán, Chile.
Feb 22 1903: Hugo Wolf, composer of art songs, died in Vienna, Austria, at the age of 42.
Mar 28 1903: Rudolf Serkin, pianist, born in Cheb, in Bohemia, now the Czech Republic.
Apr 17 1903: Gregor Piatigorsky, cellist, born in Ekaterinoslav, now in the Ukraine.
Jun 06 1903: First London performance of The Dream of Gerontius, a choral work by Edward Elgar. In earlier performances, the work was not well received, but at this performance it was recognized as a master-work.
Oct 01 1903: Vladimir Horowitz, pianist, born in Kiev, Ukraine.
Jan 22 1904: George Balanchine, choreographer, born in St Petersburg, Russia.
Feb 08 1904: World première performance of Sibelius's Violin Concerto in D Minor in Helsinki, Finland, with the composer conducting.
May 01 1904: Antonin Dvorák, composer, died in Prague, Czech Republic, at the age of 52.
Oct 18 1904: World première performance of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 5, in Cologne, Germany, conducted by the composer.
Jan 02 1905: Sir Michael Tippett, composer, born in London, England.
Apr 20 1905: Nicholas Brodszky, songwriter, born in Odessa, which is now in Ukraine.
Dec 09 1905: World première performance of Richard Strauss' opera Salome, at the Hofoper in Dresden, Germany.
Dec 30 1905: World première performance of Franz Lehár's operetta Die lustige Witwe (better known as The Merry Widow), at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna, Austria.
Mar 28 1906: Murray Adaskin, composer, born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Apr 09 1906: Antal Doráti, conductor, born in Budapest, Hungary.
Aug 23 1906: World première performance of Vaughan Williams' orchestral piece Norfolk Rhapsody No. 1 at a Henry Wood Promenade Concert.
Jun 08 1907: World première performance of the English language version of Franz Lehár's operetta The Merry Widow (originally Die lustige Witwe), at Daly's Theatre in London's West End, England.
Aug 15 1907: Death of violinist Joseph Joachim in Berlin, Germany, at the age of 76.
Sep 04 1907: Edvard Grieg, composer, died in Bergen, Norway, at the age of 64.
Jan 26 1908: Stéphane Grappelli, jazz violinist, born in Paris, France.
Feb 08 1908: World première performance of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Opus 27, in St. Petersburg, Russia. The performance was conducted by the composer.
Apr 05 1908: Herbert von Karajan, conductor best known for his association with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, born in Salzburg, Austria.
Mar 15 1908: World première performance of Ravel's Rhapsodie espagnole, at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, France.
Jun 21 1908: Death of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, composer, in Lyubensk, Russia, at the age of 54.
Sep 20 1908: Pablo de Sarasate, violinist and composer, died in Biarritz, France, at the age of 64.
Sep 30 1908: David Oistrakh, violinist, born in Odessa, now in the Ukraine.
Dec 03 1908: World première performance of Edward Elgar's Symphony No. 1 in A, given in Manchester by the Hallé Orchestra, conducted by Hans Richter, to whom the work was dedicated.
Feb 05 1909: Composer and violinist Grazyna Bacewicz born in Lodz, Poland.
Feb 22 1909: World première performance of Vaughan Williams' orchestral piece In the Fen Country, at the Queen's Hall, London, conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham.
May 30 1909: Benny Goodman, clarinettist and band leader, born in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Nov 15 1909: World première performance of Vaughan Williams' On Wenlock Edge, as a chamber music version, later better known as a song cycle.
Nov 28 1909: World première performance of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3, with the composer as the soloist, accompanied by the New York Symphony Society (now New York Symphony Orchestra), conducted by Walter Damrosch. The performance took place at the New Theatre (later the Century Theatre), in New York.
Jan 13 1910: First public radio broadcast. The transmission is of a performance from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, of Enrico Caruso and others performing Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci.
Mar 10 1910: Samuel Barber, composer, born in West Chester, Pennsylvania, USA.
Aug 25 1910: Ethel Stark, violinist and conductor best known for her association with the Montreal Women's Symphony Orchestra, born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Sep 06 1910: World première performance of Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis in Gloucester Cathedral, England.
Oct 12 1910: World première performance of A Sea Symphony composed by Vaughan Williams. The composer conducted the piece at the Leeds Festival. Coincidentally, it was also his 38th birthday.
Nov 10 1910: World première performance of Edward Elgar's Violin Concerto, at a Philharmonia Society concert in London. The soloist was Fritz Kreisler, to whom the work is dedicated.
Dec 10 1910: World première performance of Giacomo Puccini's opera La Fanciulla del West, at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. The lead role was played by Enrico Caruso, Arturo Toscanini conducted, and the composer was in the audience. This was the first opera première at the Met.
Jan 11 1911: World première performance of Richard Strauss's opera Der Rosenkavalier at the Königliches Opernhaus in Dresden, Germany.
Feb 05 1911: Jussi Björling, tenor and opera performer, born in Borlänge, Dalarna, Sweden.
Mar 08 1911: Alan Hovhaness, composer, born in Somerville, Massachusetts, USA.
Mar 29 1911: Félix-Alexandre Guilmant, organist and composer, died in Meudon, France, at the age of 74.
May 18 1911: Gustav Mahler, composer, died in Vienna, Austria, at the age of 50.
May 24 1911: World première performance of Edward Elgar's Symphony No. 2 in E, given in London, England. The work was dedicated to the memory of Edward VII, who had recently died.
May 29 1911: Sir William Gilbert, librettist, died at Grim's Dyke, Harrow, England, at the age of 74.
Jun 13 1911: World première performance of Igor Stravinsky's ballet Petrushka, at the Théâtre du Chatelet in Paris, France, conducted by Pierre Monteux with Vaslav Nijinsky dancing the title role.
Apr 17 1912: Marta Eggerth, soprano and operetta performer, born in Budapest, Hungary.
Apr 22 1912: Kathleen Ferrier, contralto, born in Blackburn, Lancashire, England.
May 17 1912: Richard Tauber's public debut at a concert in Frieburg, Germany, one day after his 21st birthday.
Jun 08 1912: World première performance of the ballet Daphnis et Chloé. with music by Maurice Ravel, at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, France. The orchestra was conducted by Pierre Monteux, and Vaslav Nijinsky and Tamara Karsavina, members of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballet Russes, danced the title roles.
Jun 29 1912: José Pablo Moncayo, composer and musician, born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.
Aug 13 1912: Jules Massenet, composer best known for opera, died in Paris, France, at the age of 70.
Oct 21 1912: Georg Solti, conductor, born in Budapest, Hungary.
Apr 24 1913: Violet Archer, composer and music teacher, born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
May 16 1913: Woody Herman, instrumentalist and big band leader, born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
May 29 1913: World première performance of Igor Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, in Paris, conducted by Pierre Monteux.
Jun 13 1913: Risë Stevens, mezzo-soprano and opera performer, born in New York City, USA.
Jun 28 1913: George Lloyd, composer, born in St Ives, Cornwall, England.
Oct 02 1913: World première performance of Falstaff, a symphonic study by Edward Elgar.
Oct 24 1913: Tito Gobbi, baritone and opera performer, born in Bassano del Grappa, northern Italy.
Nov 22 1913: Benjamin Britten, composer, born in Lowestoft, Suffolk, England, UK.
Dec 10 1913: Morton Gould, composer, conductor, and pianist, born in Richmond Hill, New York, USA.
Mar 27 1914: World première performance of A London Symphony composed by Vaughan Williams. The performance was conducted by Geoffrey Toye.
May 09 1914: Carlo Maria Giulini, conductor, born in Barletta, Italy.
Jul 28 1914: Carmen Dragon, composer, conductor and arranger, born in Antioch, California, USA.
Mar 20 1915: Sviatoslav Richter, pianist, born in Zhytomyr, now part of Ukraine.
Apr 27 1915: Death of Alexander Scriabin, composer, in Moscow, Russia, at the age of 43.
Oct 28 1915: World première performance of Richard Strauss's Eine Alpensinfonie (Alpine Symphony), by the Dresden Symphony Orchestra in Dresden, Germany. The composer conducted the work.
Nov 26 1915: Pianist Earl Wild born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Dec 09 1915: Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, soprano and opera performer, born in Jarotschin, Prussia, now part of Poland.
Dec 19 1915: Edith Piaf, singer, born in Belleville, Paris, France.
Mar 24 1916: Enrique Granados, pianist and composer, drowned in the English Channel at the age of 48, when the passenger ferry in which he was travelling was torpedoed by a German U-Boat.
Apr 09 1916: World première performance of Noches en los Jardines de España, an orchestral work by Manuel de Falla. The performance took place at the Teatre Real in Madrid, Spain, with José Cubiles as the piano soloist.
Apr 22 1916: Yehudi Menuhin, violinist, born in New York, USA.
May 11 1916: Max Reger, conductor, composer, organist, and pianist, died in Leipzig, Germany, at the age of 43.
Aug 05 1916: Death of George Butterworth, composer, killed by a sniper in France during the Battle of the Somme, at the age of 31.
Nov 23 1916: Eduard Nápravník, conductor, died in Petrograd, Russia, at the age of 77.
Dec 02 1916: World première performance of Leo Fall's operetta Die Rose von Stambul at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna, Austria.
Dec 05 1916: Death of Hans Richter, conductor, in Bayreuth, Germany, at the age of 73. He is best known for conducting in 1876 the first complete performance of the Ring Cycle of operas by Richard Wagner.
Jan 17 1917: Oskar Morawetz, composer, born in Svetlá nad Sázavou, a town in Czechoslovakia, now Czech Republic.
Mar 20 1917: Dame Vera Lynn, popular singer, born in East Ham, London, England.
Mar 27 1917: World première performance of Puccini's opera La Rondine, at the Grand Théâtre de Monte Carlo, Monaco.
May 06 1918: Birth of Godfrey Ridout, music teacher and composer, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
May 24 1918: World première performance of Bluebeard's Castle, a one-act opera by Béla Bartók., in Budapest, conducted by Egisto Tango.
Aug 25 1918: Composer and pianist Leonard Bernstein born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, USA.
Sep 29 1918: World première performance, at an invitation-only event, of Gustav Holst's orchestral suite The Planets, at Queen's Hall, London, conducted by Adrian Boult.
Oct 07 1918: Hubert Parry, composer best known for choral music, died in England, at the age of 70.
Dec 14 1918: World première performance of Il Trittico, a work consisting of three one-act operas by Giacomo Puccini, at the Metropolitan Opera, in New York.
May 03 1919: Pete Seeger, folk singer, born in New York City, USA.
Sep 27 1919: Adelina Patti, soprano and opera performer, died at Craig-y-Nos Castle, Wales, at the age of 76.
Oct 27 1919: World première performance of Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto in London, England.
Nov 12 1919: Birth of Jackie Washington, blues musician, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Dec 28 1919: Birth of Inocente Carreño, composer, in Porlamar, Venezuela.
Apr 07 1920: Ravi Shankar, sitar player, born in Varanasi, India.
Oct 10 1920: First public performance of Gustav Holst's orchestral suite The Planets in Birmingham, England, by the City of Birmingham Orchestra conducted by Appleby Matthews.
Nov 14 1920: The first public concert by the community orchestra that later became the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.
Dec 04 1920: Double world première performances of Erich Wolfgang Korngold's opera Die tote Stadt, at the Stadttheater Hamburg and Cologne, Germany.
Dec 06 1920: Dave Brubeck, jazz pianist and composer, born in Concord, California, USA.
Dec 06 1920: Conductor and composer Karel Kovarovic died in Prague, now Czech Republic, at the age of 57.
Jun 21 1921: Fifty-two years after his death, the first performance of the complete version of Hector Berlioz's opera Les Troyens was given by the Paris Opéra, the company for which he wrote the work.
Aug 07 1921: Manitas de Plata, stage name of Ricardo Baliardo, gypsy flamenco guitarist, born in Sète, southern France.
Sep 26 1921: Death of Engelbert Humperdinck, composer best known for the opera Hansel and Gretel in Berlin, Germany, at the age of 67.
Dec 16 1921: Camille Saint-Saëns, composer, died in Algiers, at the age of 86.
Jan 19 1922: Dan Gibson, sound recordist, born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Jan 26 1922: World première performance of A Pastoral Symphony composed by Vaughan Williams. The performance was conducted by Adrian Boult.
Jun 20 1922: Vittorino Monti, composer and violinist, died in Paris, France, at the age of 54.
Feb 09 1923: World première performance of Franz Lehár's operetta Die gelbe Jacke, later renamed The Land of Smiles, at the Theater an der Wien, Vienna, Austria.
Feb 12 1923: Franco Zeffirelli, film director and opera producer and designer, born in Florence, Italy.
May 28 1923: György Ligeti, composer, born in Dicsõszentmárton, now Târnaveni, Transylvania, Romania.
Nov 01 1923: Victoria de los Ángeles, soprano and opera performer, born in Barcelona, Spain.
Jan 24 1924: World première performance of the revised version of Vaughan Williams' song-cycle On Wenlock Edge, arranged for tenor and orchestra.
Feb 12 1924: World première performance of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, at the Aeolian Hall in New York with the composer as the piano soloist.
Feb 28 1924: World première performance of Emmerich Kálmán's operetta Gräfin Mariza at the Theater an der Wien, Vienna, Austria.
Mar 07 1924: World première performance of Ottorino Respighi's Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite No. 2, in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Apr 15 1924: Sir Neville Marriner, best known as the founder and conductor of the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, born in London, England.
Jun 23 1924: Cecil Sharp, English folk music and dance collector, died in Hampstead, London, England, at the age of 64.
Jul 27 1924: Ferruccio Busoni, composer, conductor, and pianist, died in Berlin, Germany, at the age of 58.
Nov 04 1924: Gabriel Fauré, composer, died in Paris, France, at the age of 69.
Nov 29 1924: Giacomo Puccini, opera composer, died in Brussels, Belgium, at the age of 65.
Apr 22 1925: André Caplet, composer, died in Neilly-sur-Seine, France, at the age of 46.
May 28 1925: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone, born Berlin, Germany.
Jun 01 1925: Erik Satie, composer, died in Paris, France, at the age of 59.
Jul 24 1925: Birth of Adele Addison, soprano and recitalist, in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA.
Aug 15 1925: Oscar Peterson, jazz pianist, born in Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Sep 16 1925: Leo Fall, conductor of operettas, died in Vienna, Austria, at the age of 42.
Sep 30 1925: Beverly Bower, soprano and opera performer who sang in the first performance at the new Metropolitan Opera House, born in Olean, New York, USA.
Nov 17 1925: Sir Charles Mackerras, conductor, born in Schenectady, New York, USA.
Nov 20 1925: World première performance of Aaron Copland's orchestral work Music for the Theatre, performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Serge Koussevitzky, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Dec 03 1925: World première performance of George Gershwin's Concerto in F, at Carnegie Hall, New York, by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Walter Damrosch, with the composer as the soloist.
Apr 25 1926: World première performance of Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy, conducted by Arturo Toscanini.
May 12 1926: World première performance of Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 1, in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The work was performed by the Leningrad Philharmonic and conducted by Nikolai Malko.
Oct 29 1926: Jon Vickers, tenor and opera performer, born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Nov 26 1926: Joan Sutherland, mezzo-soprano and opera performer, born in Sydney, Australia.
Feb 10 1927: Leontyne Price, soprano and opera performer, born in Laurel, Mississippi, USA.
Mar 27 1927: Mstislav Rostropovich, cellist, born in Baku, Azerbaijan, then part of the USSR.
May 18 1927: World première performance of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 4, in Philadelphia, USA. The work was subsequently revised several times, with the third version not performed until 1941.
Jul 18 1927: Kurt Masur, conductor, born in Brieg, Germany.
Sep 25 1927: Sir Colin Davis, conductor, born in Weybridge, Surrey, England.
Oct 02 1928: World première performance of Carl Nielsen's Clarinet Concerto, Opus 57, in Copenhagen, Denmark, with Aage Oxenvad, clarinettist, for whom the work was written, as the soloist.
Nov 22 1928: World première performance of Maurice Ravel's Bolero, music for a ballet, at the Paris Opera, France.
Dec 15 1928: Ida Haendel, violinist, born in Chelm, Poland.
Feb 18 1929: André Mathieu, pianist and composer, born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Mar 04 1929: Bernard Haitink, conductor probably best known for his association with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Apr 06 1929: André Previn, pianist and conductor, born in Berlin, Germany.
May 25 1929: Beverly Sills, soprano and opera singer, born in Brooklyn, USA.
Aug 19 1929: Birth of Sergei Diaghilev, ballet impressario and founder of the Ballet Russes, died in Venice, Italy, at the age of 57. Through his commissions, he was responsible for much fine music in the early twentieth century.
Sep 07 1929: Frederic Weatherly, lawyer and lyricist best known for "Danny Boy" and "Roses of Picardy", died in Bath, Somerset, England, at the age of 80.
Oct 05 1929: Simon Streatfeild, conductor, born in Windsor, England.
Jan 18 1930: World première performance of Dmitri Shostakovich's opera The Nose, at the Maly Opera Theatre in Leningrad, Russia.
Jul 25 1930: Maureen Forrester, contralto, born in Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Aug 20 1930: Mario Bernardi, conductor, born in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada.
Sep 29 1930: Richard Bonynge, conductor and pianist, born in Sydney, Australia.
Oct 08 1930: Toru Takemitsu, composer, born in Tokyo, Japan.
Dec 17 1930: Peter Warlock, pseudonym used by Philip Heseltine, composer and music critic, died in Eynsford, Kent, England, at the age of 36.
Jan 05 1931: Alfred Brendel, pianist and writer, born in Wiesenberg, now in the Czech Republic.
May 12 1931: Eugène Ysaÿe, composer and violinist, died in Brussels, Belgium, at the age of 72
Oct 03 1931: Carl Nielsen, composer, died in Copenhagen, Denmark, at the age of 76.
Dec 31 1931: First radio performance of a complete opera from the Metropolitan Opera, New York. The broadcast featured Engelbert Humperdinck's opera Hänsel und Gretel.
Jan 22 1932: World première performance of Moeran's orchestral works entitled Lonely Waters and Whythorne's Shadow at the Queen's Hall, London, conducted by Anthony Bernard.
Jan 29 1932: World première performance of George Gershwin's Second Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra, with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Serge Koussevitsky, with the composer as the soloist, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Feb 08 1932: John Williams, conductor and composer best known for film scores, born in Long Island, New York, USA.
Feb 08 1932: Wojciech Kilar, composer best known for film scores, born in Lwów, Poland.
Sep 25 1932: Glenn Gould, pianist, born in Toronto, Ontario.
Nov 01 1932: Joaquín Achúcarro, pianist, born in Bilbao, Spain.
Nov 11 1932: Vernon Handley, conductor, born in Enfield, London, England.
Nov 23 1932: Ruth Watson Henderson, composer and pianist, born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Jun 26 1933: Claudio Abbado, conductor, born in Milan, Italy.
Jul 15 1933: Classical guitarist Julian Bream born in London, England.
Aug 12 1933: Composer and organist Barrie Cabena born in Melbourne, Australia.
Dec 06 1933: Henryk Górecki, composer, born in Czernica, Poland.
Feb 23 1934: Death of Edward Elgar, composer, in Worcester, Worcestershire, UK, at the age of 76.
Feb 24 1934: Renata Scotto, soprano and opera performer, born Savona, northwest Italy.
May 25 1934: Gustav Holst, composer, died in London, England, at the age of 49.
Jun 10 1934: Death of Frederick Delius, composer, in Grez-sur-Loing, France, at the age of 72.
Jul 12 1934: Van Cliburn, pianist, born in Shreveport, Louisiana, USA.
Sep 08 1934: Peter Maxwell Davies, composer and conductor, born in Salford, Lancashire, England.
Sep 21 1934: Leonard Cohen, poet and singer-songwriter, born in Westmount, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Nov 07 1934: World première performance of Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, by Sergei Rachmaninoff, with the composer as the featured piano soloist. The performance took place in Baltimore, Maryland, with the Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Leopold Stokowski.
Jan 14 1935: First public concert by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, then called Les Concerts Symphoniques.
Jan 22 1935: Zequinha de Abreu, composer and songwriter, died in São Paulo, Brazil, at the age of 54.
Feb 26 1935: World première performance of Bizet's Symphony in C Major, in Basel, Switzerland, sixty years after the composer's death.
Apr 10 1935: World première performance of Vaughan William's Fourth Symphony, given by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Adrian Boult.
May 17 1935: Paul Dukas, composer, died in Paris, France, at the age of 69.
Jul 02 1935: Gilbert Kalish, pianist and accompanist, born in New York, USA.
Aug 31 1935: Itzhak Perlman, violinist, born in Jaffa, Israel.
Sep 01 1935: Seiji Ozawa, conductor, born in Shenyang, China, at that time under Japanese occupation as Manchukuo.
Sep 11 1935: Arvo Pärt, composer, born in Paide, Estonia.
Sep 30 1935: World première performance of Gershwin's folk opera Porgy and Bess, at the Colonial Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Oct 12 1935: Luciano Pavarotti, tenor, born in Modena, northern Italy.
Dec 01 1935: World première performance of Sergei Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2 in G minor, in Madrid, Spain, by the Madrid Symphony Orchestra with Robert Soetens as the soloist.
Mar 29 1936: Birth of Richard Rodney Bennett, composer, in Broadstairs, Kent, England.
Apr 18 1936: Ottorino Respighi, composer, died in Rome, Italy, at the age of 56.
Apr 29 1936: Zubin Mehta, conductor, born in Mumbai, formerly Bombay, India.
Oct 07 1936: Charles Dutoit, conductor probably best known for his association with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, born in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Dec 08 1936: Malcolm Forsyth, composer, born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.
Dec 17 1936: Tommy Banks, musician, born in Calgary, Alberta.
Jun 02 1937: Louis Vierne, organist and composer, died while playing an organ recital in Notre-Dame de Paris, France, at the age of 66.
Jun 08 1937: World première performance of Carmina Burana, choral work by Carl Orff, in Frankfurt, Germany.
Jul 06 1937: Vladimir Ashkenazy, pianist, born in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia.
Jul 11 1937: George Gershwin, composer best known for Broadway tunes, died in Hollywood, California, USA, at the age of 38.
Aug 23 1937: Albert Roussel, composer, died in Royan, France, at the age of 67.
Nov 21 1937: World première performance of Dmitri Shostakivich's Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Opus 47, in Leningrad, Russia, by the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra.
Dec 28 1937: Maurice Ravel, composer, died in Paris, France, at the age of 62.
Feb 16 1938: Composer John Corigliano born in New York City, USA.
Jul 21 1938: Anton Kuerti, pianist, born in Vienna, Austria.
Aug 08 1938: Birth of Jacques Hétu, composer, in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada.
Aug 24 1938: Mason Williams, guitarist and composer probably best known for the piece called Classical Gas, born in Abilene, Texas, USA.
Oct 05 1938: World première performance of Ralph Vaughan Williams' Serenade to Music, at the Royal Albert Hall, at a concert to celebrate the career of Sir Henry Wood.
Nov 17 1938: Gordon Lightfoot, folk singer-songwriter, born in Orillia, Ontario, Canada.
Nov 28 1938: World première performance of Charles Ives' Concord Sonata, by pianist John Kirkpatrick, at Cos Cob, Connecticut, USA.
Apr 04 1939: Hugh Masekela, trumpeter and jazz musician, born in Witbank, South Africa.
Apr 09 1939: After being denied permission to give a recital at Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution, Marian Anderson, African-American contralto, gave a free open-air concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, in Washington, DC. She was accompanied by pianist Kosti Vehanan. The concert was attended by an estimated crowd of more than 75,000 people.
Jun 07 1939: Eri Klas, conductor, born in Tallinn, Estonia.
Jun 07 1939: Yuli Turovsky, cellist and conductor, born in Moscow, Russia. He is best known as the founder and leader of I Musici de Montréal Chamber Orchestra.
Aug 02 1939: Birth of André Gagnon, pianist and composer, in St-Pacôme-de-Kamouraska, Québec, Canada.
Oct 31 1939: Birth of Ali Farka Touré, guitarist, in Kanau, Mali.
Nov 05 1939: Marek Jablonski, concert pianist, born in Krakow, Poland.
Nov 26 1939: Tina Turner, singer, born in Nutbush, Tennessee, USA.
Dec 16 1939: Philip Langridge, tenor and opera performer, born in Hawkhurst, Kent, England.
Feb 28 1940: Death of Arnold Dolmetsch in Haslemere, Surrey, England, at the age of 82. Dolmetsch was an early music specialist and instrument maker especially associated with the revival of the recorder.
Jul 29 1940: First public concert by the Montreal Women's Symphony Orchestra. The concert was conducted by the orchestra's co-founder, Ethel Stark, and was held at Plateau Hall, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Sep 07 1940: In the midst of World War II, the last Proms concert took place at Queen's Hall, conducted by Sir Henry Wood. In May 1941, the Hall was destroyed in a bomb raid.
Nov 09 1940: World première performance of Concierto de Aranjuez, composed by Joaquín Rodrigo, by the Orquesta Filarmónica de Barcelona, in Barcelona, Spain.
Jan 10 1941: Frank Bridge, composer, died in Eastbourne, England, at the age of 61.
Jan 21 1941: Plácido Domingo, tenor, born in Madrid, Spain.
Feb 19 1941: Hamilton Harty, composer and conductor especially associated with the Hallé Orchestra, died in Hove, England, at the age of 61.
Mar 11 1941: Sir Walford Davies, composer, died in Bristol, England, at the age of 71.
Apr 05 1941: Dave Swarbrick, folk musician and fiddle player, born in New Malden, a suburb of London, England.
Apr 24 1941: John Williams, classical guitarist, born in Melbourne, Australia.
May 21 1941: Martin Carthy, folk singer and guitarist, born in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England.
May 24 1941: Bob Dylan, singer-songwriter, born in Duluth, Minnesota, USA.
Jun 01 1941: Edo de Waart, conductor, born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Jun 29 1941: Ignacy Jan Paderewski, pianist, died in New York, USA, at the age of 80.
Jul 28 1941: Riccardo Muti, conductor, born in Naples, Italy.
Aug 15 1941: World première performance of Moncayo's Huapango, with Carlos Chávez conducting. The performance took place at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, California, and was given by the Symphony Orchestra of Mexico.
Sep 10 1941: Christopher Hogwood, conductor and founder of the Academy of Ancient Music, born in Nottingham, England.
Oct 13 1941: Paul Simon, singer-songwriter, born in Newark, New Jersey, USA.
Dec 27 1941: Dmitri Shostakovich finished writing his Symphony No. 7.
Jan 13 1942: Jordi Savall, viola da gamba player and specialist in Early Music, born in Igualada, Catalonia, Spain.
Mar 15 1942: Montserrat Figueras, soprano and specialist in Early Music, born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
Mar 28 1942: Samuel Ramey, bass-baritone singer and opera performer, born in Colby, Kansas, USA.
Jun 04 1942: Raffi Armenian, conductor, born in Cairo, Egypt.
Jun 18 1942: Paul McCartney, singer-songwriter, born in Liverpool, England.
Jul 08 1942: World première performance of Moeran's Violin Concerto, with Arthur Catterall, to whom the work was dedicated, as the soloist and Sir Henry Wood as the conductor.
Aug 09 1942: Leningrad première performance of Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7, with Samuli Samosud conducting. The orchestra consisted of members of the Leningrad Radio Orchestra, supplemented by other musicians. Most of the musicians were starving, because Leningrad was under siege by the Germans. The performance was considered an act of defiance and an important morale-booster to the besieged inhabitants of the city.
Aug 22 1942: Death of Michel Fokine, ballet choreographer and dancer best known for his work with the Ballet Russes, in New York, USA, at the age of 62.
Oct 16 1942: World première performance of the ballet Rodeo, with music composed by Aaron Copland, at the Metropolitan Opera, New York.
Oct 28 1942: World première performance of the opera Cappriccio by Richard Strauss, at the Nationaltheater München, Germany.
Nov 12 1942: World première performance of Bohuslav Martinů's Symphony No. 1 by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, who commissioned the work, conducted by Serge Koussevitzky in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Nov 15 1942: Birth of Daniel Barenboim, conductor and pianist, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Dec 07 1942: Birth of Harry Chapin, singer-songwriter, in Brooklyn, New York City, USA.
Mar 12 1943: World première performance of Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man, played by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Eugene Goossens, who commissioned the piece.
Mar 28 1943: Sergei Rachmaninoff, composer and pianist, died in Beverly Hills, California, USA, at the age of 69.
Jun 23 1943: James Levine, conductor probably best known as the music director of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, born in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
Jun 24 1943: World première performance of Vaughan Williams' Fifth Symphony, played at a BBC Promenade Concert and conducted by the composer.
Nov 03 1943: Birth of Bert Jansch, guitarist, folk musician and member of Pentangle in Glasgow, Scotland, UK.
Jan 28 1944: John Tavener, composer, born in Wembley, London, England.
Jan 30 1944: Lynn Harrell, cellist, born in New York City, USA.
Feb 02 1944: Andrew Davis, conductor, born in Ashridge, Hertfordshire, England.
Mar 06 1944: Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, soprano, born in Gisborne, New Zealand.
Apr 16 1944: Richard Bradshaw, conductor and opera director, born in Rugby, Warwickshire, England.
Apr 18 1944: World première performance of the ballet Fancy Free at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, USA, with music composed by Leonard Bernstein and choreography by Jerome Robbins.
Aug 08 1944: Birth of John Renbourn, guitarist and folk musician, in Marylebone, London, England.
Aug 19 1944: Death of Sir Henry Wood, conductor best known for his association with the Proms concerts, in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England, at the age of 75.
Sep 10 1944: Thomas Allen, baritone and opera performer, born in Seaham, County Durham, England.
Sep 14 1944: Martyn Hill, tenor, born in Kent, England.
Dec 03 1944: Birth of Ralph McTell, folk singer and songwriter, in Farnborough, Kent, England. He is probably best known for Streets of London, a staple of the folk repertoire.
Dec 04 1944: Singer-songwriter Anna McGarrigle born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Dec 19 1944: William Christie, conductor and musician specializing in music of the Baroque era, born in Buffalo, New York, USA.
Dec 21 1944: Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor, born in Los Angeles, California, USA.
Jan 14 1945: World première performance of the orchestral suite Fancy Free by Leonard Bernstein, in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. The music had been used for a ballet, but this was the first performance of the music as a stand-alone orchestral work.
Jan 26 1945: Jacqueline du Pré, cellist, born in Oxford, England, UK.
Apr 21 1945: World première performance of Perchance to Dream, a musical romance by Ivor Novello, at the Hippodrome Theatre, London, England. The musical included the famous song "We'll gather lilacs".
Jun 01 1945: Birth of Frederica von Stade, mezzo-soprano, in Somerville, New Jersey, USA.
Jun 07 1945: World première performance of Benjamin Britten's opera Peter Grimes at Sadler's Wells Theatre, London, England.
Jul 07 1945: Matti Salminen, bass and opera performer, born in Turku, Finland.
Jul 12 1945: Roger Vignoles, pianist and accompanist, born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.
Sep 05 1945: Birth of singer-songwriter Al Stewart in Glasgow, Scotland.
Sep 15 1945: Jessye Norman, soprano, born in Augusta, Georgia, USA.
Sep 26 1945: Bryan Ferry, singer and songwriter, born in Washington, County Durham, England.
Sep 26 1945: Beéla Bartók, composer and pianist, died in New York City, USA, at the age of 64.
Nov 12 1945: Neil Young, singer-songwriter, born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Nov 25 1945: World première performance of Moeran's Cello Concerto, with Peers Coetmore, who later became his wife, as the soloist, at the Capitol Theatre, Dublin, Ireland.
Jan 24 1946: World première performance of Igor Stravinsky's Symphony in Three Movements by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, for whom the work was commissioned, in New York. The performance was conducted by the composer.
Feb 06 1946: Singer-songwriter Kate McGarrigle born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Jun 15 1946: Singer Demis Roussos born in Alexandria, Egypt.
Aug 04 1946: Uri Mayer, conductor, born in Târgu-Mures, a town in central Romania.
Aug 08 1946: Juan Pons, baritone, born in Spain.
Oct 02 1946: Jonathan Summers, baritone, born in Melbourne, Australia.
Oct 15 1946: World première performance of Benjamin Britten's work A Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, by the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in Liverpool, England. The performance was conducted by the Malcolm Sargent.
Oct 18 1946: Howard Shore, composer best known for film scores, especially for The Lord of the Rings, born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Nov 14 1946: Manuel de Falla, composer, died in Alta Gracia, Argentina, at the age of 69.
Nov 29 1946: Benjamin Britten's work A Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra was heard during the screening of a film, Instruments of the Orchestra, at the Empire Theatre, Leicester Square, London. The work had been composed as a score for this documentary film.
Dec 05 1946: José Carreras, tenor, born in Barcelona, Spain.
Dec 16 1946: Trevor Pinnock, conductor and harpsichordist, born in Canterbury, England.
Jan 06 1947: Birth of folk singer and songwriter Sandy Denny in Wimbledon, London, England.
Jan 08 1947: Songwriter and performer David Bowie born in in Brixton, London, England.
Jan 10 1947: Bass-baritone and opera performer James Morris born in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Jan 26 1947: Michel Sardou, singer, born in Paris, France.
Feb 15 1947: World première performance of Erich Korngold's Violin Concerto in D major, Opus 35, with Jascha Heifetz as the soloist with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra.
Feb 15 1947: John Adams, composer especially known for operas, born in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA.
Apr 19 1947: Murray Perahia, pianist and conductor, born in New York, USA.
Aug 14 1947: Maddy Prior, folk singer and longtime member of Steeleye Span, born in Blackpool, England.
Oct 22 1947: Concert at the Carnegie Hall, New York, by the Montreal Women's Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the orchestra's co-founder, Ethel Stark. This was the first performance by a Canadian symphony orchestra at Carnegie Hall and the first time that a woman had conducted a concert there.
Dec 14 1947: Christopher Parkening, classical guitarist, born in Los Angeles, California, USA.
Jan 08 1948: Richard Tauber, tenor, died in London, England, at the age of 56.
Jan 09 1948: Tim Hart, folk singer, musician, and founding member of the folk-rock group Steeleye Span, born in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England.
Mar 05 1948: Richard Hickox, conductor, born in Stokenchurch, Buckinghamshire, England.
Mar 12 1948: James Taylor, singer-songwriter, born in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Mar 28 1948: Kyung-Wha Chung, violinist, born in Seoul, South Korea.
Apr 21 1948: World première performance of Vaughan Williams' Symphony No. 6 in E minor, performed at the Royal Albert Hall by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Adrian Boult.
Jul 16 1948: Pinchas Zukerman, violinist, born in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Aug 13 1948: Kathleen Battle, soprano, born in Portsmouth, Ohio, USA.
Oct 24 1948: Franz Lehár, composer best known for his light operas, died in Bad Ischl, near Salzburg, Austria, at the age of 78.
Dec 12 1948: Donald Maxwell, baritone and opera performer, born in Perth, Scotland.
Feb 09 1949: Paul Hillier, baritone, born in Dorchester, England.
Feb 19 1949: Simon Jeffes, musician and founder of the Penguin Café Orchestra, born in England.
Feb 25 1949: Amin Maalouf, author and librettist, born in Beirut, Lebanon.
Apr 08 1949: World première performance of Leonard Bernstein's Symphony No. 2 "The Age of Anxiety" by the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Serge Koussevitzky, with the composer as the pianist.
May 16 1949: Ferruccio Furlanetto, bass and opera performer, born in Sacile, northeast Italy.
Jun 08 1949: Emanuel Ax, pianist, born in Lviv, then in USSR, now in Ukraine.
Jul 11 1949: Guitarist Liona Boyd born in London, England.
Aug 10 1949: Clarinettist James Campbell born in Leduc, Alberta, Canada.
Aug 12 1949: Mark Knopfler, guitarist, singer-songwriter and leader of Dire Straits, born in Glasgow, Scotland.
Sep 08 1949: Richard Strauss, composer, died in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, at the age of 85.
Nov 07 1949: Steven Stucky, composer, born in Hutchinson, Kansas, USA.
Nov 12 1949: André Laplante, pianist, born in Rimouski, Québec, Canada.
Nov 29 1949: Stan Rogers, folk singer-songwriter, born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
May 29 1950: Mory Kanté, singer and musician, born in Kissidougou, Guinea, Africa.
Jun 28 1950: Elmar Oliveira, violinist, born in Naugatuck, Connecticut, USA.
Sep 19 1950: Bonaventura Bottone, tenor, born in London, England.
Nov 06 1950: World première performance of Aaron Copland's Clarinet Concerto. The performance was given on an NBC radio broadcast, with the NBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Fritz Reiner. Benny Goodman, who commissioned the work, was the soloist.
Dec 01 1950: Ernest John Moeran, composer, died in Kenmare, County Kerry, at the age of 55.
Dec 20 1950: Arturo Márquez, composer, born in Álamos, Sonora, Mexico.
Dec 22 1950: Death of conductor Walter Damrosch in New York City, USA, at the age of 88.
Mar 01 1951: Kristinn Sigmundsson, bass baritone and opera performer, born in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Mar 06 1951: Ivor Novello (David Ivor Davies), songwriter, singer, and actor, died in London, England, at the age of 58.
Mar 09 1951: Zakir Hussain, tabla player, born in Mumbai, India.
May 07 1951: Janina Fialkowska, pianist, born in Montreal, Canada.
Jun 04 1951: Serge Koussevitzky, conductor best known for his association with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, died in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, at the age of 76.
Jul 13 1951: Arnold Schoenberg, composer, died in Los Angeles, California, USA, at the age of 76.
Aug 15 1951: Birth of Grzegorz Nowak, conductor, in Poznan, Poland.
Oct 05 1951: Death of Egisto Tango, conductor, in Copenhagen, Denmark, at the age of 77.
Nov 22 1951: Kent Nagano, conductor, born in Berkeley, California, USA.
Mar 24 1952: Dolora Zajick, mezzo-soprano and opera performer, born in Salem, Oregon, USA.
Mar 29 1952: Gilles Bellemare, composer and conductor, born in Shawinigan, Quebec, Canada.
Sep 21 1952: Alessandro Corbelli, baritone and opera performer, born in Turin, Italy.
Oct 14 1952: Composer Kaija Saariaho born in Helsinki, Finland.
Oct 31 1952: Incorporation of the Edmonton Symphony Society, the organization responsible for the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.
Nov 16 1952: World première performance of Morton Gould's Tap Dance Concerto, in Rochester, New York, with Danny Daniels, for whom the work was written, as the soloist.
Nov 30 1952: The newly-revived Edmonton Symphony Orchestra gave its first public concert.
Nov 30 1952: Conductor Semyon Bychkov born in Leningrad, Russia.
Jan 14 1953: World première performance of Ralph Vaughan Williams' Sinfonia Antarctica, in Manchester, England, by the Hallé Orchestra conducted by Sir John Barbirolli.
Feb 04 1953: Kitaro, composer best known for New Age music, born in Toyohashi, south-central Japan.
Mar 05 1953: Sergei Prokofiev, composer, died in Moscow, Russia, at the age of 61.
May 02 1953: Valery Gergiev, conductor and opera company director, born in Moscow, Russia.
May 15 1953: Mike Oldfield, musician and composer, born in Reading, England.
May 16 1953: Monica Huggett, conductor and baroque violinist, born in London, England.
May 24 1953: Allan Gordon Bell, composer, born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Jun 07 1953: Johnny Clegg, South Africa-based singer-songwriter, born in Rochdale, Lancashire, England.
Jul 11 1953: Bramwell Tovey, conductor, born in Ilford, Essex, England.
Jul 15 1953: Richard Margison, opera performer and tenor, born in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
Oct 03 1953: Sir Arnold Bax, composer, died in Cork, Ireland, at the age of 69.
Oct 08 1953: Kathleen Ferrier, contralto, died in London, England, at the age of 41.
Oct 09 1953: Roberto Sierra, composer, born in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico.
Oct 30 1953: Emmerich Kálmán, composer of operettas, died in Paris, France, at the age of 71.
Dec 21 1953: Andras Schiff, pianist and conductor, born in Budapest, Hungary.
Jul 18 1954: Tobias Picker, composer, born in Manhattan, USA.
Nov 16 1954: Donald Runnicles, conductor, born in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Nov 25 1954: World première performance of Margariteña, composed by Inocente Carreño, in Caracas, Venezuela.
Dec 18 1954: Glenn Buhr, composer and pianist, born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Dec 24 1954: Nicholas Brodszky, songwriter, died in Hollywood, California, at the age of 53.
Jan 07 1955: Contralto Marian Anderson became the first African-American to perform with the Metropolitan Opera when she appeared as Ulrica in Guiseppe Verdi's Un ballo in maschera.
Jan 19 1955: Simon Rattle, conductor, born in Liverpool, England.
Feb 12 1955: Paata Burchuladze, bass and opera performer. born in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR.
May 09 1955: Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzo-soprano, born in Stockholm, Sweden.
Jun 28 1955: Thomas Hampson, baritone and opera performer, born in Elkhart, Indiana, USA.
Aug 14 1955: Jean Stilwell, mezzo-soprano, born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Oct 07 1955: Yo-Yo Ma, cellist, born in Paris, France.
Nov 27 1955: Arthur Honegger, composer, died in Paris, France, at the age of 63.
Jan 09 1956: Waltraud Meier, mezzo-soprano, born in Würzburg, Germany.
Jan 14 1956: Ben Heppner, tenor, born in Murrayville, British Columbia, Canada.
Apr 14 1956: Barbara Bonney, soprano, born Montclair, New Jersey, USA.
May 02 1956: World première performance of Vaughan Williams' Eighth Symphony, in Manchester, conducted by Sir John Barbirolli, to whom the work was dedicated.
Sep 27 1956: Death of Gerald Finzi, composer, in Oxford, England, at the age of 55.
Dec 28 1956: Nigel Kennedy, violinist, born in Brighton, England.
Jan 16 1957: Arturo Toscanini, conductor, died in New York, USA, at the age of 89.
Feb 17 1957: Loreena McKennitt, singer-songwriter, born in Morden, Manitoba, Canada.
Mar 13 1957: Kosti Verhanen, pianist and accompanist, died in Turku, Finland, at the age of 69.
Aug 18 1957: Birth of composer Tan Dun in Hunan province, central China.
Sep 20 1957: Jean Sibelius, composer, died in Ainola, Finland, at the age of 91.
Sep 27 1957: Peter Sellars, theatre director particularly known for his opera stagings, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Nov 04 1957: Marie-Joseph Canteloube de Malaret, composer best known for Chants d'Auvergne, died in Grigny, France, at the age of 78.
Nov 29 1957: Erich Wolfgang Korngold, composer, died in Los Angeles, California, USA, at the age of 60.
Jan 27 1958: Jean-Philippe Collard, pianist, born in Mareuil-sur-Ay, Marne, northeast France.
Mar 05 1958: World première performance of Fantasía para un gentilhombre, a concerto for guitar and orchestra, composed by Joaquín Rodrigo, in San Francisco, USA. The soloist was Andrés Segovia, who had requested the work from Rodrigo.
Apr 02 1958: World première performance of Vaughan Williams' Ninth Symphony, conducted by Malcolm Sargent. The work was dedicated to the Royal Philharmonic Society and was first performed at one of the Society's concerts.
Apr 13 1958: At the age of 23, American classical pianist Van Cliburn won the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, Russia.
Jun 16 1958: José Pablo Moncayo, composer and musician, died in Mexico City, Mexico, at the age of 45.
Jun 21 1958: Jennifer Larmore, mezzo-soprano, born in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Jul 10 1958: Banjo player Béla Fleck born in New York City, USA.
Jul 19 1958: Conductor David Robertson born in Malibu, California, USA.
Jul 26 1958: Pianist Angela Hewitt born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Jun 30 1958: Essa-Pekka Salonen, conductor, born in Helsinki, Finland.
Jul 26 1958: Birth of Angela Hewitt, classical pianist, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Aug 26 1958: Ralph Vaughan Williams, composer, died in England, at the age of 85.
Sep 22 1958: Andrea Bocelli, tenor, crossover popular singer, born in Pisa, Italy.
Jan 17 1959: Fabio Luisi, conductor associated with the Metropolitan Opera, New York, born in Genoa, Italy.
Feb 14 1959: Renée Fleming, soprano, born in Indiana, Pennsylvania, USA.
Mar 11 1959: Haydn Wood, violinist and composer perhaps best known for the tune for "Roses of Picardy", died in London, England, at the age of 76.
Apr 27 1959: Louis Lortie, pianist, born in Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Aug 03 1959: Baritone and opera performer Simon Keenlyside born in London, England.
Aug 09 1959: Mezzo-soprano and opera performer Maria Guleghina, born in Odessa, Ukraine.
Aug 13 1959: Martyn Brabbins, conductor, born in Leicester, England.
Aug 28 1959: Bohuslav Martinů, composer, died in Liestal, Switzerland, at the age of 68.
Nov 17 1959: Heitor Villa-Lobos, composer, died in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at the age of 72.
Dec 14 1959: Release of Time Out, an influential jazz album by the Dave Brubeck Quartet.
Dec 25 1959: Jon Kimura Parker, pianist, born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Jan 30 1960: Gerald Finley, bass-baritone and opera performer, born in Montreal, Canada.
Jul 14 1960: Angélique Kidjo, Afropop and world music singer-songwriter, born in Ouidah, Benin, Africa.
Jul 17 1960: Dawn Upshaw, soprano, born in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
Jul 19 1960: Carlo Rizzi, conductor, born in Milan, Italy.
Jul 23 1960: Mezzo-soprano Susan Graham born in Roswell, New Mexico, USA.
Aug 04 1960: Deborah Voigt, soprano and opera performer best known for Wagner roles, born in USA.
Aug 14 1960: Sarah Brightman, soprano, specializing in large stage musicals and crossover popular music, born in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England.
Sep 05 1960: Karita Mattila, soprano and opera performer, born in Somero, western Finland.
Sep 09 1960: Jussi Björling, tenor and opera performer, died in Siarö, Sweden, at the age of 49.
Nov 24 1960: Edgar Meyer, double bass player and composer, born in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA.
Jan 11 1961: Louis Langrée, conductor, born in Mulhouse, France.
Jan 21 1961: World première performance of Francis Poulenc's Gloria, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Charles Münch, with soprano Adele Addison as the soloist.
Mar 08 1961: Sir Thomas Beecham, conductor, died in London, England, at the age of 81.
May 17 1961: Enya, singer-songwriter, born in Gweedore, County Donegal, Ireland.
Jun 23 1961: Death of Nikolai Malko, conductor, in Sydney, Australia, at the age of 78.
Aug 11 1961: Composer and organist Rachel Laurin born in Saint-Benoît, Québec, Canada.
Aug 14 1961: Karl Böhm, conductor, died in Salzburg, Austria, at the age of 86.
Sep 05 1961: Marc-André Hamelin, pianist, born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Oct 24 1961: World première performance of Godfrey Ridout's Fall Fair Overture, by the CBC Symphony Orchestra at the UN General Assembly in New York.
Oct 25 1961: John Hammond signs the 20-year-old Bob Dylan to a five-year record deal with Columbia Records.
Nov 02 1961: k.d. lang, singer and song-writer, born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Nov 06 1961: Daniele Gatti, conductor, born in Milan, Italy.
Nov 13 1961: Tracy Dahl, coloratura soprano, born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Nov 26 1961: Nicola Luisotti, conductor and musician, born in Viareggio, Tuscany, north central Italy.
Jan 29 1962: Fritz Kreisler, violinist, died in New York, USA, at the age of 86.
Feb 27 1962: Marcelo Álvarez, tenor and opera performer, born in Córdoba, Argentina.
Mar 19 1962: Columbia Records releases Bob Dylan's first studio album, called Bob Dylan.
Jun 12 1962: John Ireland, composer, died in the village of Rock, Sussex, England, at the age of 82.
Jun 13 1962: Death of Eugene Goossens, composer and conductor, in Hillingdon, London, England, at the age of 69.
Jul 23 1962: Alain Lefèvre, pianist, born in Poitiers, France.
Oct 16 1962: Dmitri Hvorostovsky, baritone, born in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia.
Jan 25 1963: Soprano and opera performer Katarina Dalayman born in Stockholm, Sweden.
Jan 30 1963: Death of composer Francis Poulenc in Paris, France, at the age of 64.
Mar 02 1963: Adrianne Pieczonka, soprano and opera performer, born in Burlington, Ontario, Canada.
Mar 27 1963: Bernard Labadie, conductor, born in Quebec, Canada.
Jun 07 1963: Roberto Alagna, tenor and opera performer, born in Clichy-sous-Bois, an eastern suburb of Paris, France.
Jun 13 1963: Sarah Connolly, soprano and opera performer, born in County Durham, England.
Jul 29 1963: Olga Borodina, mezzo-soprano and opera performer, born in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Jun 29 1963: Birth of violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter in Rheinfelden, Germainy.
Aug 21 1963: Vladimír Chmelo, baritone and opera performer, born in Liberec, Czechoslovakia.
Oct 11 1963: Edith Piaf, singer, died in Placassier, France, at the age of 47.
Nov 15 1963: Fritz Reiner, conductor, died in New York City, USA, at the age of 74.
Dec 28 1963: Paul Hindemith, conductor, composer and violinist, died in Frankfurt, Germany, at the age of 68.
Jan 22 1964: Pietro Spagnoli, baritone and opera performer, born in Rome, Italy.
Mar 02 1964: Justin Brown, conductor and pianist, born in London, England.
Mar 05 1964: World première performance of Malcolm Forsyth's Jubilee Overture, by the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra conducted by Arthur Fiedler, at the City Hall in Cape Town, South Africa. The Cape Town Symphony Orchestra commissioned the work in honour of their 50th anniversary celebrations.
Apr 10 1964: Last public concert performance by pianist Glenn Gould in Los Angeles, California. For the rest of his career, he concentrated on making recordings.
Jul 01 1964: Pierre Monteux, conductor, died in Hancock, Maine, USA, at the age of 89.
Sep 04 1964: René Pape, bass and opera performer, born in Dresden, Germany.
Oct 19 1964: Release of Simon and Garfunkel's first album Wednesday Morning 3AM.
Nov 28 1964: Guitarist Jesse Cook born in Paris, France.
Dec 09 1964: Birth of William Eddins, conductor and pianist, in Buffalo, New York.
Dec 25 1964: Ian Bostridge, tenor, born in London, England.
Jan 23 1965: Michael Schade, Canadian-based tenor, born in Geneva, Switzerland.
Feb 12 1965: Michele Pertusi, bass, born in Parma, Italy.
Apr 16 1965: Natalie Dessay, soprano and opera performer, born in Lyons, France.
Jun 03 1965: Peter Mattei, baritone and opera performer, born in Piteå, Sweden.
Jul 19 1965: Russell Braun, Canadian-based baritone, born in Frankfurt, Germany.
Aug 10 1965: Birth of Toumani Diabaté, kora player, in Mali.
Aug 19 1965: Johan Botha, tenor and opera performer, born in Rustenburg, South Africa.
Aug 30 1965: Release of Bob Dylan's influential album Highway 61 Revisited.
Sep 07 1965: Angela Gheorghiu, soprano and opera performer, born in Adjud, Romania.
Nov 09 1965: Bryn Terfel, bass-baritone, born in Pantglas, Gwynedd, Wales.
Jan 17 1966: Release of Simon and Garfunkel's second album Sounds of Silence.
Mar 12 1966: Birth of David Daniels, countertenor and opera performer, in Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA.
Apr 08 1966: Birth of John Estacio, composer, in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada.
Apr 11 1966: First public opera performance at the newly-completed Metropolitan Opera House in New York, USA. It was a performance of Giacomo Puccini's opera La Fanciulla del West.
May 16 1966: Release of Bob Dylan's double album Blonde on Blonde.
Jun 04 1966: Cecelia Bartoli, mezzo-soprano and opera performer, born in Rome, Italy.
Jun 13 1966: Alain Trudel, trombone player and conductor, born in Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Jul 30 1966: Richard Bernstein, bass and opera performer, born in Brooklyn, New York, USA.
Sep 16 1966: Opening ceremony for the Metropolitan Opera House, part of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, in Manhattan, New York, USA.
Oct 10 1966: Release of Simon and Garfunkel's third album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.
Dec 28 1966: Birth of Piotr Beczala, tenor and opera performer, in Czechowice-Dziedzice, Poland.
Jan 31 1967: Shauna Rolston, cellist, born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Mar 06 1967: Zoltán Kodály, composer and ethnomusicologist, died in Budapest, Hungary, at the age of 84.
Apr 19 1967: Barbara Frittoli, soprano and opera performer, born in Milan, Italy.
Oct 03 1967: Sir Malcolm Sargent, known principally as a conductor, died in London, England, at the age of 72.
Nov 10 1967: Birth of Andreas Scholl, countertenor and opera performer, in Eltville, Germany.
Nov 11 1967: Release of the Moody Blues' album Days of Future Passed.
Nov 23 1967: Death of Otto Erich Deutsch, musicologist and music historian, in Vienna, Austria, at the age of 84. Deutsch is especially known for his work on establishing the chronologies of works by Mozart, Handel, and particularly Schubert.
Dec 27 1967: Release of Leonard Cohen's first studio album Songs of Leonard Cohen.
Feb 16 1968: Death of Healey Willan, organist and composer best known for church choral music, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, at the age of 87.
Feb 24 1968: Birth of Zeljko Lucic, baritone and opera performer, in Zrenjanin, Serbia.
Apr 03 1968: Release of Simon and Garfunkel's fourth album Bookends.
May 10 1968: Alice Coote, mezzo-soprano and opera performer, born in Frodsham, Cheshire, England.
Jun 02 1968: André Mathieu, pianist and composer, died in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, at the age of 39.
Jul 26 1968: Release of the Moody Blues' album In Search of the Lost Chord.
Nov 06 1968: Death of Charles Münch, conductor best known for his association with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, in Richmond, Virginia, USA, at the age of 67.
Jan 17 1969: Composer and violinist Grazyna Bacewicz died in Warsaw, Poland,at the age of 59.
Feb 13 1969: Joyce DiDonato, soprano and opera performer, born in Prairie Village, Kansas, USA.
Mar 13 1969: Susanna Mälkki, conductor, norn in Helsinki, Finland.
Apr 11 1969: Sondra Radvanovsky, soprano and opera performer, born in Berwyn, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Jul 07 1969: Paulo Szot, baritone and opera performer, born in São Paulo, Brazil.
Jul 10 1969: Jonas Kaufmann, tenor and opera performer, born in Munich, Germany.
Aug 01 1969: Franco Vassallo, baritone and opera performer, born in Milan, Italy.
Aug 12 1969: Tanita Tikaram, singer-songwriter, born in Münster, Germany.
Jan 06 1970: Hibla Gersmava, soprano and opera performer, born in Pitsunda, Abkhazia.
Jan 26 1970: Release of Simon and Garfunkel's fifth and final album Bridge Over Troubled Water.
Jan 27 1970: Emmanuel Pahud, flautist, born in Geneva, Switzerland.
Apr 26 1970: Soprano and opera performer Eva-Maria Westbroek born in The Netherlands.
Jul 11 1970: Eric Owens, bass-baritone and opera performer, born in Philadelphia, USA.
Jul 29 1970: Sir John Barbirolli, conductor especially associated with the Hallê Orchestra, died in London, England, at the age of 70.
Jul 30 1970: George Szell, conductor best known for his association with the Cleveland Orchestra, died in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, at the age of 73.
Sep 19 1970: Release of Neil Young's album After the Goldrush.
Feb 19 1971: Gil Shaham, classical violinist, born in Urbana, Illinois, USA.
Mar 01 1971: Thomas Adès, composer and conductor, born in London, England.
Mar 19 1971: Release of Jethro Tull's album Aqualung.
Apr 06 1971: Igor Stravinsky, composer, died in New York, USA, at the age of 88.
May 31 1971: Birth of Diana Damrau, soprano and opera performer, in Günzburg, Bavaria, Germany.
Sep 18 1971: Anna Netrebko, soprano and opera performer, born in Krasnodar, Russia.
Oct 25 1971: Midori Goto, violinist, born in Osaka, Japan.
Nov 04 1971: First time that tenor Plácido Domingo and conductor James Levine performed together at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. The work performed was Luisa Miller by Guiseppe Verdi. Their artistic partnership continued for more than 300 performances spanning more than 45 years (so far - 2017).
Dec 14 1971: Riccardo Frizza, conductor, born in Brescia, Italy.
Feb 01 1972: Release of Neil Young's album Harvest.
Feb 17 1972: Luciano Pavarotti's performance as Tonio in Donizetti's opera La Fille du Regiment (Daughter of the Regiment) at the Metropolitan Opera in New York is credited with propelling him to stardom.
Feb 22 1972: Rolando Villazon, tenor, born in Mexico City.
Mar 11 1972: Release of Harry Chapin's album Heads and Tales.
Apr 04 1972: Vladimir Jurowski, conductor, born in Moscow, Russia.
Jun 06 1972: Release of David Bowie's album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.
Jun 18 1972: Anu Tali, conductor, born in Tallinn, Estonia.
Oct 20 1972: Stephan Moccio, pianist and recording artist, born in St Catharines, Ontario, Canada.
Nov 04 1972: Mariusz Kwiecien, baritone and opera performer, born in Kraków, Poland.
Jan 13 1973: Juan Diego Flórez, opera performer and tenor, born in Lima, Peru.
Mar 26 1973: Sir Noël Coward, playwright, composer, and actor, died in Jamaica, at the age of 73.
Apr 07 1973: Nicole Lizée, composer, born in Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan, Canada.
May 26 1973: Magdalena Kozená, mezzo-soprano, born in Brno, Czech Republic.
Jul 06 1973: Otto Klemperer, conductor, died in Zürich, Switzerland, at the age of 88.
Oct 22 1973: Pablo Casals, cellist, died in San Juan, Puerto Rico, at the age of 96.
Nov 01 1973: Release of Roxy Music's album Stranded.
Nov 11 1973: Marius Brenciu, tenor and opera performer, born in Brasov, Romania.
Dec 07 1973: Release of the album Band on the Run by Paul McCartney and Wings.
Jan 11 1974: Guiseppe Filianoti, tenor and opera performer, born in Reggio Calabria, Italy.
Jan 17 1974: Release of Bob Dylan's album Planet Waves.
Jun 22 1974: Darius Milhaud, composer, died in Geneva, Switzerland, at the age 81.
Oct 24 1974: David Oistrakh, violinist, died in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, at the age of 66.
Nov 15 1974: Release of Roxy Music's album Country Life.
Jan 17 1975: Release of Bob Dylan's album Blood on the Tracks.
Mar 06 1975: Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin born in Montreal, Québec, Canada.
Mar 27 1975: Sir Arthur Bliss, composer, died in London, England, at the age of 83.
May 27 1975: Release of the album Venus and Mars by Paul McCartney and Wings.
Jun 08 1975: Lica Pisaroni, bass-baritone and opera performer, born in Cuidad Bolívar, Venezuela.
Jun 26 1975: Aleksandrs Atonenko, tenor and opera performer. born in Latvia.
Aug 13 1975: Elchin Azizov, baritone and opera performer, born in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Oct 09 1975: Alain Altinoglu, conductor, born in Paris, France.
Oct 24 1975: Release of Roxy Music's album Siren.
Nov 25 1975: David Bizic, baritone, born in Belgrade, Serbia.
Dec 29 1975: Mikhail Petrenko, bass and opera performer, born in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Jan 05 1976: Release of Bob Dylan's album Desire.
Jan 27 1976: James Ehnes, violinist, born in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada.
Jan 30 1976: Daniel Okulitch, bass-baritone and opera performer, born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Mar 26 1976: Javier Camarena, tenor and opera performer, born in Xalapa, Mexico.
Apr 16 1976: Kelli O'Hara, singer and actor, born in Elk City, Oklahoma, USA.
Aug 06 1976: Gregor Piatigorsky, cellist, died in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 73.
Sep 16 1976: Elina Garanca, mezzo-soprano and opera performer, born in Riga, Latvia.
Sep 25 1976: Günther Groissböck, bass and opera performer, born in Waidhofen an der Ybbs, Austria, Latvia.
Sep 28 1976: Julian Kuerti, conductor, born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Oct 21 1976: Josh Ritter, singer-songwriter, born in Moscow, Idaho, USA.
Dec 04 1976: Benjamin Britten, composer, died in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, England, UK, at the age of 63.
Feb 19 1977: Vittorio Grigolo, tenor and opera performer, born in Arezzo, Italy.
Jun 28 1977: Measha Brueggergosman, soprano, born in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada.
Sep 13 1977: Leopold Stokowski, conductor, died in Nether Wallop, Hampshire, England, at the age of 95.
Dec 09 1977: Yi-Jia Susanne Hou, violinist, born in Shanghai, China.
Jan 22 1978: Joseph Calleja, tenor and opera performer, born in Attard, Malta.
Apr 21 1978: Death of folk singer and songwriter Sandy Denny in Wimbledon, London, England, at the age of 31.
May 04 1978: Matthew Rose, bass and opera performer, born in Brighton, Sussex, England.
Aug 02 1978: Carlos Chávez, composer and conductor, died in Mexico City, Mexico, at the age of 69.
Sep 01 1978: Release of Bryan Ferry's album The Bride Stripped Bare.
Nov 18 1978: Andris Nelsons, conductor, born in Riga, Latvia.
Nov 21 1978: Julie Boulianne, mezzo-soprano and opera performer, born in Dolbeau-Mistassini, Québec, Canada.
Mar 30 1979: Actor and singer-songwriter Norah Jones born in Brooklyn, New York, USA.
Apr 11 1979: Danielle De Niese, soprano and opera performer, born in Melbourne, Australia.
Aug 08 1979: Bryan Hymel, tenor and opera performer, born in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA .
Sep 16 1979: Iestyn Davies, countertenor and opera performer, born in the UK.
Oct 22 1979: Nadia Boulanger, musician and influential teacher, died in Paris, France, at the age of 91.
Nov 12 1979: Kristine Opolais, soprano and opera performer, born in Rezekne, Latgalia, Latvia.
Jan 29 1980: Birth of Peter Meechan, composer, in Nuneaton, England.
Aug 20 1980: Release of Al Stewart's album 24 Carrots.
Oct 11 1980: Erin Morley, soprano and opera performer, born in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
Oct 17 1980: Release of Dire Straits' album Making Movies.
Oct 27 1980: Missy Mazzoli, composer and pianist, born in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, USA.
Jan 23 1981: Samuel Barber, composer, died in New York, USA, at the age of 70.
Jun 01 1981: Brandi Carlile, singer-songwriter, born in Ravensdale, Washington, USA.
Jul 16 1981: Death of Harry Chapin, singer-songwriter, in Jericho, Long Island, New York, USA, at the age of 28.
Sep 09 1981: Ewan Dobson, guitarist, born in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada.
Oct 17 1981: Jamie Barton, mezzo-soprano and opera performer, born in Rome, Georgia, USA.
Oct 21 1981: Release of Al Stewart's album Indian Summer.
Dec 25 1981: Sonya Yoncheva, soprano and opera performer, born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
Feb 26 1982: World première performance of Grand Pianola Music, composed by John Adams, in San Francisco, USA.
Mar 29 1982: Carl Orff, composer, died in Munich, Germany, at the age of 86.
May 08 1982: Anthony Roth Costanzo, counter-tenor, born in USA.
Sep 16 1982: Release of Dire Straits' album Love Over Gold.
Oct 04 1982: Glenn Gould, pianist, died in Toronto, Ontario, at the age of 50.
Dec 20 1982: Arthur Rubinstein, pianist, died in Geneva, Switzerland, at the age of 95.
Feb 22 1983: Sir Adrian Boult, conductor, died in Farnham, England, at the age of 93.
Feb 23 1983: Death of Herbert Howells, composer, in Putney, London, England, at the age of 90.
Mar 08 1983: William Walton, composer, died in Ischia, Italy, at the age of 80.
Apr 30 1983: George Balanchine, choreographer, died in New York City, USA, at the age of 79.
Jun 02 1983: Stan Rogers, folk singer-songwriter, died in an airplane fire at Cincinnati airport, Hebron, Kentucky, USA, at the age of 33.
Jul 23 1983: Georges Auric, composer, died in Paris, France, at the age of 83.
Sep 29 1983: Lisette Oropesa, soprano and opera performer, born in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
Mar 05 1984: Tito Gobbi, baritone and opera performer, died in Rome, Italy, at the age of 70.
Mar 20 1984: Birth of Shenyang, bass-baritone and opera performer, in Tiajin, China.
Mar 28 1984: Carmen Dragon, composer, conductor and arranger, died in Los Angeles, California, USA, at the age of 69.
Apr 13 1984: Basia Bulat, singer-songwriter, born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
May 08 1984: Michael Fabiano, tenor and opera performer, born in Montclair, New Jersey, USA.
Oct 20 1984: Amanda Majeski, soprano and opera performer, born in Gurnee, Illinois, USA.
Nov 16 1984: Release of Tina Turner's album Private Dancer.
Nov 24 1984: Death of Godfrey Ridout, music teacher and composer, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, at the age of 66.
Dec 11 1984: Release of Leonard Cohen's seventh studio album, Various Positions. The album includes the song Hallelujah.
Jan 19 1985: World première performance of Arvo Pärt's Te Deum, sung by the WDR Broadcast Choir, conducted by Dennis Russell Davies, in Cologne, Germany. The piece was commissioned by WDR (Westdeutscher Rundfunk Radio).
Mar 12 1985: Eugene Ormandy, violinist and conductor best known for his association with the Philadelphia Orchestra, died in Philadelphia, USA, at the age of 85.
May 04 1985: Adam Plachetka, bass-baritone and opera performer, born in Prague, Czech Republic.
May 13 1985: Release of Dire Straits' album Brothers in Arms.
Jun 03 1985: Release of Bryan Ferry's album Boys and Girls.
Jul 19 1985: Serena Malfi, mezzo-soprano and opera performer, born in Pomigliano d'Arco, Italy.
Apr 01 1986: Ryan Speedo Green, bass-baritone and opera performer, born in Suffolk, Virginia, USA.
May 10 1986: World première performance of Old and Lost Rivers, composed by Tobias Picker, by the Houston Symphony Orchestra, which commissioned the work.
Jun 13 1986: Benny Goodman, clarinettist and band leader, died in New York City, USA, at the age of 77.
Jun 16 1986: Death of Maurice Duruflé, composer and organist, in Louveciennes, near Paris, northern France.
Aug 12 1986: Release of Paul Simon's album Graceland.
Oct 31 1986: World première performance of George Lloyd's Symphony No. 11, performed by the Albany Symphony Orchestra, which commissioned the work, in Troy, New York, conducted by the composer.
Nov 06 1986: World première performance of Luciano Berio's arrangement of Johannes Brahms' Clarinet Sonata No. 1 in F minor. The performance took place in Los Angeles.
Mar 13 1987: Gerald Moore, pianist and accompanist, died in England, at the age of 87.
Jun 03 1987: Andrés Segovia, classical guitarist, died in Madrid, Spain, at the age of 94.
Jul 05 1987: World première performance of Eis Thanaton, music composed by John Tavener in memory of his mother. The work was performed by the English Touring Opera with Alison Gough and Stephen Richardson as the soloists, conducted by Simon Halsey, at the Cheltenham Festival.
Jul 20 1987: Nicola Benedetti, violinist, born in West Kilbride, North Ayrshire, Scotland.
Oct 19 1987: Jacqueline du Pré, cellist, died in London, England, UK, at the age of 42.
Oct 22 1987: World première performance of John Adams's opera Nixon in China, at the Houston Grand Opera, Texas, USA, the company that commissioned the work.
Oct 29 1987: Woody Herman, instrumentalist and big band leader, died in Los Angeles, California, USA, at the age of 74.
Nov 02 1987: Release of Bryan Ferry's album Bête Noir.
Dec 10 1987: Jascha Heifetz, violinist, died in Los Angeles, California, USA, at the age of 86.
May 05 1988: Adele Adkins, singer-songwriter, born in Tottenham, London, England.
May 12 1988: Marcell de Manziarly, pianist and composer, died in Ojai, California, USA, at the age of 88.
Sep 13 1988: Birth of pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii in Japan.
Sep 19 1988: Release of Enya's album Watermark.
Nov 13 1988: Antal Doráti, conductor, died in Gerzensee, Switzerland, at the age of 82.
Jan 21 1989: Nareh Arghamanyan, concert pianist, born in Armenia.
Jan 31 1989: Birth of violinist Nikki Chooi in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
Jul 16 1989: Herbert von Karajan, conductor best known for his association with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, died in Salzburg, Austria, at the age of 81.
Jul 17 1989: Concert pianist Charles Richard-Hamelin born in Lanaudière, Quèbec, Canada.
Nov 05 1989: Vladimir Horowitz, pianist, died in New York, at the age of 76.
Nov 25 1989: Benjamin Beilman, violinist, born in Washington, DC, USA.
Jul 07 1990: First Three Tenors concert, with Plácido Domingo, José Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti, conducted by Zubin Mehta, held at the Baths of Caracalla in Rome, Italy.
Aug 19 1990: Composer and pianist Leonard Bernstein conducted his last concert, held at Tanglewood, Massachusetts, with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Already ill, he died only two months later.
Oct 14 1990: Composer and pianist Leonard Bernstein died in Manhattan, New York, USA, at the age of 72.
Oct 16 1990: Release of Paul Simon's album The Rhythm of the Saints.
Dec 02 1990: Aaron Copland, composer, died in North Tarrytown, New York, USA, at the age of 90.
May 08 1991: Rudolf Serkin, pianist, died Guilford, Vermont, USA, at the age of 88.
Jun 09 1991: Claudio Arrau, pianist, died in Mürzzuschlag, Austria, at the age of 88.
Sep 10 1991: Release of Dire Straits' album On Every Street.
Nov 04 1991: Release of Enya's album Shepherd Moons.
Feb 06 1992: World première performance of Funeral Music for Queen Mary (after Henry Purcell) transcribed by composer Steven Stucky and played by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra in Los Angeles, California, USA.
Jul 08 1992: Pianist Benjamin Grosvenor born in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England.
Jul 18 1992: World première performance of We Shall See Him as He is, a choral work by John Tavener, in Chester Cathedral, Cheshire. This work was commissioned by Cheshire County Council to commemorate the 900th anniversary of the Cathedral.
Nov 24 1992: Release of The Future, Leonard Cohen's ninth studio album.
Apr 08 1993: Marian Anderson, African-American contralto and recitalist, died in Portland, Oregon, USA, at the age of 96.
Nov 03 1993: Léon Theremin, inventor of the eponymous instrument, died in Moscow, Russia, at the age of 97.
Apr 07 1994: Concert at the Vatican, attended by Pope John Paul II, in commemoration of the Holocaust, the first time the Vatican had commemorated this occurrence. The concert included the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with Lynn Harrell, cellist, as a soloist.
Apr 13 1994: World première performance of Spirit Trail by Allan Gordon Bell. The work was performed in Ottawa by the National Arts Centre Orchestra, which commissioned the piece, and was conducted by Mario Bernardi.
May 03 1994: World première performance of Theophany by John Tavener. The work was performed by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra conducted by Richard Hickox and formed part of the inaugural concert at the Anvil Concert Hall, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England.
Jun 11 1994: Conrad Tao, pianist and composer, born in Urbana, Illinois, USA.
Apr 13 1995: World première performance of The Five Sacred Trees, Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra, composed by John Williams, with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. The soloist was Judith LeClair, for whom the piece was written.
Sep 26 1995: Release of Tempest, guitarist Jesse Cook's first studio album.
Dec 25 1995: Nicolas Slonimsky, musician and conductor best known for the Lexicon of Musical Invective, died in Los Angeles, California, USA, at the age of 101.
Feb 20 1996: Toru Takemitsu, composer, died in Tokyo, Japan, at the age of 65.
Feb 21 1996: Morton Gould, composer, conductor, and pianist, died in Orlando, Florida, USA, at the age of 83.
Sep 24 1996: Release of Jesse Cook's second studio album Gravity.
Jul 04 1997: World première performance of Tan Dun's Symphony 1997, performed by the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. This commissioned work was written to commemorate the reunification of Hong Kong with China.
Aug 01 1997: Sviatoslav Richter, pianist, died at his home near Moscow, Russia, at the age of 82.
Sep 05 1997: Georg Solti, conductor, died in Antibes, France, at the age of 84.
Sep 13 1997: Grand opening of the Francis Winspear Centre for Music in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The festivities featured the world première performance of John Estacio's Triple Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano, a work commissioned by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra specifically for this event.
Oct 14 1997: World première performance of Paul McCartney's orchestral work Spiral at the Royal Albert Hall, London, by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Lawrence Foster.
Nov 26 1997: World première performance of John Corigliano's Red Violin: Chaconne for Violin and Orchestra, by the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, with Joshua Bell as the soloist and Robert Spano conducting, in San Francisco, California.
Dec 01 1997: Stéphane Grappelli, jazz violinist, died in Paris, France, at the age of 89.
Dec 11 1997: Simon Jeffes, musician and founder of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra, died in England, at the age of 48.
Jan 08 1998: Sir Michael Tippett, composer, died in London, England, at the age of 93.
Jun 16 1998: Release of Vertigo, guitarist Jesse Cook's third studio album.
Jul 03 1998: George Lloyd, composer, died in London, England, at the end of 85.
Mar 12 1999: Yehudi Menuhin, violinist, died in Berlin, Germany, at the age of 82.
May 08 1999: Marek Jablonski, concert pianist, died in Edmonton, Alberta, at the age of 59.
Jul 06 1999: Joaquín Rodrigo, composer and pianist, died in Madrid, Spain, at the age of 97.
Jan 25 2000: Release of an album of Georges Bizet's music, comprising Symphony in C and L'Arlesienne Suite No. 1, and L'Arlesienne Suite No. 2, conducted by Sir Neville Marriner and played by the Academy of St. Martin's in the Fields.
Feb 21 2000: Violet Archer, composer and music teacher, died in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, at the age of 86.
Jun 21 2000: Alan Hovhaness, composer, died in Seattle, USA, at the age of 89.
Aug 15 2000: World première performance of Kaija Saariaho's opera L'Amour de Loin at the Salzburg Festival, Austria.
Sep 26 2000: Release of Mark Knopfler's album Sailing to Philadelphia.
Sep 26 2000: Release of Free Fall, guitarist Jesse Cook's fourth studio album.
Sep 30 2000: First performance of Tan Dun's Crouching Tiger Concerto, with cello as the solo instrument, at the Barbican Centre Festival in London, England.
Nov 21 2000: Release of Enya's album A Day Without Rain.
Sep 11 2001: The partly-completed Davis concert organ was unveiled at the Winspear Centre, Edmonton, accompanied by a musical ceremony.
Oct 09 2001: Release of Leonard Cohen's tenth album Ten New Songs.
Oct 19 2001: First performance of Tan Dun's Crouching Tiger Concerto for Erhu and Orchestra, by the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, with Karen Hwa-Chee Han as the soloist, and Tan Dun conducting, at the Irvine Barclay Theatre, Irvine, California.
Mar 22 2002: World première performance of Malcolm Forsyth's orchestra work Requiem for the victims in a wartorn world, by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, for whom the work was written, conducted by Gregorz Nowak.
Mar 24 2002: Beverly Bower, soprano and opera performer who sang in the first performance at the new Metropolitan Opera House, died in Washington Township, New Jersey, USA, at the age of 76.
May 06 2006: Murray Adaskin, composer, died in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, at the age of 96.
Sep 14 2002: Inaugural performance of the Davis concert organ at the Winspear Centre, Edmonton.
Sep 21 2002: World première performance of Roberto Sierra's guitar concerto Folias, with Manuel Barrueco, for whom the work was written, as the soloist.
Sep 25 2002: World première performance of the revised version of Steps to Ecstasy by Marjan Mozetich. The work was performed by Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, for whom the work was written, in Toronto, Ontario.
Sep 02 2003: Release of Nomad, guitarist Jesse Cook's fifth studio album.
Sep 26 2003: World première performance of Allan Gilliland's orchestral work Dreaming of the Masters, a Jazz Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The soloist was clarinettist James Campbell.
Feb 10 2004: World première performance of Thomas Adès's opera The Tempest, at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London. The opera is based on Shakespeare's play of the same name
Jul 27 2004: Release of k.d. lang's album Hymns of the 49th Parallel.
Oct 12 2004: Release of The Lost Christmas Eve by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
Oct 26 2004: Release of Dear Heather, Leonard Cohen's eleventh album.
Nov 02 2004: Release of Jack Semple's blues guitar album Qu'Appelle.
Dec 21 2004: Release of Jesse Cook's live album Montréal.
Jan 15 2005: Victoria de los Ángeles, soprano and opera performer, died in Barcelona, Spain, at the age of 81.
Feb 09 2005: Release of Montreal, guitarist Jesse Cook's first live album.
Jun 14 2005: Carlo Maria Giulini, conductor, died in Brescia, Italy, at the age of 91.
Oct 01 2005: World première performance of John Adams' opera Doctor Atomic, at the San Francisco Opera, conducted by Donald Runnicles.
Nov 22 2005: Release of Enya's album Amarantine.
Mar 07 2006: Death of Ali Farka Touré, guitarist, in Bamako, Mali, at the age of 66.
Mar 18 2006: Dan Gibson, sound recordist, died in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, at the age of 84.
Jun 12 2006: György Ligeti, composer, died in Vienna, Austria, at the age of 83.
Aug 03 2006: Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, soprano and opera performer, died in the village of Schruns, Austria, at the age of 90.
Sep 29 2006: World première performance of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg - Orchestral Tribute in Moscow, Russia.
Dec 21 2006: World première performance of Tan Dun's opera The First Emperor from the Metropolitan Opera, New York.
Dec 25 2006: Violinist Yi-Jia Susanne Hou performed in Shanghai, China, with her father Alec Hou conducting.
Dec 30 2006: First HD live performance broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera, New York. The broadcast was of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute). This initiative has been credited with bringing a new audience to opera.
Apr 03 2007: Release of Jesse Cook's album Frontiers.
Apr 27 2007: Mstislav Rostropovich, cellist, died in Moscow, Russia, at the age of 80.
Jun 13 2007: Oskar Morawetz, composer, died in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, at the age of 90.
Jul 02 2007: Beverly Sills, soprano and opera singer, died in Manhattan, USA, at the age of 78.
Aug 15 2007: Richard Bradshaw, conductor and opera director, died in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, at the age of 63.
Aug 17 2007: Release of Ah! mio cor, an album of Handel arias sung by mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kozená.
Sep 06 2007: Luciano Pavarotti, tenor, died in Modena, Italy, at the age of 71.
Sep 17 2007: Release of Mark Knopfler's album Kill To Get Crimson.
Dec 23 2007: Oscar Peterson, jazz pianist, died in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, at the age of 82.
Jan 28 2008: Release of Adele's album 19.
Feb 05 2008: Release of k.d. lang's album Watershed.
Feb 09 2008: Release of pianist Stephan Moccio's album Exposure.
Mar 18 2008: Release of Frontiers, guitarist Jesse Cook's sixth studio album.
Sep 27 2008: World première performance of Howard Shore's Fanfare for Organ, Brass and Percussion, at Macy's Department Store, Philadelphia.
Nov 23 2008: Richard Hickox, conductor, died in Swansea, Wales, at the age of 60.
Jan 09 2009: World première performance of Arvo Pärt's Symphony No 4 Los Angeles in Los Angeles, USA, by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, who had commissioned the work, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen.
Jan 31 2009: World première performance of the band version of Apophenia composed by Peter Meechan in Manchester, England.
Mar 03 2009: Release of In Principio, music by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt.
Mar 30 2009: World première performance of Triptych, composed by John Estacio for the Victoria Symphony Orchestra, in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
Mar 31 2009: Release of Live in London, Leonard Cohen's fourth live album.
Apr 28 2009: Release of Bob Dylan's album Together Through Life.
Jun 27 2009: Death of Jackie Washington, blues musician, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, at the age of 89.
Sep 29 2009: Release of The Rumba Foundation, guitarist Jesse Cook's seventh studio album.
Oct 27 2009: Release of Night Castle by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
Oct 27 2009: Release of Diminuito, an album of 16th century music recorded by an ensemble led by lutenist Rolf Lislevand.
Dec 24 2009: Tim Hart, folk singer, musician, and founding member of the folk-rock group Steeleye Span, died in La Gomera, Canary Islands, at the age of 61.
Jan 18 2010: Singer-songwriter Kate McGarrigle died in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, at the age of 63.
Jan 19 2010: Release of Angélique Kidjo's album Oyo.
Jan 23 2010: Pianist Earl Wild died in Palm Springs, California, USA, at the age of 94.
Feb 09 2010: Death of Jacques Hétu, composer, in Saint-Hippolyte, Quebec, Canada, at the age of 71.
Feb 23 2010: Release of Ali and Toumani, an album of music by Malian musicians Ali Farka Touré and Toumani Diabaté.
Mar 06 2010: Philip Langridge, tenor and opera performer, died in England at the age of 70.
Apr 17 2010: Release of Josh Ritter's album So Runs the World Away.
Jun 08 2010: Release of Renee Fleming's cross-over album Dark Hope.
Jun 16 2010: Maureen Forrester, contralto, died in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, at the age of 79.
Sep 17 2010: World première performance of Dreaming of the Masters III by Allan Gilliland, played by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, who commissioned the work, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Jens Lindemann was the trumpet soloist.
Oct 10 2010: Joan Sutherland, mezzo-soprano and opera performer, died in Switzerland, at the age of 83.
Oct 25 2010: Release of Bryan Ferry's studio album Olympia.
Nov 02 2010: Release of pianist Stephan Moccio's album Color.
Nov 12 2010: World première performance of the completed work of Borealis by John Estacio, played by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Nov 12 2010: Henryk Górecki, composer, died in Katowice, Poland, at the age of 76.
Dec 06 2010: Hugues Cuénod, tenor, recitalist and opera performer, died in Vevey, Switzerland, at the age of 108.
Jan 24 2011: Release of Adele's album 21.
Feb 16 2011: Publication of Danzon No. 4 by composer Arturo Márquez.
Apr 08 2011: Release of Paul Simon's album So Beautiful or So What.
May 14 2011: World première performance of Marjan Mozetich's Procession of Duos by the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Michael Christie, in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. The piece was commissioned by the symphony's Commissioning Club.
Jul 05 2011: Malcolm Forsyth, composer, died in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, at the age of 74.
Jul 27 2011: World première performance of Robert Rival's orchestral work entitled Scherzo by the National Academy Orchestra in Hamilton, Ontario, as part of the Brott Music Festival.
Sep 06 2011: Fabio Luisi appointed Principal Conductor of the Metropolitan Opera, New York.
Sep 26 2011: New York's Metropolitan Opera's season opened with Gaetano Donizetti's Anna Bolena, the first time the company had presented this opera.
Oct 05 2011: Death of Bert Jansch, guitarist, folk musician and member of Pentangle, in Hampstead, London, UK, at the age of 67.
Nov 09 2011: World première performance of Brio: Toccata and Fantasy for Orchestra, composed by John Estacio. It was performed by the National Arts Centre Orchestra, who commissioned the piece, in Ottawa, and was conducted by Julian Kuerti
Nov 11 2011: World première performance of the orchestral version of Apophenia, composed by Peter Meechan. The performance was given in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, conducted by William Eddins, with Jens Lindemann as the trumpet soloist and the composer in attendance.
Nov 23 2011: Montserrat Figueras, soprano and specialist in Early Music, died in Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain, at the age of 69.
Jan 31 2012: Release of Leonard Cohen's twelfth studio album Old Ideas.
Feb 17 2012: World première performance of Edgar Meyer's Double Bass Concerto No. 3 by the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. The work featured the composer as soloist and was conducted by Justin Brown. The piece was co-commissioned by the Alabama Symphony and the Sioux City Symphony.
Feb 16 2012: Ethel Stark, violinist and conductor best known for her association with the Montreal Women's Symphony Orchestra, died in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, at the age of 101.
Feb 21 2012: Release of Josh Ritter's EP entitled Bringing in the Darlings.
Apr 14 2012: Second performance of Edgar Meyer's Double Bass Concerto No. 3 by the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra, with the composer as soloist. The piece was co-commissioned by the Alabama Symphony and the Sioux City Symphony.
May 04 2012: World première performance of Lullaby, an orchestral work composed by Robert Rival, and commissioned by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. The performance was given in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, conducted by William Eddins, with the composer in attendance.
May 14 2012: Singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen awarded the Glenn Gould Prize, for lifetime contribution to the arts, at a gala event at Massey Hall, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He donated the prize money ($50,000) to the Canada Council for the Arts.
Apr 27 2012: Release of Norah Jones's album Little Broken Hearts.
May 08 2012: The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra performed at Carnegie Hall, New York, as part of the second annual Spring for Music Festival.
May 18 2012: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone, died in Berg, Germany, at the age of 86.
Jun 05 2012: Release of Bear Creek, singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile's fourth studio album.
Aug 31 2012: Release of Privateering, the seventh solo album by Mark Knopfler.
Sep 09 2012: World première performance of Fantasy and Fugue on a Theme by Goudimel by Rachel Laurin, a work for duo organists, played by Duo Majoya (Marnie Giesbrech and Joachim Segger) who commissioned the piece. The performance took place at the Winspear Centre, Edmonton, Alberta, and featured the Davis concert organ in its 10th anniversary concert.
Sep 10 2012: Release of Bob Dylan's thirty-fifth studio album, Tempest.
Sep 25 2012: Release of The Blue Guitar Sessions, Jesse Cook's eighth studio album.
Oct 09 2012: Release of pianist Angela Hewitt's album of piano works by Claude Debussy.
Oct 30 2012: Release of Dreams of Fireflies, a five-song EP by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
Dec 05 2012: Dave Brubeck, jazz pianist and composer, died in Norwalk, Connecticut, USA, one day before his 92nd birthday.
Dec 11 2012: Ravi Shankar, sitar player, died in San Diego, California, USA, at the age of 92.
Dec 19 2012: Paul Simon plays and sings 'The Sound of Silence' at the funeral of Victoria Soto, one of the teachers killed in a horrific massacre at a school in Connecticut, USA, on December 14 2012.
Dec 24 2012: Death of Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, composer, in New York, USA, at the age of 76.
Dec 31 2012: Debut performance of Gaetano Donizetti's opera Maria Stuarda by the Metropolitan Opera, New York.
Jan 15 2013: Yuli Turovsky, cellist and conductor, died in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, at the age of 73. He is best known as the founder and leader of I Musici de Montréal Chamber Orchestra.
Jan 16 2013: Release of Dreamchaser, singer Sarah Brightman's eleventh studio album.
Feb 22 2013: World première performance of Robert Rival's Symphony No. 2 "Water". The performance was given in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, who commissioned the work, and was conducted by William Eddins. The composer was in attendance.
Feb 27 2013: Van Cliburn, pianist, died in Fort Worth, Texas, USA, at the age of 78.
Mar 05 2013: Release of The Beast in its Tracks, an album by singer-songwriter Josh Ritter.
Mar 20 2013: Risë Stevens, mezzo-soprano and opera performer, died in Manhattan, New York City, USA, at the age of 99.
Apr 11 2013: Queen Beatrix gives the title Koninklijk (Royal) to the Concertgebouw on the occasion of its 125th Anniversary.
Apr 14 2013: Sir Colin Davis, conductor, died in England, at the age of 85.
May 31 2013: World première performance of River Rouge Transfiguration, composed by Missy Mazzoli, by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
Jun 02 2013: Mario Bernardi, conductor, died in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, at the age of 82.
Jun 14 2013: The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra gives its first full orchestral performance of Igor Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, to celebrate the centenary of the original performance.
Sep 30 2013: Release of Tall Tall Shadow the third studio album by singer-songwriter Basia Bulat.
Nov 12 2013: John Tavener, composer, died in Child Okeford, Dorset, England, at the age of 69.
Nov 13 2013: Singer-songwiter Bob Dylan is awarded the Legion of Honour, France's highest award, in a ceremony in Paris.
Nov 15 2013: Canadian première performance of Edgar Meyer's Double Bass Concerto No. 3 by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, conducted by William Eddins. The performance took place in Edmonton and featured the composer as soloist.
Nov 27 2013: Violinist Yi-Jia Susanne Hou performed and recorded Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D major, Opus 61, with the London Symphony Orchestra. The performance was significant for two reasons. It was the work performed in concert by her father, Alec Hou, on the night she was born, and it was the last performance that she would give on the Kriesler Guaneri violin, on loan to her for the past four years under a Canada Council for the Arts Instrument Bank award.
Dec 06 2013: Press release announces that baritone Sir Thomas Allen is the recipient of The Queen's Medal for Music 2013.
Dec 10 2013: Pianist Alan Lefèvre performed André Mathieu's Piano Concerto No. 4 at a concert in Carnegie Hall, New York. The work was long believed lost but was reconstructed by Lèfevre and conductor Gilles Bellemare from a 1950 vinyl disc recording.
Dec 26 2013: Marta Eggerth, soprano and operetta performer, died in Rye, New York, at the age of 101.
Dec 29 2013: Wojciech Kilar, composer best known for film scores, died in Katowice, Poland, at the age of 81.
Jan 01 2014: Sir Simon Rattle is awarded the Order of Merit in the UK's New Year Honours List.
Jan 01 2014: Sir Peter Maxwell Davies is named a Companion of Honour in the UK's New Year Honours List.
Jan 20 2014: Claudio Abbado, conductor, died in Bologna, Italy, at the age of 80.
Jan 27 2014: Pete Seeger, folk singer, died in New York City, USA, at the age of 94.
Jan 27 2014: The Lipinski Stradivarius violin is stolen from Frank Almond, the concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, who had it on loan, in a violent armed robbery.
Feb 06 2014: The Lipinski Stradivarius violin is recovered undamaged from thieves in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. It was stolen from Frank Almond, the violinist who had it on loan, in an armed robbery a week earlier.
Mar 28 2014: Canadian première performance of Marjan Mozetich's Procession of Duos by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jean-Marie Zeitouni. The performance took place in Edmonton.
Apr 24 2014: Renowned Canadian tenor Ben Heppner announces his retirement from public performance.
Jul 21 2014: Buckingham Palace announces that Judith Weir will be appointed Master of the Queen's Music, effective July 23. This is the first time that a woman has been appointed to this post.
Jul 23 2014: Judith Weir takes up her appointment as Master of the Queen's Music. This is the first time that a woman has been appointed to this post.
Aug 01 2014: World première performance of Teddy Abrams's Overture in Sonata Form, by the Britt Festival Orchestra, in Jacksonville, Oregon, USA.
Oct 25 2014: James Levine gives his 2,500th performance with the Metropolitan Opera when conducting Mozart's opera The Marriage of Figaro.
Jan 29 2015: The Metropolitan Opera's first production of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's last opera Iolanta opens three days late because of a blizzard.
Mar 03 2015: Release of The Firewatcher's Daughter, singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile's fifth studio album.
Jul 10 2015: Jon Vickers, tenor and opera performer, died in Ontario, Canada, at the age of 88.
Nov 20 2015: Release of 25, Adele's third studio album.
Dec 19 2015: Kurt Masur, conductor, died in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA.
Jan 08 2016: David Bowie's last album Blackstar released on his 69th birthday, just two days before his death.
Jan 10 2016: Songwriter and performer David Bowie died in Manhattan, New York City, USA, at the age of 69.
Jun 29 2016: Death of Inocente Carreño, composer, at the age of 96.
Oct 02 2016: Sir Neville Marriner, best known as the founder and conductor of the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, died in London, England, at the age of 92.
Oct 13 2016: The Nobel Committee announces that Bob Dylan has been awarded the Nobel Prize in literature for "having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition".
Oct 21 2016: Release of You Want It Darker, the fourteenth and last studio album by Leonard Cohen, only a few weeks before his death.
Oct 29 2016: In a truly bizarre incident, opera fan Roger Kaiser scattered some ashes of an opera-loving friend into the orchestra pit during the second intermission of Guillaume Tell at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
Nov 07 2016: Leonard Cohen, poet and singer-songwriter, died in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 82.
Nov 22 2017: Dmitri Hvorostovsky, baritone, died in London, England, at the age of 55.
Dec 04 2017: The Metropolitan Opera severs ties with James Levine.
Jan 23 2018: Hugh Masekela, trumpeter and jazz musician, died in Johannesburg, South Africa, at the age of 78.
Jan 25 2018: Tommy Banks, musician, died in Edmonton, Alberta, at the age of 81.
Feb 28 2019: André Previn, pianist and conductor, died in New York City, USA, at the age of 89.
Jul 16 2019: Johnny Clegg, South Africa-based singer-songwriter, died in Johannesburg, South Africa, at the age of 66.
Sep 30 2019: Jessye Norman, soprano and opera performer, died in Manhattan, New York, USA, at the age of 74.
Dec 07 2019: Simon Streatfeild, conductor, died in Canada, at the age of 90.
Jun 18 2020: Dame Vera Lynn, popular singer, died in Ditchling, East Sussex, England, at the age of 103.
Mar 09 2021: James Levine, former conductor, died in Palm Springs, California, USA, at the age of 77.
May 01 2023: Gordon Lightfoot, folk singer-songwriter, died in Toronto, Ontario, at the age of 84, Canada.
May 24 2023: Tina Turner, singer, died in Küsnacht, Switzerland, at the age of 83.
Feb 06 2024: Seiji Ozawa, conductor, died in Tokyo, Japan, at th age of 88.
This is a purely idiosyncratic list. It includes information, factoids really, about composers and musicians, especially those whose work I have particularly enjoyed through the years. See also the concert diary.
This presentation has been compiled and is © 1998-2011 by
Alwynne B. Beaudoin (bluebulrush@gmail.com)
Last updated July 30, 2011
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