Year 1905 in Music History

Events in Music

Event of Interest

Jan 26 Arnold Schoenberg's "Pelleas und Melissande" premieres in Vienna

Composer and Painter Arnold Schoenberg — Composer and Painter
Arnold Schoenberg

Event of Interest

Mar 13 Mata Hari first performs her dance act at the Guimet Museum, Paris

Exotic Dancer, Courtesan and German Spy Mata Hari — Exotic Dancer, Courtesan and German Spy
Mata Hari

Oct 1 František Pavlík is killed in a demonstration in Prague, inspiring Leoš Janáček to the piano composition 1. X. 1905.

Music Premiere

Oct 15 Claude Debussy's symphonic sketch "La Mer" premieres in Paris

Composer Claude Debussy — Composer
Claude Debussy

Music Premiere

Dec 9 Richard Strauss' opera "Salome" premieres in Dresden

Composer and Conductor Richard Strauss — Composer and Conductor
Richard Strauss

Dec 25 V Herbert/H Blossoms musical "Mlle Modiste" premieres in NYC

Birthdays in Music

Jan 2 Michael Kemp Tippett, English composer/conductor (A Child of Our Time), born in London (d. 1998)
Jan 4 Sydney Lipton, British dance band leader, born in London (d. 1995)
Jan 8 Giacinto Scelsi, Italian composer and surrealist poet, born in La Spezia, Italy (d. 1988)
Jan 13 Percy Humphrey, American jazz trumpet player and bandleader, born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 1995)
Jan 15 Roosevelt Holts, American blues singer and guitarist, born in Tylertown, Mississippi (d. 1994)
Jan 16 Ernesto Halffter, Spanish composer and conductor, born in Madrid, Spain (d. 1989)
Jan 25 Julia Smith, American composer, pianist, and author on musicology (Aaron Copland), born in Denton, Texas (d. 1989)
Jan 26 Maria Augusta von Trapp, Austrian singer who inspired the "Sound of Music", born in Vienna, Austro-Hungarian Empire (d. 1987)
Feb 10 Vilko Ukmar, Slovenian composer, born in Postojna, Slovenia (d. 1991)
Feb 10 José Muñoz Molleda, Spanish composer and politician, born in La Línea de la Concepción (d. 1988)
Feb 10 William "Chick" Webb, American jazz drummer and big band leader (introduced Ella Fitzgerald), born in Baltimore, Maryland (d. 1939)
Feb 15 Harold Arlen [Hyman Arluck], American composer ("Over the Rainbow"; "It's Only A Paper Moon"; "Stormy Weather"), born in Buffalo, New York (d. 1986)
Feb 17 Orville "Hoppy" Jones, American bass singer and cellist (The Ink Spots - "If I Didn't Care"), born in Chicago, Illinois (1944)
Feb 22 Luis Sandi, Mexican musician and composer, born in Mexico City (d. 1996)
Feb 23 Leonidas Zoras, Greek conductor and composer, born in Sparta, Greece (d. 1987)
Feb 24 Guillaume Landré, Dutch composer, born in The Hague, Netherlands (d. 1968)
Feb 26 William Russell [Russell William Wagner], American violinist, modern composer (Fugue for Eight Percussion Instruments), and musicologist (Oh, Mister Jelly), born in Canton, Missouri (d. 1992)
Mar 2 Marc Blitzstein, composer (Cradle Will Rock), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mar 6 Bob Wills [James Robert Wills], American musician ('King of Western Swing', Steel Guitar Rag), born in Limestone County, Texas (d. 1975)
Mar 10 Rene Bernier, Belgian composer, born in Saint-Gilles (d.1984)
Mar 18 John Kirkpatrick, American pianist (Concord Sonata), born in NYC, New York
Mar 22 Carlo Alberto Pizzini, composer
Mar 23 Lale Andersen [Elisabeth Bunnenberg], German singer and actress (Der Pott), born in Bremerhaven, Germany (d. 1972)
Mar 26 Pablo Garrido, composer
Mar 27 Leroy Carr, blues singer-songwriter, born in Nashville, Tennessee (d. 1935)
Apr 1 Winfried P I Zillig, German opera composer/conductor (Fantasia Irica)
Apr 2 Serge Lifar, Russian-French dancer, choreographer (Paris Opera Ballet), born in Kiev, Ukraine (d. 1986)
Apr 4 Eugene Bozza, French composer, born in Nice, France (d. 1991)
Apr 5 Jef Maes, Belgian composer and violinist, born in Antwerp, Belgium (d. 1996)
Apr 19 Tommy Benford, American jazz drummer, born in Charleston, West Virginia (d. 1994)
Apr 27 Philip Radcliffe, English composer, born in Godalming, Surrey (d. 1986)
May 4 Mátyás Seiber, composer (Scherzando), born in Budapest, Hungary (d. 1960)
May 8 Inglis Gundry, British composer, musicologist and novelist, born in Wimbledon, London (d. 2000)
May 8 Red Nichols, American jazz cornettist, composer and jazz bandleader, born in Ogden, Utah (d. 1965)
May 10 Markos Vamvakaris, Greek rebetiko musician and songwriter (d. 1972)
May 18 Eric Zeisl, Austrian-American composer (Requiem Ebraico), born in Vienna (d. 1959)
May 21 Edward Lockspeiser, British composer and musicologist (Debussy: His Life and Mind), born in London (d. 1973)
May 24 Zdeněk Blažek, Czech composer and music theorist (Verchovina), born in Žarošice, Moravia (d. 1988)
May 26 Hans Holewa, Austrian-born Swedish composer, born in Vienna (d. 1991)
May 29 Fela Sowande, Nigerian musician and composer, born in Abeokuta, Nigeria (d. 1987)
Jun 1 Dinora de Carvalho, composer
Jun 6 John Gart, Russian orchestra leader (Paul Winchell Show), born in Russia (d. 1989)
Jun 9 Walter Kraft, German composer and organist, born in Cologne, Germany (d. 1977)
Jun 13 Aldophus "Doc" Cheatham, American jazz trumpeter, born in Nashville, Tennessee (d. 1997)
Jun 18 Eduard Tubin, Estonian composer, born in Torila, Governorate of Livonia (d. 1982)
Jun 19 Taneli Kuusisto, Finnish composer, born in Helsinki (d. 1988)
Jun 22 Walter Leigh, British composer, born in Wimbledon, London, England (d. 1942)
Jul 4 Dante Fiorillo, American composer, born in NYC, New York (d. 1970)
Jul 7 Marcel Rubin, Austrian composer, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1995)
Jul 17 Norman Waterhouse Lees, jazz fan
Jul 19 Boyd Neel, English conductor (Story of an Orchestra), born in Blackheath, London (d. 1981)
Jul 19 Louis Kentner, Hungarian-British pianist and composer, born in Karviná, Austrian Silesia (d. 1987)
Jul 22 Boris Alexandrov, conductor (Red Army Song/Dance Ensemble)
Jul 23 Erich Itor Kahn, German composer of Jewish descent, born in Rimbach, Odenwald (d. 1956)
Aug 2 Karl Amadeus Hartmann, German composer, born in Munich, Germany (d. 1963)
Aug 8 André Jolivet, French composer (Jeune France, Mana), born in Paris, France (d. 1974)
Aug 18 Peter Paul Kreuder, German-Austrian pianist and film score composer, born in Aachen, Germany (d. 1981)
Aug 19 Jacques de Menasce, composer
Aug 20 Jack Teagarden [Weldon Leo Teagarden], American trombonist and actor (Meet Band Leaders), born in Vernon, Texas (d. 1964)
Aug 23 Leonard Constant Lambert, English composer (King Pest), born in Fulham, London (d. 1951)
Aug 24 Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist (That's Alright), born in Forest, Mississippi (d. 1974)
Aug 25 Undine Smith Moore, African-American composer, born in Jarratt, Virginia (d. 1989)
Aug 29 Lan Adomian, Russian-born American composer, born in Moghiler-Podolsk (d. 1979)
Sep 1 Gervase Hughes, English composer and conductor, born in Birmingham, England (d. 1984)
Sep 1 Elvera Sanchez, Puerto Rican dancer (d. 2000)
Sep 3 Robert Ruthenfranz, German composer, born in Witten, Germany (d. 1970)
Sep 9 Vytautas Bacevičius [Bacewicz], Lithuanian avant garde composer (Della Guerra Symphony), born in Łódź, Russian Empire (now Poland) (d. 1970)
Sep 12 Boris Arapov, Russian composer, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1992)
Sep 17 Jorge Urrutia Blondel, Chilean composer, born in La Serena, Chile (d. 1981)
Sep 18 Agnes De Mille, American dancer and choreographer (Oklahoma), born in NYC, New York (d. 1993)
Sep 23 Jeno Kenessey, composer
Oct 4 Leon Orthel, Dutch composer, born in Roosendaal (d. 1985)
Oct 4 René Defossez, Belgian composer, born in Spa, Belgium (d. 1988)
Oct 9 May Moxon, Scottish dance producer, born in Townhead, Glasgow (d. 1996)
Oct 15 Alexey Fedorovich Kozlovsky, Russian composer, born in Kiev, Ukraine (d. 1977)
Oct 15 Dag Wirén, Swedish composer, born in Striberg, Sweden (d. 1986)
Oct 15 Edna Deane, dancer, choreographer and drama teacher, born in Orange Free State (d. 1995)
Oct 22 Joseph Kosma, composer
Oct 23 Alexander Shamil'yevich Melik-Pashayev, Georgian conductor and composer (Bol’shoy Theatre, 1931-62), born in Tblisi (d. 1964)
Oct 24 Elizabeth Poston, English composer, born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire (d. 1987)
Oct 30 Christian Darnton, British composer, born in Leeds, England (d. 1981)
Nov 7 William Alwyn, English composer, born in Northampton, England (d. 1985)
Nov 8 Richard Nicholson, musician
Nov 12 Evgeny Grigor'yevich Bruslovsky, composer
Nov 12 Solon Michaelides, Cypriot composer, teacher and musicologist, born in Nicosia, Cyprus (d. 1979)
Nov 14 John Henry Barbee, American guitarist and singer (d. 1964)
Nov 15 Annunzio Mantovani, Italian orchestra leader (Mantovani), born in Venice, Italy (d. 1980)

Tommy Dorsey

Nov 19 Tommy Dorsey, American trombonist and big band leader (Opus No. 1; I'll Never Smile Again), born in Mahanoy Plane, Pennsylvania (d. 1956)

Nov 21 David Moule-Evans, English composer and conductor, born in Ashford, Kent, England (d. 1988)
Nov 24 Ireene Wicker, American singer and actress (Singing Lady), born in Quincy, Illinois (d. 1987)
Nov 27 Daniel Sternefeld, Belgian conductor and composer (Mater Dolorosa), born in Antwerp, Belgium (d. 1986)
Dec 1 Ida Carroll, English musician and administrator, (d. 1995)
Dec 2 Osvaldo Pugliese, Argentine musician and composer, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina (d. 1995)
Dec 8 Charles Cushing, American composer, born in Oakland, California (d. 1982)
Dec 8 Ernst Hermann Meyer, German composer, born in Berlin (d. 1988)
Dec 11 Koos van de Griend, Dutch composer, born in Kampen, Netherlands (d. 1950)
Dec 14 Sydney Lipton, British dance band leader, born in London (d. 1995)
Dec 15 Ferenc Farkas, Hungarian composer, born in Nagykanizsa, Hungary (d. 2000)
Dec 18 Richard Sturzenegger, composer
Dec 23 Árni Björnsson, Icelandic composer, born in Lóni, Iceland (d. 1995)

Deaths in Music

Jan 10 Kārlis Baumanis, Latvian composer (b. 1835)
Jan 20 Stanislaw Pilinski, French pianist and composer, dies at 65
Feb 10 Ignacy Krzyzanowski, composer, dies at 78
Mar 15 Luigi Manzotti, Italian mine dancer and ballet choreographer, dies at 70
Mar 19 Makar Grigori Ekmalyan, composer, dies at 49
Apr 23 Karel Komzák II, Viennese composer, dies at 54
Apr 29 Ignatio Cervantes, Cuban pianist and composer (Danzas Cubanas), dies at 57
May 9 Ernst Pauer, Austrian composer & pianist, dies at 78
May 29 Leon Francis Victor Caron, composer, dies at 55
Jun 4 Carl Albert Löschhorn, German composer, dies at 85
Jul 8 Walter Kittredge, American musician during American Civil War, dies at 70
Sep 2 Walter Cecil Macfarren, English pianist and composer, dies at 79
Oct 21 Jose Teodor Vilar, composer, dies at 69
Dec 9 Henry Holmes, English violinist and composer, dies at 66