On This Day

May 1911 in Music History

Events in Music

Music releaseMusic Premiere

May 19 Maurice Ravel's opera "L'Heure Espagnole" premieres at the Opéra-Comique, Paris, France

Composer and Pianist Maurice Ravel
Composer and Pianist
Maurice Ravel

Birthdays in Music

  • May 3 John Rhea "Yank" Lawson, American jazz trumpeter ("Dogtown Blues"; "Stormy Weather"), born in Trenton, Missouri (d. 1995)
  • May 5 (Thaman) "Pete" Daily, American swing and dixieland jazz cornetist and valve trombonist (The Chicagoans), born in Portland, Indiana (d. 1981)

Person of interestRobert Johnson

May 8 Robert Johnson, American blues singer-songwriter, and guitarist (King of Delta Blues Singers), born in Hazlehurst, Mississippi (d. 1938)

Singer and guitarist Robert Johnson
Singer and guitarist
Robert Johnson
  • May 13 Maxine Sullivan [Marietta Williams], American jazz vocalist and performer (Going Places), born in Homestead, Pennsylvania (d. 1987)
  • May 14 Hans Vogt, German composer, born in Danzig (d. 1992)
  • May 18 "Big" Joe Turner, American blues singer ("Corrine Corrina"; "Shake Rattle & Roll"), born in Kansas City, Missouri (d. 1985)
  • May 23 Boris Kremenliev, composer
  • May 28 Arthur "Skeets" Herfurt, American jazz and session saxophonist and clarinetist (Dorsey Brothers; Benny Goodman; Lawrence Wlek), born in Cincinnati, Ohio (d. 1992)

Deaths in Music

  • May 18 Gustav Mahler, Austrian composer (Symphony No. 2 - "Resurrection"), and conductor (New York Philharmonic, 1909-11), dies of heart disease at 50


1911 in Music History

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