- Jan 24 Emile van Bosch, revue/operetta-artist, dies at 52
- Feb 28 Arnold Dolmetsch, French-Bohemian England-based musician, instrument builder, and promoter of early music, dies at 82
- Mar 25 Ion Nonna Otescu, Romanian composer, dies at 51
- Apr 6 Andrés Isasi, Spanish Basque composer, dies at 49
- Apr 18 Florrie Forde [Flannagan], Australian singer and British music hall performer, dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at 64
- May 28 Theodor Streicher, Austrian composer, dies at 65
- Jun 8 Frederick Converse, American composer (The Pipe of Desire), dies at 69
- Jun 16 Vitezslava Kapralova, Czech composer and conductor, dies from typhoid fever at 25
- Jun 19 Maurice Jaubert, French composer and soldier, dies a few hours after being fatally wounded in action at 40
- Jun 20 Jehan Alain, French organist/composer, dies in battle at 29
- Jul 2 Bertram Shapleigh, composer, dies at 69
- Jul 10 Donald Francis Tovey, English musicologist/composer, dies at 64
- Jul 28 Richard Ohlsson, Swedish composer, dies at 66
- Aug 8 Johnny Dodds, American early jazz clarinetist, dies at 48
- Aug 11 Alfred Zamara Austrian harpist, composer, and teacher, dies at 77
- Aug 21 Paul Juon, Russian-Swiss violinist and composer, dies at 68
- Aug 29 Arthur De Greef, Belgian composer, dies at 77
- Aug 31 Johanna "Annie" Bakker, revue-artists/singer/actress, dies at 58
- Sep 30 Walter Kollo, German operetta and popular song composer, dies at 62
- Oct 5 Silvestre Revueltas, Mexican classical violinst, conductor, and composer (Cuauhnáhuac; Planos), dies of pneumonia at 40
- Oct 6 Ferdinando Liuzzi, Italian composer and musicologist, dies at 55
- Oct 24 Victor Hollaender, German composer, dies at 74
- Oct 27 Fini Valdemar Henriques, composer, dies at 72
- Oct 28 Andrea d' Angeli, Italian composer, dies at 71
- Nov 12 Alejandro Garcia Caturla, Cuban composer, dies at 34
- Nov 23 Catharina van Rennes, Dutch composer, dies at 82
- Nov 30 Fritz Volbach, German conductor, musicologist and composer (Raffael), dies at 78
- Dec 5 Jan Kubelik, Czech composer, dies at 60
- Dec 16 William Wallace, Scottish composer, dies at 80
- Dec 21 Hal Kemp, American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, arranger and sweet jazz bandleader, dies as a result of a car accident at 36