- Jan 2 Mischa Levitzki, Russian-born American pianist & composer (The Enchanted Nymph), dies of a heart attack at 42
- Jan 10 Frank Bridge, British violinist andcomposer (Sea), dies at 61
- Jan 23 Dobri Khristov, Bulgarian composer, dies at 65
- Jan 27 Iver Holter, Norwegian conductor (Oslo Philharmonic, 1886-1911), and composer (St. Hans Kveld), dies at 90
- Feb 5 Banjo Paterson, Australian poet, author of "Walzing Matilda" (b. 1864)
- Feb 19 Hamilton Harty, Irish composer and conductor called "the prince of accompanists", dies at 61
- Feb 20 (Mary) La Bolduc (née Travers), French Canadian singer and songwriter, dies of cancer at 46
- Mar 4 Edoardo Mascheroni, Italian composer, dies at 81
- Mar 7 Arnold Schering, German musicologist (Humor, Heldentum, Tragik), dies at 63
- Mar 8 José Serrano Simeón, Spanish composer, dies at 67
- Mar 9 Carlos Pedrell, Uruguayan guitarist and composer, dies at 62
- Mar 11 Walford Davies, British organist, composer, educator, and broadcaster (BBC), dies at 71
- Mar 12 Charles Sanford Skilton, composer, dies at 72
- Apr 17 Al Bowlly, South African-British dance band vocalist ("Midnight, The Stars, And You"), and bandleader, dies in a German bombing raid of London at 43
- Apr 19 Johanna Muller-Hermann, composer, dies at 63
- May 8 Heinrich Zöllner, German composer, dies at 86
Ignacy Jan Paderewski (1860-1941)
Jun 29 Polish pianist, composer and statesman (Prime Minister of Poland, 1919), dies of pneumonia, in New York, at 80
- Jul 5 Oskar Fried, German-Russian composer, dies at 69
- Jul 8 Philippe Gaubert, French flautist, conductor (Paris Opéra, 1919-41), composer, and teacher (Paris Conservatoire), dies of a stroke at 62
- Jul 10 Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton [LeMothe], American jazz pioneer pianist and composer ("King Porter Stomp"), dies at 56
- Jul 18 Dionyssios Lavrangas, Greek composer and conductor (Elliniko Melodhrama (Greek Opera), 1900-35), dies at 80
- Sep 1 "Kansas City" Frank [Melrose], American jazz and blues pianist, killed in a bar fight in Hammond, Indiana at 33
- Oct 3 Wilhelm Kienzl, Austrian composer (Der Evangelimann - The Evangelist; Der Kuhreigen), dies at 84
- Oct 8 Gustav "Gus" Kahn, German-American lyricist ("It Had to Be You"; "Makin' Whoopee"; "I'll See You in My Dreams"), dies of a heart attack at 54
- Oct 9 Helen Morgan, American stage and screen actress, and singer (Show Boat), dies of cirrhosis of the liver at 41
- Oct 26 Victor Schertzinger, American composer and director (Uptown NY), dies at 53
- Oct 30 (Leon) "Chu" Berry, American swing jazz tenor saxophonist (Fletcher Henderson; Cab Calloway), dies in a car accident at 33
- Dec 3 Christian Sinding, Norwegian composer (Frühlingsrauschen - Rustle of Spring), dies at 85
- Dec 7 Cecil Forsyth, British composer and musicologist, dies at 71
- Dec 21 Peetie Wheatstraw [William Bunch], American blues singer, songwriter, and piano player, dies on his 39th birthday when the car in which he was a passenger met a freight train
- Dec 22 Leopoldo Mugnone, Italian opera composer and conductor, dies at 83
- Dec 24 Siegfried Alkan, German composer, dies at 83
- Dec 31 Sigwart Aspestrand, Norwegian composer, dies at 85