Music
by Derek Gerlach
45,000 years ago
Flute made from bone of bear
Neanderthals carve a flute from the leg bone of a young bear, in the region that is now Slovenia
2800 BC
Music on harp and lyre
The harp and the lyre are in use as musical instruments in Mesopotamia
2500 BC
Royal servants buried alive
Some ninety royal servants, including soldiers, grooms and female musicians, are buried alive in the tomb of a royal couple at Ur
1500 BC
Trumpets in Egypt
A copper trumpet is in use in Egypt, forerunner of the brass instruments of the orchestra
500 BC
Greeks discover octave
The followers of Pythagoras discover the mathematical basis of the octave
250 BC
Mechanical organ in Alexandria
The organ, using a mechanical device to pump air through a set of musical pipes, is invented in Alexandria by Ctesibius
600
Gregorian chant from Jewish sources
Ritual intoning of the psalms, derived from Jewish synagogues, is formalized in Christian worship as Gregorian chant
1050
Polyphony
Polyphony brings new complexity of interweaving vocal lines, in the choral singing of abbey or cathedral
1320
De Vitry's New Art
Philippe de Vitry, in his Ars Nova ('New Art'), lays out the basis of musical notation
1397
Germany develops harpsichord
The keyboard of the organ is adapted in Germany to strings, thus providing the harpsichord - first mentioned in a manuscript of this year
1400
Master singers compete in German towns
Guilds of singers and song-writers develop in German towns, calling themselves Meistersinger, or master singers
1471
Sixtus founds chapel and choir
The new pope, Sixtus IV, secures his name in history, establishing the Sistine chapel and the Sistine choir
1597
First opera performed in Florence
Dafne is performed in Florence, becoming the first example of a new art form - opera
1600
Oratory launches oratorio
A performance in the Oratory in Rome, with music by Emilio de' Cavalieri, is in effect the first oratorio
1607
Monteverdi makes opera history
Claudio Monteverdi presents Orfeo, the first opera to win a lasting place in the international repertory
1637
First public opera house
The first public opera house, the Teatro San Cassiano, opens in Venice
1661
Louis XIV encourages others to dance
Louis XIV establishes a royal dancing academy and soon follows it with a music academy
1679
19-year-old Alessandro Scarlatti has a great success in Rome with Gli Equivoci nel Sembiante, the first of his 115 operas
1689
Chelsea schoolgirls premiere Purcell
Young gentlewomen in Chelsea give the first performance of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas
1697
Alessandro Scarlatti introduces a new form of prelude
In his opera La Caduta de' Decemviri, Alessandro Scarlatti introduces a new form of prelude, later known as the Italian overture, which is an important stage in the development of the symphony
1698
Piano invented in Florence
A maker of harpsichords in Florence, Bartolomeo Cristofori, develops the piano ('soft') and forte ('loud') feature which leads to the piano
1709
In a friendly keyboard contest in Rome between Handel and Domenico Scarlatti, the result is a draw – Handel being the winner on the organ and Scarlatti on the harpsichord
1711
Handel brings Italian opera to London
Handel's success in London with his opera Rinaldo prompts him to settle in Britain
1712
The violinist Archangelo Corelli composes his Christmas Concerto, the best known of his influential group of twelve Concerti Grossi
1720
Development of symphony
The symphony begins to develop as a musical form, deriving from the overtures of operas
1720
Development of string quartet
Like the symphony, the string quartet develops during the eighteenth century, moving from simple beginnings to great complexity
1720
Bach's Little Keyboard Book
Johann Sebastian Bach compiles the Little Keyboard Book a set of pieces to teach his eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach
1721
Bach writes Brandenburg Concertos
Johann Sebastian Bach writes the six Brandenburg Concertos for his employer at the court of Köthen
1722
The Well-Tempered Clavier
J.S. Bach publishes The Well-Tempered Clavier, a collection of 24 Preludes and Fugues
1725
Vivaldi scores the seasons
Vivaldi publishes the set of violin concertos known as The Four Seasons
1727
St Matthew Passion
J.S. Bach conducts the first performance of his St Matthew Passion in the St Thomas's church in Leipzig
1727
Zadok the Priest
Handel composes Zadok the Priest for the crowning of George II, and it has been sung at every subsequent British coronation
1730
Metastasio the man for libretti
The Italian poet Metastasio produces, in Vienna, opera libretti which are used by almost every composer of the day
1732
Handel develops English oratorio
With the performance of Esther Handel taps a rich new vein, the English oratorio
1740
Cultured Frederick on Prussian throne
Frederick II, inheriting the throne in Prussia, establishes a cultured and musical court
1741
Goldberg Variations
J.S. Bach publishes his set of Goldberg Variations, supposedly written for performance by the young harpsichordist Johann Gottlieb Goldberg
1744
2nd part of Well-Tempered Clavier
J.S. Bach publishes another set of 24 Preludes and Fugues, as an addition to his previous Well-Tempered Clavier
1749
Mass in B Minor
Shortly before his death (in 1750) J.S. Bach completes his Mass in B Minor, worked on over many years
1751
By the time of his death the prolific output of Domenico Scarlatti includes 555 sonatas, all but a few for his own instrument, the harpsichord
1761
Haydn and the Esterházy
Joseph Haydn enters the service of the Esterházy family, and stays with them for twenty-nine years
1762
England has its own Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach's youngest son, Johann Christian, moves to London and becomes known as the English Bach
1762
Gluck reforms opera
The intensely dramatic music of Gluck's Orfeo ed Eurydice introduces a much needed reform in the conventions of opera
1762
Mozart plays for empress
6-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart plays for the Habsburg empress Maria Theresa
1763
Mozart tours Europe
7-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart begins a three-year concert tour of Europe
1764
Haydn's first string quartets
Joseph Haydn's first published work is six string quartets, a form which he subsequently makes very much his own
1772
Haydn's Farewell Symphony
Haydn's Farewell Symphony gives a subtle hint to his employer at Esterházy that it is time for the musicians to return home
1775
Yankee Doodle
Yankee Doodle is the most popular song with the patriot troops in the American Revolution
1781
Mozart moves to Vienna
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, now 25, leaves Salzburg to settle in Vienna
1782
Beethoven's Dressler Variations
12-year-old Ludwig van Beethoven publishes his first composition, Piano Variations on a March by Dressler
1785
Haydn hears Mozart's quartets
Mozart and his friends perform for Haydn the Mozart quartets inspired by Haydn's 'Russian' quartets (op.33), which on publication are dedicated to him
1786
Prague hums Mozart's Figaro
Mozart's Marriage of Figaro premieres in Vienna and then has a huge success in Prague
1786
'Too many notes, my dear Mozart'
The emperor Joseph II is reported to have told Mozart that his opera The Marriage of Figaro has 'too many notes'
1787
Don Giovanni in Prague
Mozart's opera Don Giovanni has its premiere in Prague
1790
Così fan Tutte
Mozart's opera Così fan Tutte has its premiere in Vienna, in the court theatre of Joseph II
1790
Haydn heads for London
Joseph Haydn sets off for England, where impresario Johann Peter Salomon presents his London symphonies
1791
Stranger asks Mozart for mass
A stranger arrives in Vienna with a mysterious commission for Mozart to write a requiem mass, just months before the composer's death
1791
The Magic Flute
Mozart's opera The Magic Flute has its premiere in Vienna in a popular theatre run by the librettist, Emanuel Shikaneder
1791
Mozart dies
Mozart dies, at the age of just 35, leaving his Requiem unfinished
1792
French officer writes Marseillaise
A French officer, Rouget de Lisle, writes a stirring anthem for France, soon to be known as the Marseillaise
1792
Beethoven to study with Haydn
Beethoven leaves Bonn and goes to Vienna to study composition with Haydn
1794
12-year-old Paganini performs
Virtuoso violinist Nicolo Paganini gives his first public performances, in churches in his native Genoa
1795
Beethoven's debut in Vienna
Beethoven makes his first public appearance in Vienna as a pianist, playing either his first or second piano concerto
1799
Haydn's Creation
Haydn's oratorio The Creation has its first public performance in Vienna, in the Burgtheater
1800
Beethoven threatened by deafness
Beethoven seeks medical advice for a very alarming condition, an increasing deafness
1800
Haydn and Lady Hamilton
Nelson and the Hamiltons visit Haydn, who composes a cantata on the Battle of the Nile for Emma Hamilton to sing
1802
Heiligenstadt Testament
At Heiligenstadt, near Vienna, Beethoven writes a letter, to be read only after his death, confronting the tragedy of his inexorable decline into deafness
1804
Beethoven disgusted with Napoleon
Beethoven changes the dedication of his third symphony on hearing that his hero, Napoleon, has made himself an emperor
1805
First version of Fidelio
The first version of Beethoven's only opera, Fidelio, is performed in Vienna under the title Leonore
1808
Beethoven's Pastoral symphony
Beethoven's sixth symphony (the Pastoral) has its first performance in Vienna
1814
Beethoven's Missa Solemnis
Beethoven's Mass in D (the Missa Solemnis) has its first performance in Vienna, though still incomplete
1814
Final version of Fidelio
The final version of Beethoven's opera Fidelio has its premiere in Vienna
1816
Rossini's Barber of Seville
Rossini's opera The Barber of Seville has its premiere in Rome
1821
Der Freischutz
Carl Maria von Weber's opera Der Freischutz has its premiere in Berlin
1822
Schubert's 'Unfinished' symphony
Austrian composer Franz Schubert begins, but never completes, the great work now known as his 'Unifinished' symphony (no 8.in B minor)
1823
12-year-old Liszt is virtuoso
12-year-old Hungarian pianist Franz Liszt wins a reputation as a virtuoso performer
1823
Die Schöne Müllerin
Austrian composer Franz Schubert writes the song cycle Die Schöne Müllerin ('The beautiful miller's wife')
1824
Beethoven's Choral symphony
Beethoven's ninth symphony (the Choral, because of its finale, setting Schiller's Ode to Joy) has its first performance in Vienna
1824
Rossini moves to Paris
Italian composer Gioacchino Rossini moves to Paris, where he becomes director of the Théatre Italien
1825
Schubert's 'Great' C major symphony
Franz Schubert composes his 'Great' C major symphony (previously often attributed to 1828)
1826
Mendelsohn's first Midsummer Night's Dream
17-year-old Felix Mendelssohn composes an overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream, amplifed with huge success eighteen years later
1826
Weber's Oberon
Carl Maria von Weber's opera Oberon has its premiere (in London, at Covent Garden)
1829
Mendelssohn revives St Matthew's Passion
After a century of neglect, the 20-year-old Felix Mendelssohn conducts an influential revival in Berlin of J.S. Bach's St Matthew Passion
1829
Rossini's William Tell
Gioacchino Rossini's opera William Tell has its premiere in Paris
1829
Mendelssohn visits Hebrides
German composer Felix Mendelssohn visits the Hebrides and see's Fingal's Cave, later the theme of his Hebrides Overture
1830
Symphonie fantastique
The Symphonie fantastique by French composer Hector Berlioz has its premiere in Paris
1831
America is sung at Fourth of July meeting
Samuel Francis Smith's patriotic hymn America is sung for the first time on July 4 in Boston
1832
L'elisir d'amore
Gaetano Donizetti's opera L'elisir d'amore has its premiere in Milan
1832
Schumann's Papillons
Robert Schumann's first published composition is Papillons ('Butterflies'), twelve short dance pieces for piano
1832
Mendelssohn's Fingal's Cave
Mendelssohn's concert overture The Hebrides (Fingal's Cave) has its premiere in London's Covent Garden
1833
Berlioz marries Harriet Smithson
Hector Berlioz marries an Irish actress, Harriet Smithson, with whom he has been obsessed since seeing her play Ophelia and Juliet in 1827
1835
Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor
Gaetano Donizetti's opera Lucia di Lammermoor has its premiere in Naples
1837
Grande messe des morts
Hector Berlioz's requiem mass, the Grande messe des morts, has its first performance in Paris
1839
Preludes in Majorca
Polish composer Frédéric Chopin completes his Preludes under difficult conditions in Majorca
1840
Schumann's Frauenliebe und -Leben
Robert Schumann composes the song cycle Frauenliebe und -Leben ('Woman's Love and Life')
1840
Schumann marries Clara
Robert Schumann marries the pianist Clara Wieck, daughter of his first teacher
1842
Nabucco brings Verdi fame and fortune
The success of the opera Nabucco, premiered in Milan, is a turning point in the fortunes of Giuseppe Verdi
1842
Christy's Minstrels
Edwin Pearce Christy launches the Virginia Minstrels, later to become America's most popular minstrel show under the name Christy's Minstrels
1843
The Flying Dutchman
The Flying Dutchman is the first of Richard Wagner's major operas to be staged, with its premiere in Dresden
1843
Mendelssohn's final Midsummer Night's Dream
Mendelssohn's overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream, amplified now with incidental music, is greeted as a masterpiece at a performance of the play in Potsdam
1846
Mendelssohn's Elijah
Mendelssohn's oratorio Elijah has its premiere in England, in the city of Birmingham
1848
Oh! Susannah
Oh! Susannah is in the first published collection of popular songs by Stephen Collins Foster
1849
New Waltz King in Vienna
In Vienna the younger Johann Strauss succeeds his father as the Waltz King
1850
Barnum presents Jenny Lind
Jenny Lind, the 'Swedish Nightingale', has a great success touring the USA in a show presented by P.T. Barnum
1851
Rigoletto
Giuseppe Verdi's opera Rigoletto, based on a play by Victor Hugo, is a huge success at its premiere in Venice
1851
Wagner writes anti-semitic tract
Richard Wagner writes an anti-semitic tract, Jewishness in Music
1853
Il Trovatore
Giuseppe Verdi's opera Il Trovatore is a success at its premiere in Rome
1853
Traviata flops in Venice
Just six weeks after the success of Il Trovatore, Giuseppe Verdi's opera La Traviata is a disaster at its premiere in Venice
1854
Schumann attempts suicide
Robert Schumann throws himself into the Rhine, in an attempt to commit suicide, and spends the last two years of his life in an asylum
1857
Kneller Hall is bought by the War Department and reopened as the Military School of Music, later the Royal Military School of music.
1858
Berlioz completes The Trojans
Hector Berlioz completes his 4-hour opera The Trojans (not performed as a complete work until 1890)
1859
Gounod's Faust
The opera Faust, by French composer Charles Gounod, has its premiere in Paris
1861
National Eisteddfod
An official National Eisteddfod is held for the first time in Wales, in Aberdare
1865
Tristan and Isolde
Richard Wagner's opera Tristan and Isolde has its premiere in the Munich court theatre
1867
Night on the Bare Mountain
Modest Mussorgsky composes his orchestral work St John's Night on the Bare Mountain, based on a story by Gogol
1867
First collection of 'Negro Spirituals'
The first collection of 'Negro Spirituals' is published in book form in the US as Slave Songs of the United States
1868
Mastersingers of Nuremberg
Richard Wagner's opera The Mastersingers of Nuremberg has its premiere in Munich
1869
Brahms' German Requiem
Johannes Brahms' German Requiem, setting passages from Luther's translation of the Bible, has its first complete performance in Leipzig
1869
Das Rheingold launches Ring cycle
Das Rheingold, with its premiere in Munich, is the first part of Richard Wagner's Ring cycle to be staged
1870
Coppélia
Coppélia, with choreography by Arthur Saint-Léon to music by Delibes, has its premiere at the Paris Opera
1870
Wagner marries Liszt's daughter
Richard Wagner marries Cosima, the daughter of the Hungarian composer Franz Liszt
1871
Verdi goes Egyptian
Giuseppe Verdi's opera Aida, is commissioned for the Cairo opera house, part of the process of Egypt becoming westernized
1874
Boris Godunov
Modest Mussorgsky's opera Boris Godunov has its premiere in St Petersburg
1874
Die Fledermaus
Johann Strauss's operetta Die Fledermaus has its premiere in Vienna
1874
Pictures at an Exhibition
Mussorgsky composes Pictures at an Exhibition as a piece for piano in memory of an exhibition by the Russian painter Victor Hartmann
1875
Peer Gynt
Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt has its premiere in Oslo, with incidental music by Edvard Grieg
1875
Carmen
Georges Bizet's opera Carmen has its premiere in Paris and meets at first with a lukewarm response
1876
Tchaikovsky corresponds with Nadezhda
Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky begins an intense correspondence with a wealthy patron, Nadezhda von Meck
1876
The Ring of the Nibelungen
Richard Wagner's sequence of four operas, The Ring of the Nibelungen, has its first complete performance at Bayreuth
1876
Brahms's first symphony
Johannes Brahms' first symphony has its premiere in Karlsruhe
1877
Swan Lake
The ballet Swan Lake, with choreography by Julius Wenzel Reisinger to music by Tchaikovsky, has its premiere at the Bolshoi in Moscow
1878
Dvorák's Slavonic Dances
Czech composer Anton Dvorák writes his first set of Slavonic Dances, originally as piano duets
1879
Eugene Onegin as an opera
Tchaikovsky's opera Eugene Onegin, based on Pushkin's poem, has its premiere in Moscow
1880
In the Steppes of Central Asia
Russian composer Alexander Borodin writes In the Steppes of Central Asia as part of the silver jubilee celebrations for Alexander II
1880
Academic Festival Overture
Johannes Brahms' Academic Festival Overture is performed first at Breslau university, which has conferred on him an honorary Ph.D.
1887
Prince Igor incomplete at Borodin's death
Alexander Borodin dies without finishing his opera Prince Igor (completed later by Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov)
1887
Verdi's Otello
Giuseppe Verdi's opera Otello has its premeiere at La Scala in Milan
1887
Melba makes her debut
The Australian soprano Nellie Melba makes her operatic debut as Gilda in Rigoletto in Brussels
1889
Strauss's Don Juan
The tone poem Don Juan, by the 25-year-old Richard Strauss, has a passionately mixed response at its premiere in Weimar
1889
Groves Dictionary of Music
English musicologist George Grove completes publication of his four-volume Dictionary of Music and Musicians
1889
Mahler's first symphony
Austrian composer Gustav Mahler conducts the premiere in Budapest of his first symphony, described as a 'symphonic poem'
1890
Sleeping Beauty
Sleeping Beauty, with choreography by Petipa to music by Tchaikovsky, has its premiere in St Petersburg
1891
Highland Association supports Scottish Gaelic
A Gaelic pressure group, the Highland Association, is founded to preserve the indigenous poetry and music of Scotland
1892
Dvorák moves to New York
Dvorák takes a job in New York as director of the National Conservatory, returning to Prague in 1895
1892
Nutcracker
The Nutcracker, with choreography by Lev Ivanov to music by Tchaikovsky, has its premiere in St Petersburg
1892
Peach Melba
The French chef Auguste Escoffier creates and names a dessert in honour of the Australian soprano Nellie Melba
1893
Manon Lescaut brings fame to Puccini
Giacomo Puccini has his first success when his opera Manon Lescaut opens in Turin
1893
Verdi's last opera
In Falstaff Giuseppe Verdi writes his last opera, and his only comedy since the early days of his career.
1893
'New World' symphony
Anton Dvorák's Ninth Symphony, subtitled 'From the New World', has its first performance in New York
1893
'Pathetic' symphony
Tchaikovsky's symphony no. 6, known as the 'Pathetic' or Pathétique, has its premiere in St Petersburg
1893
Tchaikovsky dies in mysterious circumstances
Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky dies after a short illness, possibly from cholera or perhaps in sinister circumstances that remain the subject of controversy
1893
Hansel and Gretl
Hansel and Gretl, an opera by German composer Engelbert Humperdinck, has its premiere in Weimar
1894
L'Après-midi d'un faune
Claude Debussy's tone poem L'Après-midi d'un faune has its premiere in Paris
1894
Caruso debut in Naples
The tenor Enrico Caruso makes his debut in his home town of Naples
1895
Petipa and Ivanov revive Swan Lake
Swan Lake is performed in St Petersburg in its definitive version, with choreography shared between Lucien Petipa and Lev Ivanov
1895
"Waltzing Matilda"
Australia has a catchy new song in "Waltzing Matilda", written by Banjo Paterson to music by Christina Macpherson
1895
First night of the Proms in Britain
A promenade concert, presented by Henry Wood in London's Queen's Hall, turns out to be the beginning of a very long tradition
1896
La Bohème a flop at premiere
Giacomo Puccini's opera La Bohème has an unsuccessful premiere in Turin
1896
Sibelius's Swan of Tuonela
Jean Sibelius's 'symphonic legend' The Swan of Tuonela has its premiere in Helsinki
1897
Mahler baptized
Jewish composer Gustav Mahler is baptized a Christian so as to be eligible to conduct the Vienna Opera
1897
Rachmaninov's First Symphony
Rachmaninov's First Symphony has a disastrous premiere in St Petersburg, probably caused by the incompetence of Glazunov as conductor
1898
Melba tours with her own company
The Australian soprano Nellie Melba forms the Melba Grand Opera Company as a touring venture in the USA
1899
Elgar's Enigma Variations
Edward Elgar teases with the word 'enigma' printed at the head of his orchestral Variations on an Original Theme
1899
Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht
Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg composes the string sextet Verklärte Nacht
1900
Puccini's Tosca
Giacomo Puccini's Tosca brings in the new century with a January premiere in Rome
1900
Harry Lauder makes London debut
Scottish music-hall artist Harry Lauder makes his first London appearance at Gatti's music hall in Westminster
1900
Danzas españolas
Enrique Granados completes the ten piano pieces forming his Danzas españolas
1900
Finlandia
Jean Sibelius's Finlandia stirs national instincts in Helsinki
1900
Elgar's Dream of Gerontius
Edward Elgar writes the oratorio Dream of Gerontius, setting Cardinal Newman's poem of the same title
1900
Charpentier's opera Louise
Gustave Charpentier's opera Louise has Paris premiere at the Opéra-Comique
1901
Verdi dies
Vast crowds line the streets for the Milan funeral of a national hero, the 87-year-old composer Giuseppe Verdi
1901
Rusalka
Rusalka, by the Czech composer Anton Dvorák, is performed in Prague
1901
Elgar's first Pomp and Circumstance
The first of Edward Elgar's five Pomp and Circumstance marches has a trio section that becomes "Land of Hope and Glory"
1901
Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto
Sergei Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto gives him renewed confidence after the disaster of his First Symphony in 1897
1901
A Village Romeo and Juliet
Frederick Delius completes his opera A Village Romeo and Juliet, but it is not performed until 1907 in Berlin
1902
'Land of Hope and Glory'
'Land of Hope and Glory' features in its lasting form as the finale of Elgar's Coronation Ode for Edward VII
1902
Come Home Bill Bailey
Hughie Cannon writes 'Bill Bailey Won't You Please Come Home' for a minstrel, John Queen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Songs_written_by_Hughie_Cannon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category_talk:Songs_written_by_Hughie_Cannon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Matter_How_Much_You_Promise_to_Cook_or_Pay_the_Rent_You_Blew_It_Cauze_Bill_Bailey_Ain%27t_Never_Coming_Home_Again
1902
Pelléas et Mélisande
Claude Debussy's opera Pelléas et Mélisande has its premiere in Paris
1902
Mahler marries Alma
Gustav Mahler marries Alma, daughter of the artist Emil Jakob Schindler
1902
Caruso's first recordings
The tenor Enrico Caruso cuts his first phonograph records in Milan, beginning an immensely successful recording career
1903
The Wizard of Oz as a musical
The Wizard of Oz, based on the book by Frank Baum, opens on Broadway as a musical to huge success
1903
Sibelius's Valse Triste
Sibelius writes Valse Triste as incidental music to a play, Kuolema, by his brother-in-law Arvid Järnefelt
1903
Shéhérazade
Maurice Ravel sets to music romantic oriental poems by Tristan Klingsor in his song-cycle Shéhérazade
1903
Caruso at the Met
Italian tenor Enrico Caruso makes his US debut at the New York Metropolitan Opera
1904
Jenufa
Leos Janacek's opera Jenufa, based on a play by Gabriela Preissová, has its premiere in Brno
1904
Disastrous first night for Madam Butterfly
Giacomo Puccini's opera Madama Butterfly falls victim at La Scala to claques paid for by rivals
1904
Frankie and Johnny
Hughie Cannon writes the music and words for the song originally titled "He Done Me Wrong" in the US musical Frankie and Johnny
1904
Schoenberg teaches Berg and Webern
Alban Berg and Anton Webern study composition with Arnold Schoenberg in Vienna
1904
Scriabin's Divine Poem
Alexander Scriabin completes his Third Symphony, The Divine Poem, which is given its first performance in Paris in 1905
1904
Melba on record
Australian soprano Nellie Melba makes the first of a great many recordings
1905
Fantasia on British Sea Songs
Henry Wood sets 'Rule Britannia' in his Fantasia on British Sea Songs, providing a traditional favourite for the last night of the Proms
1905
Young Poland group of musicians
Karol Szymanowski and other Polish composers form a group that soon becomes known as Young Poland
1905
Scriabin discovers Blavatsky
The Russian composer Alexander Scriabin becomes influenced by the theosophy of Madame Blavatsky
1905
Debussy's La Mer
Claude Debussy completes the three symphonic sketches forming La Mer
1905
Kindertotenlieder
Gustav Mahler's cycle of five songs, Kindertotenlieder, hs its first performance in Vienna
1905
Richard Strauss's Salome
Richard Strauss's Salome, based on Oscar Wilde's play, has wide success in spite of censorship difficulties
1905
The Merry Widow
Franz Lehár's operetta The Merry Widow opens in Vienna at the start of an immensely successful run
1906
Charles Ives' The Unanswered Question
In Charles Ives' composition The Unanswered Question the trumpet repeatedly asks 'the perennial question of existence'
1906
Ethel Smyth's The Wreckers
Ethel Smyth's most successful opera, The Wreckers, is premiered in Leipzig
1907
Delius's Walk to the Paradise Garden
Frederick Delius's Walk to the Paradise Garden is added to his opera A Village Romeo and Juliet to cover a scene change during the Berlin premiere
1907
Les Sylphides
Michel Fokine creates the ballet Les Sylphides (originally called Chopiniana) to music by Chopin
1907
Diaghilev takes Russian music to Paris
Russian impresario Sergei Diaghilev presents five concerts of Russian music in Paris
1907
Brigg Fair
Frederick Delius completes Brigg Fair, an 'English Rhapsody' for orchestra, first performed in Liverpool in 1908
1907
Lauder has hit record in USA
Harry Lauder has a hit in the USA with his recording of I Love a Lassie
1907
Pavlova's Dying Swan
Anna Pavlova dances The Dying Swan, choreographed for her by Michel Fokine to music by Saint-Saëns
1908
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
Jack Norworth and Albert von Tilzer write Take Me Out to the Ball Game, which becomes one of the most popular songs in the USA
1908
Diaghilev takes Russian opera to Paris
Sergei Diaghilev presents Fyodor Chaliapin in >Boris Godunov at the Paris Opera
1908
'Golliwog's Cake Walk'
Claude Debussy completes Children's Corner, pieces for piano which include 'Golliwog's Cake Walk'
1908
Shine on, Harvest Moon
Jack Norworth and Nora Bayes write "Shine on, Harvest Moon" for The Follies of 1908
1908
Schoenberg develops atonal music
Arnold Schoenberg abandons tonality in his String Quartet No. 2
1908
Scriabin's Poem of Ecstasy
Alexander Scriabin's orchestral work, Poem of Ecstasy, has its first performance in New York
1909
Strauss and von Hofmannsthal collaborate
The opera Elektra, the first collaboration between Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal, has its premiere in Dresden
1909
Fokine and Diaghilev join forces
Michel Fokine becomes the choreographer for the ballet company that Sergei Diaghilev is taking to Paris
1909
On Wenlock Edge
Ralph Vaughan Williams sets poems by Housman in On Wenlock Edge
1909
Schoenberg's Erwartung
Arnold Schoenberg composes his opera for a single voice, Erwartung, which remains unperformed until 1924 in Prague
1909
Albéniz completes Iberia
Isaac Albéniz completes his series of 12 piano pieces published under the title Iberia.
1909
Segovia a prodigy on the guitar
15-year-old Andrés Segovia gives his first public performance as a guitarist in Granada
1909
Vaughan Williams' A Sea Symphony
Vaughan Williams first symphony, which he names A Sea Symphony, is first performed at the Leeds Festival
1909
Rachmaninov's Third Piano Concerto
Sergei Rachmaninov premieres his Third Piano Concerto during his tour of the USA as a pianist
1909
Beecham Symphony Orchestra
Thomas Beecham uses his personal fortune from Beecham's Pills to found his first orchestra, the Beecham Symphony Orchestra
1909
The Golden Cockerel
Rimsky-Korsakov's opera The Golden Cockerel has its premiere in Moscow
1910
Vaughan Williams develops Thomas Tallis
Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis is first performed in Gloucester
1910
Elgar's Violin Concerto
Fritz Kreisler is the soloist in the first performance of Edward Elgar's Violin Concerto
1910
Schoenberg's pupils follow him into atonality
Alban Berg and Anton Webern follow Schoenberg in developing atonal music
1910
Mahler's 'Symphony of a Thousand'
Gustav Mahler conducts in Munich the first performance of his Eighth Symphony, subsequently known as the 'Symphony of a Thousand'
1910
Fokine's Schéhérazade
Schéhérazade, with choreography by Fokine, music by Rimsky-Korsakov and designs by Bakst, is premiered by the Ballets Russes in Paris
1910
The Firebird
The Firebird brings together Fokine (choreography), Stravinsky (music) and Golovine and Bakst (sets and costumes)
1910
Scriabin's Prometheus
Alexander Scriabin completes Prometheus, the Poem of Fire, first performed in Moscow in 1911
1910
Korngold's The Snowman
The Snowman, a pantomime opera by the 11-year-old Erich Korngold, is a huge succes in Vienna
1910
Beecham takes Covent Garden for the season
Thomas Beecham sponsors and conducts his own season of opera at Covent Garden
1910
Puccini's Girl of the Golden West
Giacomo Puccini's opera Girl of the Golden West premieres in New York
1911
Der Rosenkavalier
Richard Strauss changes musical direction with his opera Der Rosenkavalier, once again with libretto by Hugo von Hoffmannsthal
1911
Ethel Smyth writes anthem for suffragettes
Ethel Smyth's The March of Women has its premiere at a suffragette event in London's Albert Hall
1911
Al Jolson on record
Al Jolson makes his first recording, That Haunting Melody, for the Victor label
1911
Le Spectre de la Rose
Le Spectre de la Rose, with choreography by Fokine, music by Weber and designs by Bakst, is premiered by the Ballets Russes in Monte Carlo
1911
Granados' Goyescas for piano
Spanish composer Enrique Granados completes his Goyescas, seven pieces for piano
1911
Scott Joplin's Treemonisha
Scott Joplin completes a ragtime opera, Treemonisha
1911
Petrushka a success in Paris
The ballet Petrushka brings together Fokine (choreography), Stravinsky (music) and Benois (sets and costumes)
1911
Das Lied von der Erde
Bruno Walter conducts in Munich the first performance of Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde, a few months after the composer's death
1911
Songs by Duparc
French composer Henri Duparc publishes a complete edition of his songs
1911
First Wurlitzer
Rudolph Wurlitzer's company in the USA produces the first of its famous movie theatre organs
1911
'Alexander's Ragtime Band'
The US composer Irving Berlin writes 'Alexander's Ragtime Band'
1911
Jelly Roll Blues
Jelly Roll Morton plays in New York his Jelly Roll Blues
1912
Nielsen's Third Symphony
Carl Nielsen's Third Symphony, first performed in Copenhagen, brings him international renown
1912
Daphnis and Chloe danced to music by Ravel
Daphnis and Chloe, with choreography by Fokine, music by Ravel and designs by Bakst, is premiered by the Ballets Russes in Paris
1912
Pierrot Lunaire
Arnold Schoenberg sets Pierrot Lunaire for a solo voice, reciting the text to the accompaniment of a quintet
1912
Berlin Opera Ballet
The Berlin Opera Ballet is founded to perform in the city's new opera house
1912
Handy's Memphis Blues
Memphis Blues is composed by 'father of the blues' W.C. Handy
1912
Ariadne auf Naxos
The opera Ariadne auf Naxos, by Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal, has its first premiere in Stuttgart
1912
Ethel Smyth defiant in Holloway
Ethel Smyth, in Holloway jail, conducts her fellow prisoners in a suffragette anthem composed by herself
1913
Rite of Spring
Igor Stravinsky and Vaslav Nijinsky provoke uproar in Paris with The Rite of Spring for Ballets Russes
1913
Kirsten Flagstad makes debut
18-year-old Norwegian soprano Kirsten Flagstad makes her debut in Oslo
1913
On Hearing the first Cuckoo in Spring
Frederick Delius completes On Hearing the first Cuckoo in Spring, first performed this same year in Leipzig
1913
Sea Fever set to music
John Ireland sets Masefield's poem Sea Fever to music
1913
Colonel Bogey
The march Colonel Bogey is written and published by a Royal Marine bandleader under the pseudonym Kenneth Alford
1914
Vaughan Williams writes The Lark Ascending
Vaughan Williams writes a romance for violin and orchestra, The Lark Ascending, inspired by George Meredith's poem of the same name
1914
Gigli creates a stir
The tenor Beniamino Gigli wins an international singing competition in Parma, and makes his operatic debut later in the same year
1914
London Symphony
Vaughan Williams' London Symphony, including picturesque sounds of the city's street life, is first performed
1914
Keep the Home Fires Burning
Ivor Novello has a great success with his topical song Keep the Home Fires Burning (with lyrics by Lena Ford)
1915
El Amor Brujo
Manuel de Falla's ballet El Amor Brujo, including the 'Ritual Fire Dance', is performed in Paris
1915
Pack Up Your Troubles
Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag, by George Asaf and Felix Powell, rapidly becomes one of the most popular songs of the day
1916
Goyescas in opera form
The opera Goyescas, by Spanish composer Enrique Granados, has its premiere in New York
1916
Granados is torpedo victim
Enrique Granados, on the last leg of his return from New York, is one of many civilians to die when the Sussex is torpedoed by a U-boat in the English Channel
1916
Jenufa succeeds in Prague
The success of Jenufa in Prague finally brings international recognition to Leos Janacek, already in his sixties
1916
Nights in the Gardens of Spain
Manuel de Falla completes his piece for piano and orchestra, Nights in the Gardens of Spain
1916
If You Were the Only Girl in the World
"If You Were the Only Girl in the World" features in the London musical The Bing Boys are Here
1916
The first Gerswhin musical
The Passing Show of 1916 is the first of 22 musicals written in the short span of 17 years by the brothers George and Ira Gershwin
1916
The Fountains of Rome
Ottorino Respighi completes his symphonic poem for orchestra Fountains of Rome, first performed in Rome the following year
1916
Parry's Jerusalem
Hubert Parry sets profoundly evocative verses by William Blake and gives his composition the title Jerusalem
1916
Holst's The Planets
Gustav Holst completes his orchestral suite c, not performed in its entirety until 1920
1916
Chu Chin Chow
The musical Chu Chin Chow opens at His Majesty's Theatre in London and runs for a record 2235 performances
1917
Original Dixieland Jazz Band
New York responds with enthusiasm when the Original Dixieland Jazz Band performs a new kind of music in Reisenweber's restaurant
1917
Ireland's Second Violin Concerto
John Ireland's Second Violin Concerto meets with immediate approval
1917
Massine's Parade
Parade brings together Massine (choreography), Satie (music), Cocteau (libretto) and Picasso (sets and costumes)
1917
The Three-Cornered Hat
Manuel de Falla's ballet The Three-Cornered Hat is produced by Diaghilev with choreography by Massine and designs by Picasso
1917
Klemperer is music director at Cologne
Otto Klemperer starts a seven-year spell as music director of Cologne opera, and begins to acquire an international reputation
1918
Duke Bluebeard's Castle
Béla Bartók's opera Duke Bluebeard's Castle is finally staged in Budapest, nine years after its composition
1919
Pianist is Polish premier
Composer and pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski becomes prime minister of the newly independent Poland
1919
Elgar's Cello Concerto
Edward Elgar completes his last great work, the Cello Concerto in E minor
1919
Lauder knighted for war effort
Music-hall artist Harry Lauder is knighted for his wartime performances entertaining troops at the front
1919
La Boutique Fantasque
Léonide Massine, Ottorino Respighi and André Derain collaborate on the ballet La Boutique Fantasque
1919
Le Boeuf sur le toit
Darius Milhaud provides the score for Jean Cocteau's pantomime ballet Le Boeuf sur le toit
1919
Paderewski resigns premiership
The prime minister of Poland, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, resigns his post so as to concentrate on his concert career
1920
Student musical by Rodgers and Hart
Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart work together as Columbia University students, creating the musical Fly With Me
1920
Ives' Concord Sonata
Charles Ives publishes his Piano Sonata No. 2, Concord, Mass., 1840-60, usually known as the Concord Sonata
1920
Les Six make their mark in Paris
A group of composers in Paris - Auric, Durey, Honegger, Milhaud, Poulenc and Tailleferre - become known as 'les Six'
1920
Holst's Hymn of Jesus
Gustav Holst's Hymn of Jesus has its premiere in London, conducted by the composer
1921
Janacek's Taras Bulba
Taras Bulba, a rhapsody for orchestra by Leos Janacek, is first performed in Brno
1921
Kátya Kabanová
Janacek's opera Kátya Kabanová, based on Ostrovsky's play The Storm, has its premiere in Brno
1922
Façade
William Walton and Edith Sitwell give a private performance of their entertainment Façade, setting poems by Sitwell
1922
Furtwängler conducts in Berlin
The German conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler is appointed to the Berlin Philharmonic, and spends most of the rest of his life with the orchestra
1923
Bessie Smith's Downhearted Blues
Bessie Smith has a big hit with her first record, >Downhearted Blues, selling two million copies within a year
1923
Roussel's Padmâvâti
Albert Roussel's opera-ballet Padmâvâti is premiered in Paris
1923
Schoenberg develops serialism
Arnold Schoenberg's Suite for piano is his first piece entirely in the 12-note serial method
1923
Kod´ly's Psalmus Hungaricus
Zoltan Kod´ly's work for tenor, chorus and orchestra, Psalmus Hungaricus, has its first performance in Budapest
1923
Pacific 231
Arthur Honegger's Pacific 231, inspired by the sounds of a steam train, has its first performance in Paris
1923
Hindemith's Das Marienleben
Paul Hindemith sets Rainer Maria Rilke's song-cycle Das Marienleben
1924
Rhapsody in Blue
George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue has its first performance, at the Aeolian Hall in New York
1924
Gracie Fields stars in London show
Gracie Fields makes her name when she appears in London as Sally Perkins in the musical Mr Tower of London
1924
Nijinska's Le Train Bleu
Le Train Bleu brings together Bronislava Nijinska (choreography), Darius Milhaud (music), and Coco Chanel (costumes)
1924
Respighi's Pines of Rome
Ottorino Respighi's symphonic poem Pines of Rome has its first performance in Rome
1924
Menuhin's first recital
7-year-old Yehudi Menuhin gives his first professional recital, playing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in San Francisco
1924
The Cunning Little Vixen
Leos Janacek's opera The Cunning Little Vixen, based on verses by Rudolf Tesnohlídek, is premiered in Brno
1924
Puccini dies with Turandot incomplete
Giacomo Puccini dies without finishing his opera Turandot, which is subsequently completed by Franco Alfani
1925
Satchmo forms Hot Five
Trumpeter Louis Armstrong, in Chicago, forms the Hot Five with his wife on piano and three New Orleans musicians on trombone, clarinet and guitar
1925
Ravel and Colette write an opera
Maurice Ravel and Colette provide music and libretto for the opera The Child and the Enchantments
1925
Webern follows Schoenberg into serialism
Anton Webern again follows Schoenberg, this time into serialism, when he adopts the 12-note method for his Three Traditional Rhymes
1925
Wozzeck as an opera
Alban Berg's opera Wozzeck has its premiere in Berlin
1926
Shostakovich's first symphony
19-year-old Dmitry Shostakovich wins immediate attention with the public performance of his first symphony, his graduation piece from Leningrad Conservatory
1926
Szymanowski's King Roger
Karel Szymanowski's opera King Roger has its first performance in Warsaw
1926
Janacek's Sinfonietta
Leos Janacek completes his powerfully scored orchestral work Sinfonietta
1926
First movie with a sound track
Don Juan, starring John Barrymore, has a synchronized musical score, making it the earliest example of a film with a sound track
1926
Morton and his Red Hot Peppers
Jelly Roll Morton and his new group of seven, the Red Hot Peppers, record their first classic, Black Bottom Stomp
1926
Háry J´nos
Zoltán Kodály's opera Háry J´nos has its first performance in Budapest
1926
The Miraculous Mandarin
Béla Bartók's ballet The Miraculous Mandarin has its premiere (in Cologne) some eight years after he began work on it
1926
Crosby gets the girl
23-year-old US crooner Bing Crosby makes his first record, singing I''ve Got the Girl with the Paul Whiteman band
1926
Tapiola
Jean Sibelius's tone-poemTapiola has its premiere in New York
1926
Janacek's Makropoulos Affair
Leos Janacek's opera The Makropoulos Affair, based on the play by Karel Capek, has its first performance in Brno
1927
Jonny Strikes Up
Ernst Krenek's jazz opera Jonny Strikes Up has its premiere in Leipzig
1927
First collaboration between Brecht and Weill
Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill write Mahagonny Songspiel for the Baden-Baden music festival
1927
Menuhin sensation in New York
11-year-old Yehudi Menuhin gives a sensational performance of the Beethoven Violin Concerto in the Carnegie Hall, conducted by Fritz Busch
1927
Glagolitic Mass
Leos Janacek's Glagolitic Mass has its first performance in his home town, Brno
1927
Show Boat
Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern open on Broadway with an immensely influential American musical, Show Boat
1928
Pinetop's Boogie-Woogie
'Pine Top' Smith records Pinetop's Boogie-Woogie, the first recording to be labelled boogie-woogie
1928
An American in Paris
Gershwin's orchestral work An American in Paris (with parts for four taxi-horns) has its first performance in New York
1928
Balanchine's Apollo
George Balanchine creates Apollo for Ballets Russes, to music by Igor Stravinksy
1928
Boléro
Maurice Ravel writes Boléro as music for a ballet choreographed by Nijinska with designs by Benois
1928
Threepenny Opera
The Threepenny Opera, by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, opens to great acclaim in Berlin
1928
Fenby helps Delius compose
Eric Fenby devotes himself to Frederick Delius, taking dictation to write down the scores of the blind composer's new works
1928
Szymanowski's Stabat Mater
Karol Szymanowski's Stabat Mater is performed in Warsaw and brings him international fame
1929
The Bedbug
Vladimir Mayakovsky's play The Bedbug is directed in Moscow by Meyerhold with incidental music by Shostakovich
1929
Messiaen's first published work
20-year-old French composer Olivier Messiaen publishes eight Preludes for piano
1929
Fats Waller and his Buddies
Jazz musician Fats Waller begins recording with his Buddies, one of the first racially integrated groups in the US music industry
1929
George Formby's ukulele
George Formby makes the first records featuring what becomes his trademark, the ukulele
1930
Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny
The opera Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht, opens in Leipzig
1930
Bachianas Brasileiras
Heitor Villa-Lobos composes the first of his Bachianas Brasileiras
1930
Steel bands in Trinidad
The steel-band tradition begins to develop in Trinidad, with adapted metal objects taking the place of traditional skin drums
1930
Ireland's Piano Concerto
English composer John Ireland's Piano Concerto has its first performance
1930
Handel in the Strand
Australian-born composer Percy Grainger writes variations on Handel's tune The Harmonious Blacksmith
1930
BBC Symphony Orchestra
The British Broadcasting Corporation forms a Symphony Orchestra with Adrian Boult as the first music director
1931
Ashton makes a ballet of Façade
Frederick Ashton choreographs Façade for the Camargo Society, using Walton's score
1931
Star-Spangled Banner
The Star-Spangled Banner is made the official US national anthem
1932
16-year-old Menuhin records Elgar
16-year-old Yehudi Menuhin records the Elgar violin concerto, conducted by the composer
1932
London Philharmonic
English conductor Thomas Beecham founds another orchestra, calling it the London Philharmonic
1933
42nd Street
Lloyd Bacon directs 42nd Street, a classic backstage movie about putting a musical comedy on Broadway
1933
Leadbelly discovered in gaol
Unknown American blues singer Huddie Ledbetter, or Leadbelly, is first recorded singing in the Louisiana State Penitentiary
1933
Richard Strauss's Arabella
Arabella, by Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal, is first performed four years after von Hofmannsthal's death left it incomplete
1933
Schoenberg leaves Germany
Arnold Schoenberg leaves his teaching post in Germany, now under Nazi control, and in 1934 settles in Los Angeles
1934
Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District
Dmitry Shostakovich's opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District has its premiere in Leningrad's Maly Theatre
1934
Opera at Glyndebourne
The first opera festival at Glyndebourne, a country house in Sussex, opens with a performance of Mozart's Marriage of Figaro
1934
Korngold goes to Hollywood
Erich Korngold, one of Austria's most admired composers, moves to Hollywood
1934
Quintet du Hot Club de France
Jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stephane Grapelli form the Quintet du Hot Club de France
1934
Rachmaninov develops Paganini
Sergei Rachmaninov writes the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini in his villa beside Lake Lucerne
1934
Björling makes operatic debut
Swedish tenor Jussi Björling makes his debut in Stockholm, in Puccini's Manon Lescaut
1934
Mathis der Maler
Paul Hindemith's opera Mathis der Maler is banned by the Nazis and is not performed until 1938 in Zurich
1935
Weill moves to USA
The German composer Kurt Weill moves to New York, where he writes Broadway musicals
1935
Joan of Arc at the Stake
Arthur Honegger's opera Joan of Arc at the Stake has its premiere in Basel
1935
Berg's Violin Concerto
Alban Berg writes his Violin Concerto, commissioned by Louis Krasner, in memory of Manon Gropius
1935
Edith Piaf gets her name
French cabaret singer Edith Gassion acquires the nickname la môme piaf ('the little sparrow'), and so becomes Edith Piaf
1935
Kirov commemorated in company name
Leningrad's opera and ballet company is renamed the Kirov, in memory of the city's recently assassinated commissar
1935
Gobbi makes debut in Gubbio
Italian baritone Tito Gobbi makes his operatic debut in Gubbio in Bellini's La Somnambula
1935
Porgy and Bess as an opera
George Gershwin's 'folk opera' Porgy and Bess, based on the novel by DuBose Heyward, opens on Broadway
1935
Count Basie's Orchestra
US jazz pianist William ('count') Basie acquires his own orchestra
1935
Berg's Lulu
Alban Berg's opera Lulu is incomplete when the composer dies
1936
Goodman is 'King of Swing'
The new sound of jazz clarinetist Benny Goodman's touring band brings him the title 'King of Swing'
1936
El Salón México
US composer Aaron Copland writes El Salón México, using popular Mexican tunes
1936
Robeson's 'Ol' Man River'
Paul Robeson sings 'Ol' Man River' in the film of Jerome Kern's Showboat
1936
Shostakovich denounced
On Stalin's orders Dmitry Shostakovich is attacked in Pravda for providing 'chaos instead of music'
1936
Carmina Burana
Carl Orff's cantata Carmina Burana has its premiere in Frankfurt
1936
Rachmaninov's Third Symphony
Rachmaninov completes his Third Symphony, and records it two years later with the Philadelphia Orchestra
1937
Glenn Miller'a first band
US trombonist Glenn Miller forms his first band, the Glenn Miller Orchestra
1937
Walton's Crown Imperial
William Walton writes Crown Imperial for the coronation of George VI
1938
Alexander Nevsky
Russian film-maker Sergei Eisenstein directs Alexander Nevsky, with music by Prokofiev
1938
Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet
The first of many ballets to Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet score is premiered in Czechoslovakia
1939
Lincoln Memorial concert
Marian Anderson's concert at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington effectively launches the US civil rights movement
1939
Wizard of Oz on screen
Victor Fleming directs 17-year-old Judy Garland in the film of the famous musical The Wizard of Oz
1939
Britten and Pears form creative partnership
Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears give a series of recitals in the USA at the start of a lifelong partnership
1939
Von Karajan directs Berlin State Opera
Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan becomes music director of the Berlin State Opera
1939
Hess lunchtime concerts
British pianist Myra Hess begins a wartime series of lunchtime concerts in London's National Gallery
1939
Stravinsky moves to USA
Igor Stravinsky moves to the USA from Paris, his home for nearly 30 years, and settles in Hollywood
1939
Concierto de Aranjuez
Joaquin Rodrigo's concerto for guitar and orchestra, the Concierto de Aranjuez, has its first performance in Barcelona
1939
'Bird' Parker gets his nickname
The US jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker acquires the nickname 'Yardbird', or simply 'Bird'
1940
Warsaw Concerto
Richard Addinsell writes the Warsaw Concerto as music for the film Dangerous Moonlight
1940
Pal Joey
Gene Kelly makes his name on Broadway in the Rodgers and Hart musical Pal Joey
1941
A Child of our Time
English composer Michael Tippett completes his oratorio A Child of our Time (not performed until 1944)
1941
Maria Callas begins her career
Greek soprano Maria Callas sings her first Tosca, in the opera house in Athens
1942
Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony
Dmitry Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony, mainly written during the siege of Leningrad, has its premiere in Kuybishev
1942
The First of the Few
Leslie Howard directs and stars in The First of the Few, about the creator of the Spitfire, with music by William Walton
1942
Cunningham and Cage join forces
US choreographer Merce Cunningham begins a long creative partnership with the composer John Cage
1942
Boulez studies with Messiaen
French music student Pierre Boulez joins a harmony class taught by Olivier Messiaen at the Paris Conservatoire
1942
Yankee Doodle Dandy on screen
James Cagney stars in the screen musical Yankee Doodle Dandy, directed by Michael Curtiz
1942
White Christmas
US crooner Bing Crosby sings Irving Berlin's White Christmas
1943
Oklahoma
The musical Oklahoma! launches the partnership of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II
1943
Ferrier in Messiah
English contralto Kathleen Ferrier makes her London début in Handel's Messiah in Westminster Abbey
1943
Barbirolli directs Hallé
British conductor John Barbirolli is appointed to direct the Hallé orchestra
1944
On the Town
Fancy Free becomes On the Town, a Broadway musical by Leonard Bernstein, directed by Jerome Robbins
1944
Olivier's film of Henry V
Laurence Olivier directs and stars in a patriotic film of Henry V with stirring music by William Walton
1944
Appalachian Spring
Aaron Copland's ballet Appalachian Spring has choreography by Martha Graham
1945
Peter Grimes
Benjamin Britten's opera Peter Grimes has its premiere in London, at the Sadler's Wells theatre
1945
Stravinsky's Symphony in Three Movements
Igor Stravinsky's Symphony in Three Movements, premiered in New York, derives from music written for or inspired by films
1945
Webern is shot near Salzburg
Austrian composer Anton Webern is accidentally killed near Salzburg by a soldier in the US occupation force
1946
Ashton's Symphonic Variations
Frederick Ashton choreographs Symphonic Variations, to music by César Franck
1946
Boulez's Sonatine
Sonatine, for flute and piano, brings early success to French composer Pierre Boulez
1946
Christoff makes debut in La Bohème
Bulgarian bass Boris Christoff makes his debut in Puccini's La Bohème in Reggio Calabria
1946
Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra
Benjamin Britten bases his Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra on a theme by Purcell
1946
Furtwängler acquitted of collaboration
German conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler is acquitted of the charge of collaborating with the Nazis
1946
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
British conductor Thomas Beecham founds the third orchestra of his career, calling it the Royal Philharmonic
1947
Mamelles de Tiresias in opera form
Francis Poulenc makes an opera of Guillaume Apollinaire's play Les Mamelles de Tirésias ('The Breasts of Tiresias')
1947
'Bird' Parker's quintet
Saxophonist 'Bird' Parker forms his own quintet in New York, often to be heard at Minton's Playhouse in Harlem
1948
Carter and metric modulation
The Cello Sonata by US composer Elliott Carter introduces 'metric modulation'
1948
Balanchine's company in City Center
George Balanchine's New York City Ballet becomes the resident company in the City Center for Music and Drama
1948
Four Last Songs completed
Richard Strauss completes his Four Last Songs in the year before his death
1948
Aldeburgh Festival
Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears together establish an annual festival in the Suffolk seaside town of Aldeburgh
1948
Musique concrète
French composer Pierre Schaeffer writes the first pieces of musique concrète, and coins the term
1948
Turangaîlila-symphonie
Olivier Messiaen completes Turangaîlila-symphonie, a symphony in ten movements for an orchestra including ondes martenot
1948
Ashton's Cinderella
Frederick Ashton's Cinderella, to music by Prokofiev, is the first full-length ballet by an English choreographer
1949
South Pacific
The musical South Pacific, by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, opens on Broadway
1950
Four Last Songs
Kirsten Flagstad sings the posthumous premiere, in London, of Richard Strauss's Four Last Songs
1951
The King and I
Gertrude Lawrence and Yul Brynner open on Broadway in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I
1951
Powell's 'Dance to the Music of Time'
A Question of Upbringing begins Antony Powell's 'A Dance to the Music of Time'
1951
Stravinksy and Auden collaborate on an opera
The Rake's Progress, with music by Igor Stravinsky and libretto by W.H. Auden and Chester Kallman, has its premiere in Venice
1952
Henze's Boulevard Solitude
Hans Werner Henze's first full-length opera, Boulevard Solitude, has its premiere in Hanover
1952
Boulez's Structures
In his first book of Structures, for two pianos, Pierre Boulez provides a classic of serial music
1952
Cage's 4'33"
US composer John Cage's 4'33" consists of precisely that number of minutes and seconds of silence
1952
MJQ plays cool
The Modern Jazz Quartet, led by pianist John Lewis, plays in the sophisticated style that becomes known as 'cool jazz'
1953
MacMillan's first ballet
British choreographer Kenneth MacMillan creates his first ballet, Somnambulism, to music by Stan Kenton
1953
Walton's Orb and Sceptre
English composer William Walton writes Orb and Sceptre for the coronation of Elizabeth II
1953
Shostakovich's Tenth Symphony
Dmitry Shostakovich's Tenth Symphony has its first performance in Leningrad nine months after the death of Stalin
1953
Messiaen borrows birdsong
French composer Olivier Messiaen uses birdsong with piano and orchestra in his Waking of the Birds
1954
Rock Around the Clock
Bill Haley & His Comets record Rock Around the Clock, providing an early classic of US rock and roll
1954
Presley cuts his first disc
US truck driver Elvis Presley makes his first commercial recordings, for Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee
1954
Walton's Troilus and Cressida
William Walton's opera Troilus and Cressida has its premiere at Covent Garden
1955
Midsummer Marriage
Michael Tippett's first opera, A Midsummer Marriage, has its premiere at Covent Garden
1955
Gould plays Bach
Canadian pianist Glenn Gould wins international fame with his recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations
1955
Miles Davis Quintet
Jazz trumpeter Miles Davis forms his own quintet, extending it in 1958 to a sextet
1956
Heartbreak Hotel
Heartbreak Hotel, Presley's first recording for RCA, goes to the top of all three US charts
1956
Jerome Robbins' The Concert
Jerome Robbins creates the ballet The Concert, to music by Chopin
1956
My Fair Lady
The musical My Fair Lady, by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, opens on Broadway
1956
Stockhausen's Song of the Children
Karlheinz Stockhausen's Song of the Children combines electronic sounds and the human voice
1956
Henze's Stag King
Hans Werner Henze's opera The Stag King has its premiere in Berlin
1956
Khachaturian's Spartacus
The ballet Spartacus, with music by Aram Khachaturian, has its premiere in Leningrad
1957
Schoenberg's Moses and Aaron
Arnold Schoenberg's opera Moses and Aaron, incomplete at his death, has its premiere in Zurich
1957
Panufnik's Sinfonia elegiaco
Polish-born British composer Andrzej Panufnik wins an international reputation with his Sinfonia elegiaco
1957
The Entertainer
Laurence Olivier brings the music-hall artist Archie Rice vibrantly to life in John Osborne's The Entertainer
1957
West Side Story
Leonard Bernstein, Jerome Robbins and Stephen Sondheim create the Broadway musical West Side Story
1957
Stockhausen's Gruppen
German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen uses three separate orchestras to achieve acoustic space in Gruppen
1958
Cliff Richard records Move It
18-year-old British pop singer Cliff Richard has his first hit single with Move It
1959
La Voix Humaine by Poulenc and Cocteau
Francis Poulenc and Jean Cocteau collaborate on La Voix Humaine, a concerto for soprano voice and orchestra
1959
Joan Sutherland as Lucia
Australian soprano Joan Sutherland becomes a star overnight with her performance at Covent Garden in Lucia di Lammermoor
1960
Beatles perform in Liverpool
A Liverpool group of musicians call themselves Long John & the Silver Beatles – a name soon shortened to something more memorable
1960
Coltrane and hard bop
US jazz saxophonist John Coltrane forms his own 'hard bop' group
1960
Placido Domingo's first major role
20-year-old Spanish tenor Placido Domingo sings his first major role, as Alfredo in La Traviata in the Mexican city of Monterrey
1961
Ligeti's Atmosphères
Atmosphères, by the Hungarian composer György Ligeti, achieves a mysterious blend of sound in what he calls 'micropolyphony'
1961
Pavarotti makes operatic debut
Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti makes his operatic debut in Reggio Emilia, as Rodolfo in La Bohème
1961
Lutoslawki's Venetian Games
Polish composer Witold Lutoslawski uses 'aleatory counterpoint' in his Venetian Games
1962
Blowin' in the Wind
US singer Bob Dylan writes one of his best-known songs, Blowin' in the Wind (included in his 1963 album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan)
1962
Baldwin's Another Country
James Baldwin's third novel Another Country explores the conflicts in the life of a young unemployed black musician
1962
Rolling Stones first perform together
The Rolling Stones, led by Mick Jagger, give their first performance as a group, in London's Marquee Club
1962
Tetley's Pierrot Lunaire
US choreographer Glen Tetley creates a ballet to the music of Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire
1962
Britten's War Requiem
Benjamin Britten's War Requiem, setting poems by Wilfred Owen, is first performed in the rebuilt Coventry Cathedral
1962
Du Pré impresses in cello concerto
17-year-old English cellist Jacqueline du Pré creates a stir playing Elgar's concerto in the Royal Festival Hall
1962
Shostakovich sets Babi Yar
Dmitry Shostakovich's Thirteenth Symphony sets poems from Yevtushenko's Babi Yar I
1963
Marley and the Wailers
Bob Marley and five others form a band, the Wailers, that will for the first time give Jamaican music a global following
1964
'Can't Buy Me Love'
The Beatles reach number one in both the UK and the US with their single 'Can't Buy Me Love'
1965
Maria Callas takes her final bow
Maria Callas gives her last performance, as Tosca at Covent Garden in London
1966
Tavener's The Whale
The Whale, a cantata by English composer John Tavener, has its premiere at the inaugural concert of the London Sinfonietta
1967
Pierrot Players
British composers Harrison Birtwistle and Peter Maxwell Davies found the Pierrot Players
1967
Du Pré and Barenboim
English cellist Jacqueline du Pré marries Israeli pianist Daniel Barenboim
1967
Sergeant Pepper
The Beatles release an immensely successful album, Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, with a cover by British pop-artist Peter Blake
1968
Stockhausen's Stimmung
Karlheinz Stockhausen's Stimmung ('Tuning') employs six unaccompanied voices for 75 minutes
1969
Eight Songs for a Mad King
Peter Maxwell Davies writes Eight Songs for a Mad King for the Pierrot Players
1969
Woodstock Music Festival
Nearly half a million people turn up for the Woodstock Music Festival at a dairy farm in Bethel, New York
1969
Berio's Sinfonia
Italian composer Luciano Berio completes his Sinfonia for eight voices and orchestra
1970
Panufnik's Universal Prayer
Polish composer Andrzej Panufnik's Universal Prayer, a cantata setting poetry by Alexander Pope, has its premiere in New York
1970
Lutoslawski composes for Rostropovich
Polish composer Witold Lutoslawksi writes a cello concerto for Mstislav Rostropovich
1970
The Knot Garden
Michael Tippett's opera The Knot Garden has its premiere at Covent Garden
1971
Sitar concerto by Ravi Shankar
Indian sitar-player Ravi Shankar composes the first of his two concertos for sitar and orchestra
1971
Casals' Hymn to the United Nations
95-year-old Spanish cellist Pablo Casals conducts in New York his Hymn to the United Nations
1971
Northern home for Maxwell Davies
Peter Maxwell Davies moves to the Orkneys, where he founds (in 1977) the St Magnus Festival
1972
Tavener's Ultimos Ritos
Ultimos Ritos ('Last Rites'), an oratorio by John Tavener, has its first performance in Haarlem in the Netherlands
1972
Maxwell Davies's Taverner
Peter Maxwell Davies's opera Taverneris performed at Covent Garden
1972
Schnittke's First Symphony
Russian composer Alfred Schnittke's First Symphony alarms the Soviet authorities and is denied a Moscow premiere
1973
Elvis's Aloha Concert
Elvis Presley performs in Honolulu in the Aloha Concert, the first programme to be broadcast live round the world by satellite
1973
A Little Night Music
A Little Night Music, with lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim, has its premiere in New York
1973
Sting revives ragtime
The score of the film The Sting revives interest in Scott Joplin and ragtime
1973
Du Pré falls ill
The career of virtuoso cellist Jacqueline du Pré's is cut short by multiple sclerosis
1973
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House opens with a performance by Australian Opera of Prokofiev's War and Peace
1975
Hockney's Rake's Progress
David Hockney begins a new career as a set designer, with The Rake's Progress by Stravinksky at Glyndebourne
1975
Sex Pistols and punk rock
The British group the Sex Pistols launch punk rock, with their first gig at St Martin's School of Art in London
1976
Ashton's Month in the Country
Frederick Ashton creates a ballet based on Turgenev's play A Month in the Country, to music by Chopin
1976
Górecki's Third Symphony
Polish composer Henryk Górecki completes his Third Symphony
1976
Boulez and IRCAM
Pierre Boulez establishes in Paris IRCAM, an advanced institute for research into the techniques of modern music
1977
Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten
Estonian composer Arvo Pärt completes his choral work Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten
1977
Elvis dies
Elvis Presley dies, aged 42, at his home in Memphis, Tennessee
1978
Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre
Hungarian composer György Ligeti's opera Le Grand Macabre has its premiere in Stockholm
1980
John Lennon is murdered
Beatle John Lennon is murdered by a psychopath on the steps of his and Yoko Ono's apartment block in New York
1981
War Music
War Music is the first instalment of Christopher Logue's version of the Iliad
1981
Stockhausen's Thursday from Light
Karlheinz Stockhausen's Thursday from Light, the first of a seven-part opera cycle, is performed in Milan
1981
Cats
Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats, based on the Old Possum poems by T.S. Eliot, opens in London
1982
Michael Jackson's Thriller
Michael Jackson's releases the album Thriller, which goes on to sell 40 million copies in ten years
1983
MIDI becomes electronic standard
The US system MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) becomes the industry standard for electronic communication in music
1983
Compact disc
Philips and Sony jointly introduce a new device, the compact disc
1983
Messiaen's opera St Francis of Assisi
Olivier Messiaen's opera St Francis of Assisi has its premiere in Paris
1984
Luciano Berio's Un re in ascolto
Luciano Berio's opera Un re in ascolto has its premiere in Salzburg
1984
Like a Virgin
Madonna (Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone) releases her second album, Like a Virgin, that goes on to sell millions
1984
Glass's Akhnaten
The opera Akhnaten, by US composer Philip Glass, has its first performance in Stuttgart
1984
Do they know its Christmas?
Bob Geldof forms Band Aid and releases for Ethiopian famine relief the best-selling UK single Do they know its Christmas?
1985
Live Aid concert
Live Aid, an all-day concert for famine relief in Africa, is held simultaneously in London and Philadelphia
1986
The Mask of Orpheus
Harrison Birtwistle's second opera, The Mask of Orpheus, brings him an international reputation
1986
Penderecki's Black Mask
Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki's opera The Black Mask is premiered in Salzburg
1986
Rap album tops US chart
The Beastie Boys' Licensed to Ill becomes the first rap (or hip hop) album to top the US chart
1987
Nixon in China
John Adams' opera Nixon in China is performed in Houston
1988
Mark-Anthony Turnage's Greek
English composer Mark-Anthony Turnage's first opera, Greek, is premiered in Munich
1990
The three tenors
Three tenors (Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras) sing at a concert in Rome to celebrate the World Cup
1991
Nirvana grunge
The US rock group Nirvana become the leading performers of grunge
1992
'Tears in Heaven'
Eric Clapton's album Unplugged includes 'Tears in Heaven', mourning the death of his four-year-old son
1996
Spice sells millions
The British pop group Spice Girls sell millions of their first album, Spice, breaking all previous UK records
1997
Time out of Mind
Bob Dylan produces one of his finest albums, Time out of Mind
1997
Elton tribute to Diana
Elton John sings a revised version of Candle in the Wind in Westminster Abbey, as a tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales
1999
Buena Vista Social Club
Buena Vista Social Club, a nostalgic documentary by Wim Wenders, triggers a cult for Cuban music
2000
Marshall Mathers LP
Rap artist Eminem's album The Marshall Mathers LP enters the US charts at no. 1
2003
Top album by Britney Spears
US singer Britney Spears creates a new record when she has a fourth successive album (In the Zone) go straight to the top of Billboard 200
2009 June 25
Michael Jackson dies
The sudden death of the pop star Michael Jackson triggers a world-wide emotional response