This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1903.
February 11 - Anton Bruckner's 9th Symphony is premiered in Vienna
February 23 (Julian = March 8 Gregorian) – George Enescu conducts the world premieres of three of his works, the Suite No. 1 for orchestra, op. 9, in C major, and the two Romanian Rhapsodies, op. 11, in A major and D major, as part of a concert at the Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest.
Enrico Caruso joins cast of New York's Metropolitan Opera Company and makes first records for the Victor Talking Machine Company.
Frederick Delius marries Jelka Rosen.
Mississippi John Hurt begins performing.
Victor Herbert's Babes in Toyland premieres.
Charles W. Clark is the first American to give a concert at the Paris National Conservatoire of Music, an honor that had not been given to an American in seventy years of those concerts.
"Always In The Way" w.m. Charles K. Harris
"Always Leave Them Laughing When You Say Goodbye" w.m. George M. Cohan
"Are We To Part Like This?" w.m. Harry Castling & Charles Collins
"Anona" w.m. Vivian Grey
"Bedelia" w. William Jerome m. Jean Schwartz
"The Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous" w.m. Dan McAvoy
"The Burning of Rome" by E. T. Paull
"By The Sycamore Tree" w. George V. Hobart m. Max Hoffmann
"Congo Love Song" w.m. Bob Cole & J. Rosamond Johnson
"Daisy Donahue" w. James O'Dea m. Robert J. Adams
"Dear Old Girl" w. Richard Henry Buck m. Theodore F. Morse
"Dear Sing Sing" Schwartz
"Down At The Old Bull And Bush" w.m. Florrie Forde
"Flowers Of Dixieland" w. Edgar Smith m. J. Rosamond Johnson
"General Hardtack On Guard" w.m. Dave Reed Jr
"Good-bye, Eliza Jane" w. Andrew B. Sterling m. Harry Von Tilzer
"Hamlet Was A Melancholy Dane" w. William Jerome m. Jean Schwartz
"Hannah!" by Joseph Farrell
"He Was A Sailor" w. William Jerome m. Jean Schwartz
"Hurrah For Baffin's Bay" w. Vincent Bryan m. Theodore F. Morse
"I Can't Do The Sum" w. Glen MacDonough m. Victor Herbert
"I Could Love You In A Steam Heat Flat" w. Vincent Bryan m. J. B. Mullen
"I Never Could Love Like That" Bowman, Johns
"Ida, Sweet As Apple Cider" w. Eddie Leonard m. Eddie Munson
"I'm A Jonah Man" w.m. Alex Rogers
"I'm On The Water Wagon Now" w. Paul West m. John Walter Bratton
"I'm Thinking Of You All The While" Reed Jnr
"I'm Wearing My Heart Away For You" w.m. Charles K. Harris
"In The Village By The Sea" w. Andrew B. Sterling m. Stanley Crawford
"Indolence" Jason Mathews
"Is Your Mother In, Molly Malone?" w.m. Mills & Everard
"It Takes the Irish to Beat the Dutch" w. Edward Madden m. Theodore F. Morse
"It Was The Dutch" w. Vincent Bryan m. J. B. Mullen
"It's The Man In The Sailor Suit" w. Fred C. Farrell m. Theodore F. Morse
"Jack Tar March" by John Philip Sousa
"Julie" w. William Jerome m. Jean Schwartz
"Lazy Moon" w. Bob Cole m. J. Rosamond Johnson
"Like A Star That Falls From Heaven" w. Arthur Lamb m. Kerry Mills
"Little Yellow Bird" w.m. C. W. Murphy & William Hargreaves
"The Maid Of Timbucktoo" w. James Weldon Johnson m. Bob Cole
"The March Of The Toys" m. Victor Herbert
"Main Gazebo" Chris Praetorius
"Mary Ellen" Bryan, Lemonier
"Melody Of Love" w. Tom Glazer m. H. Engelmann
"The Military Band" m. Victor Herbert
"Moriaty" w. Charles Horwitz m. Fred V. Bowers
"Mother O' Mine" w. Rudyard Kipling m. Frank E. Tours
"My Cosy Corner Girl" w. Charles Noel Douglas m. John Walter Bratton
"My Hula Lula Girl" by Jean Schwartz & William Jerome
"My Little Coney Isle" w. Andrew B. Sterling m. Harry Von Tilzer
"My Little Creole Babe" w.m. Maude Nugent
"My Little 'Rang Outang" w. Edward Madden m. Theodore F. Morse
"Navajo" w. Harry H. Williams m. Egbert Van Alstyne
"An Old Man's Darling" w.m. Fred Murray & George Everard
"Only A Dream Of A Golden Past" w. Alfred Bryan m. Stanley Crawford
"Out Where The Breakers Roar" w. Harlow Hyde m. H. W. Petrie
"Over The Pilsner Foam" w. Vincent Bryan m. J. B. Mullen
"Palm Leaf Rag" by Scott Joplin
"Please Mother, Buy Me A Baby" w.m. Will D. Cobb & Gus Edwards
"The Saftest Of The Family" w. Harry Lauder & Bobry Beaton m. Harry Lauder
"Save It For Me" w. James Weldon Johnson m. Bob Cole
"Spring Beautiful Spring" m. Paul Lincke
"Stop Your Ticklin', Jock" w. Harry Lauder & Frank Folley m. Harry Lauder
"Summer Breeze March & Two-Step" by James Scott
"There's A Little Street In Heaven That They Call Broadway" w. Jack T. Waldron & A. Baldwin Sloane m. A. Baldwin Sloane
"Toyland" w. Glen MacDonough m. Victor Herbert
"The Toymaker's Shop" m. Victor Herbert
"Two Eyes Of Blue" w. George H. Taylor m. Leslie Stuart
"Two Eyes Of Brown" w. Edward Madden m. Stephen Howard
"Under A Panama" w. Vincent Bryan m. J. B. Mullen
"Under The Anheuser Bush" w.m. Andrew B. Sterling & Harry Von Tilzer
"Up In A Coconut Tree" w. Edward Madden m. Theodore F. Morse
"Upper Broadway After Dark" w. Edward Gardinier m. Maurice Levi
"When I'm Away From You Dear" w.m. Paul Dresser
"The Woodchuck Song" w. Robert Hobart Davis m. Theodore F. Morse
"The Wreck Of The Old '97" w.m. Henry C. Work
"Your Dad Gave His Life For His Country" w. Harry J. Breen m. T. Mayo Geary
"You're The Flower Of My Heart, Sweet Adeline" w. Richard H. Gerard m. Henry W. Armstrong
"Always In The Way" (w.m. Charles K. Harris)
- Byron G. Harlan on Edison Records
"Any Rags?" (w.m. Thomas S. Allen)
- Arthur Collins on Edison
"The Arrow And The Song" (w. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow m. Michael William Balfe)
- Herbert Goddard on Victor Records
"Badinage" (m. Victor Herbert)
- Edison Grand Concert Band on Edison
"Bedelia" (w. William Jerome m. Jean Schwartz)
- George J. Gaskin on Columbia Records
- Edward M. Favor on Columbia
- Billy Murray on Edison
"The Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous" (w.m. Dan McAvoy)
- Edward M. Favor on Edison
- Dan W. Quinn on Victor
"Blaze Away" (m. Abe Holzmann)
- banjos Vess L. Ossman & Bill Farmer on Victor
"Blaze Away" (m. Abe Holzmann)
- Kendle's Band on Victor
"By The Sycamore Tree" (w. George V. Hobart m. Max Hoffmann)
- Harry Macdonough on Edison
- Bob Roberts on Columbia
- Billy Murray on Victor
"Come Down Ma' Evenin' Star" (w. Robert B. Smith m. John Stromberg)
- Mina Hickman on Victor
"Congo Love Song" (w.m. Bob Cole & J. Rosamond Johnson)
- Harry Macdonough on Edison
- Mina Hickman on Victor
"Could You Be True To Eyes Of Blue If You Looked Into Eyes Of Brown?" (w.m. Will D. Cobb & Gus Edwards)
- Harry Macdonough on Victor
"The Country Girl" (w. Stanislaus Stange m. Julian Edwards)
- Vesta Victoria on Gramophone Records
"Didn't Know Exactly What To Do" (w. Frank Pixley m. Gustav Luders)
- Edward M. Favor on Edison
"Down On The Farm" (w. Raymond A. Browne m. Harry Von Tilzer)
- Franklyn Wallace on Edison
"Flowers Of Dixieland" (w. Edgar Smith m. J. Rosamond Johnson)
- Franklyn Wallace on Edison
"The Gambling Man(1)" (w. William Jerome m. Jean Schwartz)
- Silas Leachman on Victor
"Good-bye, Eliza Jane" (w. Andrew B. Sterling m. Harry Von Tilzer)
- Arthur Collins on Edison
"Hamlet Was A Melancholy Dane" (w. William Jerome m. Jean Schwartz)
- Edward M. Favor on Edison
"He Ought To Have A Tablet In The Hall of Fame" (w. Arthur L. Robb m. John Walter Bratton)
- Edward M. Favor on Edison
"He Was A Sailor" (w. William Jerome m. Jean Schwartz)
- Collins & Harlan on Edison
"Heidelberg Stein Song" (w. Frank Pixley m. Gustav Luders)
- Harry Macdonough on Edison & Victor
"Hiawatha" (w. James O'Dea m. Neil Moret)
- Edison Grand Concert Band on Edison
- Harry Macdonough on Edison
- Metropolitan Orchestra on Victor
- Sousa's Band on Victor
"Hurrah For Baffin's Bay" (w. Vincent Bryan m. Theodore F. Morse)
- Collins & Harlan on Edison
- Dan W. Quinn on Victor
"I Could Love You In A Steam Heat Flat" (w. Vincent Bryan m. J. B. Mullen)
- Harry West on Edison
"I Like You, Lil, For Fair" (Ade, Loraine)
- Billy Murray on Victor
"I Never Could Love Like That" (Bowman, Johns)
- Billy Murray on Victor
"I Want To Be A Lidy" (w. George Dance m. George Dee)
- Clarke's Band Of Providence on Victor
"I Wonder Why Bill Bailey Don't Come Home" (w.m. Frank Fogerty, Matt C. Woodward & William Jerome)
- Arthur Collins on Victor & Edison
"I'll Wed You In The Golden Summertime" (w. Alfred Bryan m. Stanley Crawford)
- John H. Bieling & Harry Macdonough on Victor
"I'm A Jonah Man" (w.m. Alex Rogers)
- Dan W. Quinn on Victor
- Arthur Collins on Edison & Victor
"I'm Thinking Of You All The While" (Reed Jnr)
- Billy Murray on Victor
"I'm Wearing My Heart Away For You" (w.m. Charles K. Harris)
- Harry Macdonough & John H. Bieling on Victor
"In Silence" (w. Sydney Rosenfeld m. A. Baldwin Sloane)
- Arthur Clifford on Edison
"In The City Of Sighs And Tears" (w. Andrew B. Sterling m. Kerry Mills)
- J. W. Myers on Victor
"In the Good Old Summer Time" (w. Ren Shields m. George "Honey Boy" Evans)
- Haydn Quartet on Victor
- S. H. Dudley & Harry Macdonough with Sousa's Band on Victor
- Harry Macdonough on Victor
"In The Sweet Bye And Bye" (w. Vincent P. Bryan m. Harry Von Tilzer)
- J. Aldrich Libbey on Edison
"In The Village By The Sea" (w. Andrew B. Sterling m. Stanley Crawford)
- Byron G. Harlan on Edison
"It Takes The Irish To Beat The Dutch" (w. Edward Madden m. Theodore F. Morse)
- Billy Murray on Victor Monarch
"It Was The Dutch" (w. Vincent Bryan m. J. B. Mullen)
- Collins & Harlan on Edison
"Juanita" (w. Caroline Norton m. trad Sp.)
- Haydn Quartette on Victor
"Julie" (w. Wiliam Jerome m. Jean Schwartz)
- Edward M. Favor on Edison
"Just For Tonight(1)" (w.m. Frank O. French)
- Albert C. Campbell on Edison
"The Leader Of The Frocks And Frills" (w. Robert B. Smith m. Melville Ellis)
- Clarke's Band of Providence on Victor
"Like A Star That Falls From Heaven" (w. Arthur Lamb m. Kerry Mills)
- Joe Natus on Victor
"The Maid Of Timbucktoo" (w. James Weldon Johnson m. Bob Cole)
- Harry Macdonough on Edison
"Massa's In De Cold Ground" (w. m. Stephen Collins Foster)
- Edison Male Quartette on Edison
"Meet Me When The Sun Goes Down" (w. Vincent Bryan m. Harry von Tilzer)
- William H. Thompson (singer) on Victor
"Melody Of Love" (w. Tom Glazer m. H. Engelmann)
- Edison Symphony Orchestra on Edison
"The Message Of The Rose" (w. Will A. Heelan m. Leo Edwards)
- George Seymour Lenox on Edison
"The Message Of The Violet" (w. Frank Pixley m. Gustav Luders)
- J. W. Myers on Victor
"Mighty Lak' A Rose" (w. Frank Lebby Stanton m. Ethelbert Nevin)
- Arthur Clifford on Edison
"Moriaty" (w. Charles Horwitz m. Fred V. Bowers)
- Collins & Harlan on Edison
"My Cosy Corner Girl" (w. Charles Noel Douglas m. John Walter Bratton)
- Henry Burr on Columbia
- Harry Macdonough on Edison
"My Little Coney Isle" (w. Andrew B. Sterling m. Harry von Tilzer)
- Harry Tally on Edison
"My Little 'Rang Outang" (Madden, Morse)
- Billy Murray on Victor
"My Own United States" (w. Stanislaus Stange m. Julian Edwards)
- J. W. Myers on Victor
"My Sulu Lulu Loo" (w. George Ade m. Nat D. Mann)
- Clarke's Band Of Providence on Victor
"Only A Dream Of A Golden Past" (w. Alfred Bryan m. Stanley Crawford)
- Franklyn Wallace on Edison
"Out Where The Breakers Roar" (w. Harlow Hyde m. H. W. Petrie)
- Frank C. Stanley on Edison
"Please Mother, Buy Me A Baby" (w.m. Will D. Cobb & Gus Edwards)
- Byron G. Harlan on Victor & Edison
"Pretty Little Dinah Jones" (w.m. J. B. Mullen)
- Harry Macdonough on Edison
"R-E-M-O-R-S-E" (w. George Ade m. Alfred G. Wathall)
- Joe Natus on Victor
"Sal" (w.m. Paul Rubens)
- Madge Crichton with piano Landon Ronald on Gramophone & Typewriter Records
"Sammy" (w. James O'Dea m. Edward Hutchinson)
- Harry Macdonough on Edison
"Sammy" (w. James O'Dea m. Edward Hutchinson)
- Henry Burr on Columbia
"Sly Musette" (w. Sydney Rosenfeld m. A. Baldwin Sloane)
- Harry Macdonough on Edison
"Tell Me Dusky Maiden" (w. James Weldon Johnson & Bob Cole m. J. Rosamond Johnson)
- S. H. Dudley & Harry Macdonough on Victor
"Then I'd Be Satisfied With Life" (w.m. George M. Cohan)
- Edward M. Favor on Edison
"There's One In A Million Like You" (w. Grant Clarke m. Jean Schwartz)
- Walter Van Brunt on Edison
"Two Eyes Of Blue" (w. George H. Taylor m. Leslie Stuart)
- Harry Macdonough on Victor
- Mina Hickman on Victor
"Under The Bamboo Tree" (w.m. Bob Cole & J. Rosamond Johnson)
- Mina Hickman on Victor
"Up In A Coconut Tree" (Madden, Morse)
- Billy Murray on Victor Monarch
"Upper Broadway After Dark" (w. Edward Gardinier m. Maurice Levi)
- Edward M. Favor on Edison
"The Vacant Chair" (w. Henry S. Washburne m. George Frederick Root)
- Byron G. Harlan on Edison
"Wait At The Gate For Me" (w. Ren Shields m. Theodore F. Morse)
- J. W. Myers on Victor
"What's The Matter With The Moon Tonight?" (w. Sydney Rosenfeld m. A. Baldwin Sloane)
- Arthur Clifford on Edison
"When The Fields Are White With Cotton" (w. Robert F. Roden w. Max S. Witt)
- Franklyn Wallace on Edison
"When We Were Two Little Boys" (w. Edward Madden m. Theodore F. Morse)
- Billy Murray on Victor
Hakon Borresen - Romance for Cello and Piano/Orchestra
Frederick Delius - Sea Drift
Edward Elgar - The Apostles (oratorio)
Joseph Holbrooke - The Bells
Joseph Jongen - Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1
Carl Nielsen - Helios Overture
Vítězslav Novák - Slovak Suite
Maurice Ravel - String Quartet in F
Alexander Scriabin - 8 Études, Op. 42
Eugen d'Albert - Tiefland
Scott Joplin - A Guest of Honor (lost)
Juan Manen - Giovanna di Napoli
Emile Pessard - L'épave premiered on February 17 at the Bouffes-Parisiens, Salle Choiseul, Paris
Babes In Toyland Broadway production opened at the Majestic Theatre on October 13 and ran for 192 performances
The Cherry Girl London production opened at the Vaudeville Theatre on December 29 and ran for 215 performances
The Duchess of Dantzig London production opened at the Lyric Theatre on October 17 and ran for 236 performances
The Earl and the Girl London production opened at the Adelphi Theatre on December 10 and transferred to the Lyric Theatre on September 12, 1904, for a total run of 371 performances
The Fisher Maiden (Music: Harry von Tilzer) Broadway production opened at the Victoria Theater on October 5 and ran for 32 performances. Starring Al Shean, George A. MacFarlane, Edna Bronson, Bessie Tannehill, Dorothy Jardon and Frances Cameron.
In Dahomey Broadway production opened at the New York Theatre on February 18 and ran for 53 performances
In Dahomey London production opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre on May 16 and ran for 251 performances
The Jersey Lily Broadway production opened at the Victoria Theater on September 14 and ran for 24 performances
Madame Sherry Vienna production
Madame Sherry London production opened at the Apollo Theatre on December 23
The Medal and the Maid London production opened at the Lyric Theatre on April 25
My Lady Molly London production opened at Terry's Theatre on March 14
The Orchid London production opened at the Gaiety Theatre on October 26 and ran for 559 performances
A Princess of Kensington London production opened at the Savoy Theatre on January 22 and ran for 115 performances
The Rogers Brothers In London Broadway production opened at the Knickerbocker Theatre on September 7 and ran for 64 performances
The School Girl London production opened on May 9 at the Prince of Wales Theatre and ran for 333 performances.
Three Little Maids Broadway production opened at Daly's Theatre on September 1 and ran for 130 performances
The Wizard of Oz [1] Broadway production opened at the Majestic Theatre on January 21 and ran for 293 performances
January 4 - Carroll Gibbons, bandleader and composer (d. 1954)
January 22 - Robin Milford, English composer and educator (d. 1959)
February 6 - Claudio Arrau, pianist (d. 1991)
February 12 - Todd Duncan, American baritone, first Porgy in Porgy and Bess (d. 1998)
March 10 - Bix Beiderbecke, jazz musician (d. 1931)
April 3 - Bubber Miley, jazz trumpeter (d. 1932)
May 3 - Bing Crosby, US singer and actor (d. 1977)
May 12 - Lennox Berkeley, composer (d. 1989)
May 26 - Bob Hope, English-born US actor, comedian and singer (d. 2003)
June 6 - Aram Khachaturian, composer (d. 1978)
June 18 - Jeanette MacDonald, US singer and actress (d. 1965)
June 26 - St. Louis Jimmy Oden, blues singer (d. 1977)
July 3 - Dick Robertson (singer), US singer (d. 1944?)
July 10 - Helen Pickens of the Pickens Sisters US singing group
July 16 - Carmen Lombardo, Canadian singer, composer and saxophonist (d. 1971)
August 4 - Helen Kane, US singer (d. 1966)
August 20 - António Fortunato de Figueiredo, conductor (d. 1981)
September 15 - Roy Acuff, Country and Western singer (d. 1992)
October 1 (probable) - Vladimir Horowitz, pianist (d. 1989)
October 10 - Vladimir Dukelsky aka Vernon Duke, composer (d. 1969)
October 16 - Big Joe Williams, blues musician (d. 1982)
October 29 - Yvonne Georgi, ballet dancer and choreographer (d. 1975)
December 5 - Johannes Heesters, all-round entertainer
December 17 - Ray Noble, bandleader, composer and arranger (d. 1978)
date unknown - Caterina Jarboro, operatic soprano (d. 1986)
January 28
Augusta Holmès, French composer
Robert Planquette, French composer (b. 1850)
January 31 - Meyer Lutz, conductor and composer (b. 1829)
February 11 - Henryk Szulc, composer (b. 1836)
February 17 - Joseph Parry, composer (b. 1841)
February 22 - Hugo Wolf, composer (b. 1860)
February 23 - Friedrich Grützmacher, cellist (b. 1832)
March - Eugène Cormon, librettist (b. 1810)
March 5 - Thomas Ryan, viola and clarinet player (b. 1827)
March 19 - Pista Dankó, "gypsy" bandleader and composer
April 10 - Heinrich Bellermann, music theorist (b. 1832)
May 1 - Luigi Arditi, violinist, conductor and composer
May 9 - Giuseppe Cremonini, operatic tenor (b. 1866)
May 15 - Sybil Sanderson, operatic soprano (b. 1865)
June - Constance Bache, pianist, composer and music teacher (b. 1846)
June 29 - Taki Rentaro, pianist and composer (b. 1879)
July 27 - Lina Sandell, singer
September 4 - Hermann Zumpe, conductor and composer (b. 1850)
September 28 - Samuel A. Ward, organist and composer (b. 1847)
December 12 - Christian Johansson, ballet dancer and teacher (b. 1817)
December 20 - Kornél Ábrányi, pianist and composer (b. 1822)
date unknown - Edmond Dédé, Creole composer (b. 1827)
1903 in music Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA