1919 in music

Events

January 18 - The pianist Paderewski becomes Prime Minister of Poland.

April 7 - The Original Dixieland Jazz Band brings Dixieland jazz to England, opening a 15-month tour at the Hippodrome, London.

July 22 - The Ballets Russes gives the world premiere of Manuel de Falla's ballet El sombrero de tres picos (The Three-Cornered Hat) in London.

August - Josef Matthias Hauer devises his own twelve-tone technique of composition.

August 19 - The Southern Syncopated Orchestra, visiting the UK, perform for King Edward VII of the United Kingdom. Ernest Ansermet subsequently writes an enthusiastic review of the orchestra's performances in London, singling out Sidney Bechet - one of the first serious pieces of jazz criticism.

October 27 - Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto is premiered in London.

The Louisiana Five are advertised as playing "Modern Jazz".

King Oliver leaves New Orleans.

Johan Wagenaar becomes director of the Royal Conservatory at the Hague.

Elsie Griffin joins the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.

Gustav Kobbé's guide The Complete Opera Book is first published (posthumously), in the United States.

Published popular music

"Abie My Boy" w.m. L.Silberman, A. Grock, Herbert Rule & Tom McGhee

"Alcoholic Blues" w. Edward Laska, m. Albert Von Tilzer

"Alexander's Band Is Back In Dixieland" w. Jack Yellen m. Albert Gumble

"Alice Blue Gown" w. Joseph McCarthy m. Harry Tierney

"All The Quakers Are Shoulder Shakers Down In Quaker Town" w. Bert Kalmar & Edgar Leslie m. Pete Wendling

"And He'd Say, "Oo-La-La! Wee-Wee!"" w. George Jessel, m. Harry Ruby

"Any Old Place With You" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers

"Ask the Stars" by Frank M. Stammers

"Baby, Won't You Please Come Home?" w.m. Charles Warfield & Clarence Williams

"Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives To Me" w.m. Charles McCarron, Casey Morgan & Arthur Swanstrom

"Breeze (Blow My Baby Back To Me)" w.m. Ballard MacDonald, Joe Goodwin & James F. Hanley

"The Boys Who Won't Come Home" w. Harry Hamilton m. Ed. Thomas

"Camp Meeting Blues" by Dabney's Band

"Cielito Lindo" w.m. Quirino Mendoza y Cortez

"Daddy Long Legs" w. Sam M. Lewis & Joe Young

"Dardanella" w. Fred Fisher m. Felix Bernard & Johnny S. Black

"Don't Dilly Dally on the Way" w.m. Fred W. Leigh & Charles Collins

"Everybody Wants A Key To My Cellar" w.m. Ed Rose, Billy Baskette & Lew Pollack

"Grönnens Laid", w. Geert Teis Pzn., m. G.R. Jager

"Hold Me" w.m. Art Hickman & Ben Black

"I Ain't Gonna Give Nobody None O' This Jelly Roll" w. Spencer Williams m. Clarence Williams

"I Gave Her That" w. m. B. G. De Sylva & Al Jolson

"I Lost My Heart In Dixieland" w.m. Irving Berlin

"I Might be Your "Once-In-A-While"" w. Robert B. Smith m. Victor Herbert

"I Never Realized" w.m. Cole Porter

"I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate" w.m. Armand J. Piron

"I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" w. John W. Kellette m. Jaan Kenbrovin (pseudonym of James Kendis, James Brockman and Nat Vincent)

"Indian Summer" w. Al Dubin m. Victor Herbert Words 1939.

"Irene" w. Joseph McCarthy m. Harry Tierney. Introduced by Edith Day in the musical Irene

"I've Got My Captain Working for Me Now" w.m. Irving Berlin

"Jazz Baby" w. Blanche Merrill & William Jerome m. William Jerome

"Just Like a Gipsy" w.m. Seymour Simons & Nora Bayes

"The Lamplit Hour" m. Arthur A. Penn, w. Thomas Burke

"Let The Rest Of The World Go By" w. J. Keirn Brennan m. Ernest R. Ball

"Letter Song" by William LeBaron

"Little Girls, Goodbye" w. William LeBaron m. Victor Jacobi

"Love Sends A Little Gift Of Roses" w. Leslie Cooke m. John Openshaw

"Mah Lindy Lou" w.m. Lily Strickland

"Mammy O' Mine" w. William Tracey m. Maceo Pinkard

"Mandy" w.m. Irving Berlin

"Mirandy" w.m. James Reese Europe, Noble Sissle & Eubie Blake

"The Moon Shines On The Moonshine" w. Frank De Witt m. Robin Hood Bowers. Introduced by Harry Williams in the revue Ziegfeld Follies of 1919

"My Baby's Arms" w. Joseph McCarthy m. Harry Tierney

"My Isle Of Golden Dreams" w. Gus Kahn m. Walter Blaufuss

"Nobody Knows (And Nobody Seems To Care)" w.m. Irving Berlin

"O" w. Byron Gay m. Arnold Johnson

"Oh By Jingo! (Oh By Gee, You're The Only Girl For Me)" w. Lew Brown m. Albert Von Tilzer

"Oh How I Laugh When I Think How I Cried About You" w. Roy Turk & George Jessel, m. Willy White

"Oh! What A Pal Was Mary" w. Edgar Leslie & Bert Kalmar m. Pete Wendling

"Old-Fashioned Garden" w.m. Cole Porter

"On Miami Shore" w. William LeBaron m. Victor Jacobi

"On Patrol In No Man's Land" w.m. James Reese Europe, Noble Sissle & Eubie Blake

"Open Up The Golden Gates To Dixieland And Let Me Into Paradise" w. Jack Yellen m. Gus Van & Joe Schenck

"Peggy" w. Harry Williams m. Neil Moret

"A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody" w.m. Irving Berlin

"Prohibition Blues" w. Ring Lardner m. Nora Bayes

"Royal Garden Blues" w.m. Clarence Williams & Spencer Williams

"Sahara (We'll Soon Be Dry Like You)" w. Alfred Bryan m. Jean Schwartz. Introduced in the musical Monte Cristo, Jr.

"Sipping Cider Through A Straw" w.m. Carey Morgan & Lee David

"Smilin' Through" w.m. Arthur A. Penn

"Someday Sweetheart" w.m. John Spikes & Benjamin Spikes

"Sugar Blues" w. Lucy Fletcher m. Clarence Williams

"Swanee" w. Irving Caesar m. George Gershwin

"Sweet Hawaiian Moonlight" w. Harold G. Frost m. F. H. Klickmann

"Sweet Kisses That Came In The Night" w. Lew Brown & Eddie Buzzell m. Albert Von Tilzer

"Take Me To The Land Of Jazz" m. Pete Wendling

"Take Your Girlie To The Movies (If You Can't Make Love At Home)" w. Edgar Leslie & Bert Kalmar m. Pete Wendling

"Tell Me" w. J. Will Callahan m. Max Kortlander

"That Naughty Waltz" w. Edwin Stanley m. Sol P. Levy

"There's More To The Kiss Than the X-X-X" w. Irving Caesar m. George Gershwin

"Tulip Time" w. Gene Buck m. Dave Stamper

"The Vamp" w.m. Byron Gay

"Wait Till You Get Them Up In The Air, Boys" w. Lew Brown m. Harry Von Tilzer

"What'll We Do On A Saturday Night When The Town Goes Dry" w.m. Harry Ruby

"When Honey Sings An Old Time Song" w.m. Joseph B. Carey

"When They're Old Enough To Know Better, It's Better To Leave Them Alone" w. Sam M. Lewis & Joe Young m. Harry Ruby

"Who Played Poker With Pocahontas When John Smith Went Away?" w. Sam M. Lewis & Joe Young m. Fred Ahlert

"Winnie The Window Cleaner" w.m. Herman Darewski

"The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise" w. Eugene Lockhart m. Ernest Seitz

"You Ain't Heard Nothing Yet" w.m. Al Jolson, Gus Kahn & B. G. DeSylva

"You Cannot Make Your Shimmy Shake On Tea" w. Rennold Wolf m. Irving Berlin

"You Didn't Want Me When You Had Me" w. Benee Russell & Bernie Grossman m. George J. Bennett

"You'd Be Surprised" w.m. Irving Berlin

"Your Eyes Have Told Me So" w. Gus Kahn & Egbert Van Alstyne m. Walter Blaufuss

"You're A Million Miles From Nowhere When You're One Little Mile From Home" w. Sam Lewis & Joe Young m. Walter Donaldson

Hit recordings

"Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives To Me" by Ted Lewis & His Jazz Band

"You Ain't Heard Nothing Yet" by Al Jolson

"A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody" by John Steel

"I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" by Ben Selvin's Novelty Orchestra

"The Moon Shines on the Moonshine" by Bert Williams

"Alcoholic Blues" by Billy Murray

"Saxophobia" by Rudy Wiedoeft

"Jazz Baby" by Marion Harris

"You'd Be Surprised" by Eddie Cantor

"The Alcoholic Blues" by the Louisiana Five

"Weary Blues" by [Yellow Nunez]] and the Louisiana Five

Classical music

Ernest Bloch - Suite for Viola and Orchestra

Rebecca Clarke - Sonata for Viola and Piano

Robert Fuchs - Twelve Waltzes, Op. 110, for piano

Louis Glass - Symphony No. 5 in C major, Op. 57, "Svastika"

Peder Gram - Concerto for violin and orchestra in D major

Charles Tomlinson Griffes - The Pleasure-Dome of Kubla Khan

Johan Halvorsen - Norwegian Rhapsody No. 1

Paul Hindemith - Sonata for viola & piano in F major, Op. 11/4

Darius Milhaud - Le bœuf sur le toit (ballet)

Carl Nielsen - Aladdin (for theatre)

Gabriel Pierné - Sonata for Cello and Piano

Dane Rudhyar - Syntony

Leo Sowerby - Concerto for Harp

Charles Villiers Stanford - A Song of Agincourt

Igor Stravinsky - Firebird Suite No. 1

Heitor Villa-Lobos

Symphony No. 3, "A guerra" (War)

Symphony No. 4, "A vitória" (Victory)

Opera

Fennimore and Gerda, by Frederick Delius

Die Frau ohne Schatten, opera by Richard Strauss (staged)

Ihre Hoheit, die Tänzerin (Her Highness, the Dancer), operetta by Walter Goetze

The Love for Three Oranges, opera by Sergei Prokofiev

The Moon Maiden by Rutland Boughton

The Royal Guest by Hakon Børresen

Musical theater

Afgar (lyrics by Douglas Furber, music by Charles Cuvillier and book by Fred Thompson and Worton David). London production opened at the Pavilion Theatre on September 17

Apple Blossoms Broadway production

Eastward, Ho! London production opened at the Alhambra Theatre on September 9

George White's Scandals Broadway revue opened at the Liberty Theatre on June 2 and ran for 128 performances

Irene Broadway production opened at the Vanderbilt Theatre on November 18 and ran for 670 performances

Joy-Bells London production opened at the Hippodrome Theatre on March 25 and ran for 723 performances

The Kiss Call Broadway production

Linger Longer Letty (Music: Alfred Goodman Lyrics: Bernard Grosman Book: Anne Nichols. Broadway production opened at the Fulton Theatre on November 20 and ran for 69 performances. Starring Charlotte Greenwood.

Monsieur Beaucaire London production opened at the Prince of Wales Theatre on April 19, transferred to the Palace Theatre on July 29 and ran for 221 performances

Monsieur Beaucaire Broadway production opened at the New Amsterdam Theatre on December 11 and ran for 143 performances

Monte Cristo, Jr. Broadway production opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on February 12 and ran for 254 performances

Oh, Boy! (musical) London production opened on January 27 at the Kingsway Theatre and ran for 167 performances

The Red Mill London production opened at the Empire Theatre on December 26 and ran for 64 performances

Sybil Vienna production

Take It From Me Broadway production opened on March 31 at the 44th Street Theatre and ran for 96 performances

The Whirligig opened at the Palace Theatre on December 23

Births

January - Kaifi Azmi, Urdu and Hindi songwriter (d. 2002)

January 1 - Yoshio Tabata, singer and guitarist (d. 2013)

January 25 - Eula Beal, operatic contralto (d. 2008)

January 27 - Ross Bagdasarian (aka David Seville), of The Chipmunks (d. 1972)

February 2 - Lisa Della Casa, Swiss soprano (d. 2012)

February 13 - Tennessee Ernie Ford, country musician (d. 1991)

March 10 - Marion Hutton, big band singer (d. 1987)

March 17 - Nat King Cole, singer and pianist (d. 1965)

March 19 - Alfred Apaka, Hawaiian singer (d. 1960)

March 28 - D. K. Pattammal, Indian classical singer (d. 2009)

April 3 - Ervin Drake, songwriter (d. 2015)

April 14 - Karel Berman, opera singer and composer (d. 1995)

April 16 - Merce Cunningham, dancer, choreographer (d. 2009)

April 21

Don Cornell, singer (d. 2004)

Roger Doucet, tenor, regular performer of the Canadian national anthem (d. 1981)

May 3 - Pete Seeger, American folk singer (d. 2014)

May 12 - Gerald Bales, Canadian organist and composer (d. 2002)

May 16 - Liberace, American pianist (d. 1987)

May 17 - Antonio Aguilar, Mexican singer, actor and producer (d. 2007)

May 18 - Margot Fonteyn, born Margaret Hookham, English ballerina (d. 1991)

May 19 - Georgie Auld, jazz musician (d. 1990)

May 23 – Betty Garrett, actress and dancer (d.2011)

June 11 - Helen Tobias-Duesberg, composer (d. 2010)

June 17 - Gene de Paul, pianist and composer (d. 1988)

June 22 - Gower Champion, dancer, choreographer and director (d. 1980)

July 31 - Norman Del Mar, conductor and music writer (d. 1994)

August 11 - Ginette Neveu, violin virtuoso (d. 1949)

August 13 - George Shearing, English jazz pianist and composer (d. 2011)

August 24 - Niels Viggo Bentzon, Danish composer (d. 2000)

September 2 - Marge Champion, dancer and choreographer

September 3 - Natalia Clare, ballerina (d. 2007)

September 16

Sven-Erik Bäck, composer (d. 1994)

Andy Russell, singer (d. 1992)

September 30 - Patricia Neway, operatic soprano and musical theatre actress (d. 2012)

October 9 - Irmgard Seefried, operatic soprano (d. 1988)

October 11 - Art Blakey, jazz drummer and bandleader (d. 1990)

October 18 - Anita O'Day, singer (d. 2006)

October 26 - James E. Myers, songwriter (d. 2001)

November 15 - Carol Bruce, singer and actress (d. 2007)

November 23 - Cláudio Santoro, composer (d. 1989)

December 6 - Blaž Lenger, folk singer (d. 2006)

December 8 - Mieczyslaw Weinberg, composer (d. 1996)

December 10 - Sesto Bruscantini, operatic bass-baritone (d. 2003)

December 25 - Naushad Ali, film score composer (d. 2006)

Deaths

February 4 - Yelizaveta Lavrovskaya, Russian mezzo-soprano (b. 1845)

February 18 - Henry Ragas, jazz pianist (b. 1891)

March 6 - Gialdino Gialdini, Italian composer and conductor (b. 1843)

March 8 - Auguste Tolbeque, cellist and composer (b. 1830)

March 23 - Henry Blossom, lyricist (b. 1866)

April 9 - James Reese Europe, jazz musician and composer, band leader (b. 1881) (stabbed in fight)

April 24 - Camille Erlanger, opera composer (b. 1863)

April 25 - Augustus D. Juilliard, music patron (b. 1836)

June 2 - Ernest Ford, conductor and composer (b. 1858)

June 22 - Julian Scriabin, musical prodigy, pianist and composer (b. 1908) (drowned)

August 1 - Oscar Hammerstein I, musical theatre impresario (b. 1847)

August 4 - Ferdinand Thieriot, composer (b. 1838)

August 9 - Ruggiero Leoncavallo, composer (b. 1857)

August 18 - Anna Deinet, operatic soprano (b. 1843)

September 11 - Géza Csáth, writer and musician (b. 1887)

September 27 - Adelina Patti, opera singer (b. 1843)

October 17 - Sven August Körling, composer of art songs (b. 1842)

November 19 - Florencio Constantino, operatic tenor (b. 1869)

December 16 - Luigi Illica, librettist (b. 1857)

December 21 - Louis Diémer, pianist and composer (b. 1843)

December 27 - Achilles Alferaki, statesman, artist and composer (b. 1846)

December 31 - Marie van Zandt, operatic soprano (b. 1858)

date unknown - Charles McCarron, songwriter (b. 1891)

probable - Henry Ford, jazz bassist (b. c. 1898)