1923 in music

Events

February – Joseph Samuels' Tampa Blue Jazz Band records the George Washington Thomas number "The Fives" for Okeh Records, considered the first example of jazz band boogie-woogie.

November 11 – Première of John Foulds's World Requiem at the Royal Albert Hall in London. It is repeated on that date each year until 1926.

November 19 – At a concert celebrating the 50th anniversary of the union of Buda and Pest (thus creating Budapest), Béla Bartók's Dance Suite and Zoltán Kodály's Psalmus Hungaricus both receive their world premieres

Explosion of recordings of African American musicians; Bessie Smith, Ida Cox, Joe "King" Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Sidney Bechet, many others make their first recordings.

George Enescu makes his debut as a conductor with the Philadelphia Orchestra in New York City.

Henri Pawl-Pleyel, Roger Désormière, Maxime Jacob and Henri Sauguet form the Ecole d'Arcueil.

Augustus John completes his portrait of cellist Guilhermina Suggia.

Japanese composer Michio Miyagi introduces an 80-string koto or "or hachijugen". It proves less popular than the 17-string koto he had invented two years earlier.

Published popular music

"Annabelle" w. Lew Brown m. Ray Henderson

"Back To Croa-Jingo-Long" w.m. Pat Dunlop

"Bambalina" w. Otto Harbach & Oscar Hammerstein II m. Herbert Stothart & Vincent Youmans. Introduced by Edith Day in the musical Wildflower

"Barney Google" w.m. Billy Rose & Con Conrad

"Beside A Babbling Brook" w. Gus Kahn m. Walter Donaldson

"Charleston" w.m. Cecil Mack & James P. Johnson. Inspiration for a dance craze.

"Chimes Blues" m. Joe "King" Oliver

"Come On, Spark Plug!" w.m. Billy Rose & Con Conrad

"Covered Wagon Days" w.m. Will Morrisey & Joe Burrows

"Dizzy Fingers" m. Zez Confrey

"Frasquita Serenade" m. Franz Lehár

"Gulf Coast Blues" w.m. Clarence Williams

"Horsey, Keep Your Tail Up" w.m. Walter Hirsch & Bert Kaplan

"I Cried For You" w. Arthur Freed m. Gus Arnheim & Abe Lyman

"I Love Life" w. Irwin M. Cassel m. Mana-Zucca

"I Love You" w. Harlan Thompson m. Harry Archer. Introduced by John Boles and Margaret Wilson in the musical Little Jessie James

"I Won't Say I Will But I Won't Say I Won't" w. B. G. De Sylva & Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin. Introduced by Irene Bordoni in the play Little Miss Bluebeard

"I'm Goin' South" w.m. Abner Silver & Harry Woods

"I'm Sitting Pretty In A Pretty Little City" w.m. Lou Davis, Henry Santly & Abel Baer

"Indiana Moon" w. Benny Davis m. Isham Jones

"It Ain't Gonna Rain No Mo'" w.m. Wendell Hall

"I've Got The Yes! We Have No Bananas Blues" w. Lew Brown m. James F. Hanley & Robert King

"Just A Girl That Men Forget" w. Al Dubin & Fred Rath m. Joe Garron

"Just One More Chance" m. Steiger

"King Porter Stomp" m. Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton

"Last Night On The Back Porch" w. Lew Brown m. Carl Schraubstader

"Linger Awhile" w. Harry Owens m. Vincent Rose

"Louisville Lou" w. Jack Yellen m. Milton Ager

"Mama Goes Where Papa Goes" w. Jack Yellen m. Milton Ager

"Mama Loves Papa" w.m. Cliff Friend & Abel Baer

"March Of The Cameron Men" w.m. Campbell

"Mexicali Rose" w. Helen Stone m. Jack B. Tenney

"Milenberg Joys" m. Leon Rappolo, Paul Mares & Jelly Roll Morton

"Mon Paradis (Sérénade d'Aujourd'hui)" m. Cuthbert Clarke

"Moon Love" w. George Grossmith, Jr. & P. G. Wodehouse m. Jerome Kern

"My Sweetie Went Away" w. Roy Turk m. Lou Handman

"Nashville Nightingale" w. Irving Caesar m. George Gershwin

"No, No, Nora" w. Gus Kahn m. Ted Fio Rito & Ernie Erdman

"Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" w.m. Jimmy Cox

"Oh Didn't It Rain" w.m. Eddie Leonard

"Oh Gee Oh Gosh Oh Golly I'm In Love" w. Ole Olsen & Chic Johnson m. Ernest Breuer

"Oklahoma Indian Jazz" (w. & m.) Ray Hibbler, T.J. Johnsen, J.W. Barna, J.W. Murrin, and T. Guarini

"Old Fashioned Love" w. Cecil Mack m. James P. Johnson

"Old King Tut" w. William Jerome m. Harry Von Tilzer

"On The Mall" m. Edwin Franko Goldman

"Once In A Blue Moon" w. Anne Caldwell m. Jerome Kern

"An Orange Grove In California" w.m. Irving Berlin

"Out Where The Blue Begins" Graff, McHugh, Grant

"(Home In) Pasadena" w.m. Harry Warren, Grant Clarke & Edgar Leslie

"Raggedy Ann" w. Anne Caldwell m. Jerome Kern

"Rememb'ring" w.m. Vivian Duncan & Rosetta Duncan

"La Rosita" w. Allan Stuart m. Paul Dupont (Pseud. of Walter Haenschen)

"Seven Or Eleven" w. Lew Brown m. Walter Donaldson

"Sittin' In A Corner" w. Gus Kahn m. George W. Meyer

"Sleep" w.m. Earl Lebieg

"A Smile Will Go A Long Long Way" w. Benny Davis m. Harry Akst

"Snake Rag" m. King Oliver

"Sobbin' Blues" w.m. Art Kassel

"Some Sweet Day" w. Gene Buck m. Dave Stamper & Louis A. Hirsch

"Stella" w.m. Al Jolson, Benny Davis & Harry Akst

"Swingin' Down the Lane" w. Gus Kahn m. Isham Jones

"Tell Me With A Melody" w.m. Irving Berlin

"That Old Gang of Mine" w. Billy Rose & Mort Dixon m. Ray Henderson

"Tin Roof Blues" m. Paul Mares, Walter Melrose, Ben Pollack, Mel Stitzel, George Brunies & Leon Roppolo

"Waitin' For The Evenin' Mail" Billy Baskette

"When Clouds Have Vanished And Skies Are Blue" w. William R. Clay m. Charles L. Johnson

"When It's Night-Time In Italy, It's Wednesday Over Here" w.m. James Kendis & Lew Brown

"When June Comes Along With A Song" w.m. George M. Cohan from the musical The Rise Of Rosie O'Reilly

"When You Walked Out Someone Else Walked Right In" w.m. Irving Berlin

"Who'll Buy My Violets" w. E. Ray Goetz m. Jose Padilla

"Who's Sorry Now?" w. Bert Kalmar & Harry Ruby m. Ted Snyder

"Wild Flower" w. Otto Harbach & Oscar Hammerstein II m. Vincent Youmans & Herbert Stothart

"Wolverine Blues" w.m. Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton, Benjamin Spikes & John C. Spikes

"Yes! We Have No Bananas" w.m. Frank Silver & Irving Cohn

"You Can't Do What My Last Man Did" w.m. J. C. Johnson & Allie Moore

"You've Got To See Mama Ev'ry Night" w.m. Con Conrad & Billy Rose

Hit songs on record

"Everything is K.O. in K.Y." by Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra

"Felix The Cat" by Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra

"Swinging Down The Lane" by Isham Jones & His Orchestra

"Down Hearted Blues" by Bessie Smith

"Waitin' For The Evenin' Mail" by Al Bernard

"Cut Yourself A Piece of Cake (and Make Yourself at Home) by Billy Jones

"I Love Me (I'm Wild About Myself)" by Billy Murray

"That Old Gang Of Mine" by Billy Murray

"Yes! We Have No Bananas", recorded by:

Billy Murray

Billy Jones

Ben Selvin & His Orchestra

"Someboy Stole My Gal" by Ted Weems And His Orchestra

"No No Nora/I've Got the Yes! We Have No Bananas Blues" by Eddie Cantor

"Parade of the Wooden Soldiers" by Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra

"(Nothing Could Be Finer Than to be in) Carolina in the Morning" by Van & Schenck

"Love Sends a Little Gift of Roses" by Carl Fenton & His Orchestra

"Dreamy Melody" by Art Landry & His Orchestra

"Wolverine Blues" by the New Orleans Rhythm Kings

Other important recordings

"Dippermouth Blues" by King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band

"High Society" by King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band

"Milenburg Joys" by the New Orleans Rhythm Kings with Jelly Roll Morton

"Wild Cat Blues/Kansas City Man Blues" by Clarence Williams Blue 5, featuring Sidney Bechet

Classical music

Henry Cowell – Aeolian Harp

Gerald Finzi – A Severn Rhapsody

Sigfrid Karg-Elert – Cathedral Windows

Darius Milhaud – La création du monde (ballet)

Hans Pfitzner – Concerto for Violin in B minor

Sergei Prokofiev – "Violin Concerto No. 1 in D Major, op. 19" (premiere)

Igor Stravinsky – Octet for wind Instruments

Jean Sibelius – Symphony No. 6

Germaine Tailleferre – Ballade for Piano and Orchestra; Concerto No. 1 for Piano and Orchestra

Joaquín Turina – Jardin de Oriente

Edgard Varèse

Hyperprism (1922–23)

Octandre

Heitor Villa-Lobos – Nonet ("Impressão rápida de todo o Brasil")

William Walton – Toccata for Violin and Piano

Leó Weiner – Concertino for Piano and Orchestra

Alexander von Zemlinsky – Lyric Symphony

Opera

Alfred Bruneau – Le Jardin du paradis

Hans Gál - Die heilige Ente

Reynaldo Hahn - Ciboulette

Joaquín Turina – Jardin de Oriente

Musical theater

The Beauty Prize (Music: Jerome Kern Lyrics and Book: P. G. Wodehouse and George Grossmith). London production opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on September 5 and ran for 214 performances

Catherine London production opened at the Gaiety Theatre on September 22 and ran for 217 performances

The Cousin from Nowhere London production opened at Prince's Theatre on February 24 and ran for 105 performances

Dover Street to Dixie London revue opened at the Pavilion on May 31 and ran for 108 performances

George White's Scandals of 1923 Broadway revue opened at the Globe Theatre on June 18 and transferred to the Fulton Theatre on November 5 for a total run of 168 performances

Head over Heels London production opened at the Adelphi Theatre on September 8 and ran for 113 performances

Katinka London production opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre on August 30 and ran for 108 performances

Kid Boots Broadway production opened at the Earl Carroll Theatre on December 31 and transferred to the Selwyn Theatre on September 1, 1924 for a total run of 489 performances

Little Nellie Kelly London production opened at the New Oxford Theatre on July 2 and ran for 265 performances

London Calling! London revue opened at the Duke of York's Theatre on September 4 and ran for 367 performances

Madame Pompadour

Vienna production opened at the Carltheater on March 2

London production opened at Daly's Theatre on December 20 and ran for 467 performances

The Music Box Revue London revue opened at the Palace Theatre on May 15 and ran for 217 performances

The Rainbow London production opened at the Empire Theatre on April 3 and ran for 113 performances

Rats London revue opened at the Vaudeville Theatre on February 4 and ran for 285 performances

The Rise of Rosie O'Reilly Broadway production opened at the Liberty Theatre on December 25 and ran for 97 performances

"Runnin' Wild', Broadway musical with music by James P. Johnson and Cecil Mack opened October 29 and ran at the new Colonial Theatre for 228 performances. Spearheaded the Charleston dance craze.

Stop Flirting London production opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre on May 30 and ran for 418 performances

Wildflower Broadway production opened at the Casino Theatre on February 7 and ran for 477 performances

You'd Be Surprised London production opened at the Royal Opera House on January 27 and ran for 270 performances

Ziegfeld Follies of 1923 Broadway revue opened at the New Amsterdam Theatre on October 20 and ran for 233 performances

Births

January 1 – Milt Jackson, jazz vibraphonist (d. 1999)

January 4 – Don Butterfield, classical and jazz tuba player (d. 2006)

January 5 – Sam Phillips, record producer (d. 2003)

January 25 – Rusty Draper, American singer-songwriter (d. 2003)

February 2 – Julius Hegyi, American conductor and violinist (d. 2007)

February 5 – Claude King, country singer and songwriter (d. 2013)

March 2 – Doc Watson, guitarist, singer and songwriter (d. 2012)

March 26 – Clifton Williams, composer (d. 1976)

April 25 – Albert King, blues guitarist and singer (d. 1992)

May 15 – John Lanchbery, composer and conductor (d. 2003)

May 17 – Peter Mennin, American composer and administrator (d. 1983)

May 28 – György Ligeti, composer (d. 2006)

June 8 – Karel Goeyvaerts, Belgian composer (d. 1993)

July 22 – Mukesh, Bollywood playback singer (d. 1976)

July 31 – Ahmet Ertegün, record industry executive (d. 2006)

August 4 – Arthur Butterworth, English composer (d. 2014)

August 11 – June Hutton, singer (d. 1973)

September 15 – Anton Heiller, Austrian organist, harpsichordist, composer, conductor (d. 1979)

September 17 – Hank Williams, country musician (d. 1953)

October 3 – Stanisław Skrowaczewski, orchestral conductor (d. 2017)

October 5 – Glynis Johns, actress and singer

October 16 – Bert Kaempfert, songwriter and orchestra leader (d. 1980)

October 20 – Robert Craft, conductor and music writer (d. 2015)

November 1 – Antonia Apodaca, New Mexican folk musician and composer

November 10 – Anne Shelton, singer (d. 1994)

December 2 – Maria Callas, operatic soprano (d. 1977)

Deaths

January 5 – Emanuel Wirth, violinist (b. 1842)

January 10 – Patsy Touhey, Irish-American piper (b. 1865)

January 18 – Kate Santley, actress and singer (b. 1837)

February 19 – Gerónimo Giménez, composer

March 5 – Dora Pejačević, composer (b. 1885)

March 8 – Krišjānis Barons, collector of Latvian folk songs (b. 1835)

May 7 – Sadie Martinot, actress and soprano singer (b. 1861)

May 30 – Camille Chevillard, composer

June 11 – Julia Ettie Crane, music educator (b. 1855)

June 20 – Charitie Lees Smith, hymn-writer (b. 1841)

June 30 – Claude Terrasse, composer of operettas (b. 1867)

July 10 – Albert Chevalier, English actor, singer, songwriter and music hall performer (b. 1861)

July 13 – Asger Hamerik, composer (b. 1843)

August 15 – Vali von der Osten, operatic soprano (b. 1882)

August 31 – Ernest van Dyck, operatic tenor (b. 1861)

October 22 – Victor Maurel, operatic baritone (b. 1848)

October 28 – Theodor Reuss, music hall singer and polymath (b. 1855)

December 2 – Tomás Bretón, composer (b. 1850)

December 7 – Vess Ossman, banjoist (b. 1868)

December 19 – Gustav Dannreuther, violinist and conductor (b. 1853)

date unknown

Charles Jean Baptiste Collin-Mezin, violin-maker (b. 1841)

Joseph Pothier, musicologist, reviver of the Gregorian chant (b. 1835)