1925 in music

Events

January 1 - First day of radio broadcasting in Sweden: Gaston Borch conducts the Skandia Cinema Orchestra in the country's first broadcast of orchestral music.

February 25 - Art Gillham - The Whispering Pianist records the first electrical recordings to be released for Columbia using the Western Electric system (Master 140125-7 issued on Columbia 328-D).

February 26 - Eight Popular Victor Artists record "A Miniature Concert," the first recorded (cf March 16 entry below) electrical recording by the Victor Talking Machine; the artists were Billy Murray, Frank Banta, Henry Burr, Albert Campbell, Frank Croxton, John Meyer, Monroe Silver, and Rudy Wiedoeft.

March 1 - Edgard Varèse's Intégrales is premiered in New York City.

March 16 - The Mask and Wig Club Double Male Quartet, with orchestra directed by Nathaniel Shilkret record "Joan of Arkansas," the first issued (cf February 26 entry above) electrical recording by the Victor Talking Machine, with catalog number 19626-A; the B-side, from the same Mask and Wig Club production, was recorded March 20, 1925, by the International Novelty Orchestra, also directed by Shilkret.

March 21 - Maurice Ravel's L'Enfant et les sortilèges is premiered in Monte Carlo.

April 3 - Gustav Holst's opera At the Boar's Head is premiered in Manchester.

June 6 - Sergei Prokofiev's Symphony No. 2 is premiered in Paris.

November 28 - The weekly country music radio program Grand Ole Opry is first broadcast on WSM radio in Nashville, Tennessee, as the "WSM Barn Dance".

December 11 - Carl Nielsen's Symphony No. 6, the Sinfonia semplice, is premiered in Copenhagen.

December 14 - Alban Berg's opera Wozzeck is given its first complete performance, in Berlin, conducted by Erich Kleiber.

Joseph Canteloube founds a group called La Bourrée in Paris to publicize the folklore and other attractions of the Auvergne.

Victor, Columbia, and HMV phonograph companies switch from old acoustic mechanical recording methods to new electric microphone technology; this was one of the most important advances in recording history (see Shilkret for a first-hand account of its benefits).

Blind Lemon Jefferson's recording career begins.

Lonnie Johnson's recording career begins.

Louis Armstrong leaves Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra, returns to Chicago, Illinois, and makes his first records under his own name, leading Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five.

Published popular music

"Adios, Mariquita Linda" w. (Eng 1939) Ray Gilbert (Sp) Marcos A. Jimenez m. Marcos A. Jimenez

"Alone at Last" w. Gus Kahn m. Ted Fio Rito

"Always" w.m. Irving Berlin

"Bam, Bam, Bamy Shore" w. Mort Dixon m. Ray Henderson

"Boneyard Shuffle" m. Hoagy Carmichael & Irving Mills

"Brown Eyes, Why Are You Blue?" w. Alfred Bryan m. George W. Meyer

"By the Light of the Stars" w.m. Arthur Sizemore, George A. Little, & Larry Shay

"Bye and Bye" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers

"Cecilia" w. Herman Ruby m. Dave Dreyer

"Cheatin' on Me" w. Jack Yellen m. Lew Pollack

"Clap Hands! Here Comes Charley!" w. Billy Rose & Ballard MacDonald m. Joseph Meyer

"Collegiate" w.m. Moe Jaffe & Nat Bonx

"A Cup of Coffee, a Sandwich and You" w. Billy Rose & Al Dubin m. Joseph Meyer

"Davenport Blues" m. Bix Beiderbecke

"The Death of Floyd Collins" w. Andrew Jenkins m. Irene Spain

"Dinah" w. Sam M. Lewis & Joe Young m. Harry Akst

"Dipper Mouth Blues" m. Joe "King" Oliver

"Don't Bring Lulu" w. Billy Rose & Lew Brown m. Ray Henderson

"Don't Wake Me Up, Let Me Dream" w. L.. Wolfe Gilbert m. Mabel Wayne

"Down by the Winegar Works" w.m. Don Bestor, Roger Lewis & Walter Donovan

"Drifting and Dreaming" w. Haven Gillespie, m. Egbert Van Alstyne, Erwin R. Schmidt & Loyal Curtis

"D'Ye Love Me?" w. Otto Harbach & Oscar Hammerstein II m. Jerome Kern. Introduced by Marilyn Miller in the musical Sunny

"Five Foot Two Eyes of Blue" w. Sam M. Lewis & Joe Young m. Ray Henderson

"Flamin' Mamie" w.m. Fred Rose & Paul Whiteman

"Footloose" w. Hal Cochran m. Carl Rupp

"Freshie" w. Harold Berg m. Jesse Greer

"Grandpa's Spells" m. Jelly Roll Morton

"Headin' for Louisville" w. B. G. De Sylva m. Joseph Meyer

"Here in My Arms" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers

"The Hills of Home" w. Floride Calhoun m. Oscar J. Fox

"I Found a New Baby" w.m. Jack Palmer & Spencer Williams

"I Lost My Heart in Heidelberg" w.Fritz Löhner-Beda & Ernst Neubach m. Fred Raymond

"I Love My Baby" w. Bud Green m. Harry Warren

"I Might Have Known" Lucas

"I Miss My Swiss" w. L. Wolfe Gilbert m. Abel Baer

"I Never Knew" w. Gus Kahn m. Ted Fio Rito

"I Wonder Where My Baby Is Tonight" w. Gus Kahn m. Walter Donaldson

"Ida, I Do" w. Gus Kahn m. Isham Jones

"If I Had a Girl Like You" w. Billy Rose & Mort Dixon m. Ray Henderson

"If You Knew Susie" w. B. G. De Sylva m. Joseph Meyer

"I'm A Little Bit Fonder of You" w.m. Irving Caesar

"I'm Gonna Charleston Back to Charleston" w.m. Roy Turk & Lou Handman

"I'm Gonna Cry" Martha Boswell

"I'm in Love Again" w.m. Cole Porter

"I'm Knee-Deep in Daisies (And Head Over Heels In Love)" Ash, Shay, Goodwin, Little, Stanley

"I'm Sitting on Top of the World" w. Sam M. Lewis & Joe Young m. Ray Henderson

"In Your Green Hat" w. Jack Yellen m. Milton Ager

"I've Confessed to the Breeze" w. Otto Harbach m. Vincent Youmans

"Jalousie" (a.k.a. "Jealousy") w. Vera Bloom m. Jacob Gade

"Just a Cottage Small" w. B. G. De Sylva m. James F. Hanley

"Keep Your Skirts Down, Mary Ann" w. Andrew B. Sterling m. Robert A. King & Ray Henderson

"Leander" w. Harry Graham m. Jean Gilbert from the musical theater production 'Katja The Dancer'

"Let It Rain! Let It Pour!" w. Cliff Friend m. Walter Donaldson

"Looking For a Boy" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin. Introduced by Queenie Smith in the musical Tip-Toes

"Love Me Tonight" w. Brian Hooker m. Rudolf Friml

"Manhattan" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers

"Masculine Women! Feminine Men!" w. Edgar Leslie m. James V. Monaco

"Moonlight and Roses" w. Ben Black m. Neil Moret (adapted without permission from a composition by Edwin Lemare)

"My Bundle of Love" w.m. Georgie Price & Abner Silver

"My Sweetie Turned Me Down" w. Gus Kahn m. Walter Donaldson

"My Yiddishe Momme" w. Jack Yellen m. Lew Pollack

"Neapolitan Nights (Nights Of Splendour)" w. Harry D. Kerr m. J. S. Zumecnik

"No, No, Nanette" w. Otto Harbach m. Vincent Youmans

"Oh, How I Miss You Tonight" w.m. Benny Davis, Joe Burke & Mark Fisher

"Only a Rose" w. Brian Hooker m. Rudolf Friml

"Paddlin' Madelin Home" w.m. Harry M. Woods

"Pal of My Cradle Days" w. Marshall Montgomery m. Al Piantadosi

"The Pearls" m. Jelly Roll Morton

"Poor Little Rich Girl" w.m. Noël Coward

"Remember" w.m. Irving Berlin

"Roll 'Em Girls" w.m. Archie Fletcher & Bobby Heath

"Rose of Samarkand" m. Eric Coates

"Save Your Sorrow (for Tomorrow)" w. B. G. De Sylva m. Al Sherman

"See See Rider Blues" by Ma Rainey

"Sentimental Me" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers

"Shake That Thing" Charlie Jackson

"She Showed Him This, She Showed Him That" Stone & David

"Show Me the Way to Go Home" w.m. Irving King

"Sleepy Time Gal" w. Joseph R. Alden & Raymond B. Egan m. Ange Lorenzo & Richard A. Whiting

"Some Day" w. Brian Hooker m. Rudolf Friml

"Sometime" w. Gus Kahn m. Ted Fio Rito

"Song of the Flame" w. Otto Harbach & Oscar Hammerstein II m. George Gershwin & Herbert Stothart

"Song of the Vagabonds" w. Brian Hooker m. Rudolf Friml

"Stack O'Lee Blues" trad w.m. Lopez, Colwell

"Sugar Foot Stomp" (a.k.a. "Dipper Mouth Blues") w. Walter Melrose m. Joe "King" Oliver

"Sunny" w. Otto Harbach & Oscar Hammerstein II m. Jerome Kern

"Sweet and Low-Down" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin

"Sweet Georgia Brown" w.m. Ben Bernie, Maceo Pinkard & Kenneth Casey

"Tea for Two" w. Irving Caesar m. Vincent Youmans

"Thanks for the Buggy Ride" w.m. Jules Buffano

"That Certain Feeling" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin

"That Certain Party" w. Gus Kahn m. Walter Donaldson

"That Saxophone Waltz" w. Jules Mingo & Berry J. Sisk m. Berry J. Sisk

"Then I'll Be Happy" w. Sidney Clare & Lew Brown m. Cliff Friend

"Too Many Rings Around Rosie" w. Irving Caesar m. Vincent Youmans

"Two Little Bluebirds" w. Otto Harbach & Oscar Hammerstein II m. Jerome Kern

"Ukulele Lady" w. Gus Kahn m. Richard Whiting

"Valentine" w. Albert Willemetz (Fr) Herbert Reynolds (Eng) m. Henri Christin

"Waters of the Perkiomen" w. Al Dubin m. F. Henri Klickmann

"When the Sergeant Major's on Parade" w.m. Ernest Longstaffe

"Who Takes Care of the Caretaker's Daughter?" w.m. Chick Endor

"Who?" w. Otto Harbach & Oscar Hammerstein II m. Jerome Kern

"Why Do I Love You?" w. B. G. De Sylva & Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin

"The Wreck of the Shenandoah" w.m. Vernon Dalhart, Carson Robison, and Elmer S. Hughes.

"Yearning" w. Benny Davis m. Joe Burke

"Yes Sir, That's My Baby" w. Gus Kahn m. Walter Donaldson

Top Hits on Record

"Ah-Ha!" by Ted Lewis & His Jazz Band

"All Alone", recorded by:

John McCormack

Paul Whiteman & his Orchestra

"Charleston" by Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra

"Dinah" by Ethel Waters

"Everything Is Hotsy Totsy Now" by The Coon-Sanders Nighthawks

"If You Knew Susie (Like I Know Susie)" recorded by

Eddie Cantor

Jack Shilkret and His Orchestra

"June Brought the Roses" by The Troubadours, directed Nat Shilkret

"Let It Rain, Let It Pour" by International Novelty Orchestra, directed Nat Shilkret, vocal Vernon Dalhart

"Let's All Go to Mary's House" by Savoy Orpheans

"The Prisoner's Song" by Vernon Dalhart

"Remember" by Isham Jones & His Orchestra

"St. Louis Blues" by Bessie Smith

"Sweet Georgia Brown", recorded by:

Ben Bernie & His Orchestra

Ethel Waters

"While We Danced 'Til Dawn" by Ted Lewis & His Jazz Band

"Yes Sir, That's My Baby" by Ace Brigode & His Fourteen Virginians

Classical music

Isidor Achron - Violin Concerto No. 1

Pedro Humberto Allende –

Mientras baja la nieve, for voice and piano

El surtidor, for voice and piano

A las nubes', for voice and piano

Ojitas de pena, for voice and piano

Tres Tonadas, for orchestra

Tempo di minuetto in C major, for piano

Tempo de vals, for harp

Béla Bartók – Dance Suite (version for piano of an orchestral work written in 1923)

Ernest Bloch - Concerto Grosso No. 1, for piano and strings

Frank Bridge –

"Golden Hair", for voice and piano

"Journey's End", for tenor or high baritone and piano

The Pneu World, for cello and piano

Songs of Rabindranath Tagore (3), for voice and piano, or voice and orchestra

Vignettes de Marseille, for piano

Winter Pastorale, for piano

Carlos Chávez –

Cake Walk, for piano

Los cuatro soles, ballet, for soprano and chamber orchestra

Energía, for nine instruments

Foxtrot, for piano

36, for piano

Henry Cowell –

The Banshee, for string piano

Ensemble, for two violins, two cellos, and thundersticks

Slow Jig, for piano

Frederick Delius – A Late Lark, for voice and orchestra

Edward Elgar –

"The Herald", part-song, SATB

"The Prince of Sleep", part-song, SATB

Eduardo Fabini –

A mi río, for mixed choir and orchestra

Luz mala, for soprano and orchestra

Triste No. 1, version for orchestra

John Fernström - Violin Concerto No. 1

Jacob Gade - Jalousie, for cello and piano

George Gershwin - Piano Concerto in F

Leopold Godowsky - Java Suite

William Henry Harris - Faire is the Heaven

Gustav Holst –

"God Is Love, His the Care", for choir

Hymns (4) for Songs of Praise, for choir

Motets (2), for choir

Ode to C.K.S. and the Oriana, for choir

Terzetto, for flute, oboe, and viola

Herbert Howells - Piano Concerto No. 2

Jacques Ibert - Concerto for cello and wind instruments

John Ireland - Two Pieces for Piano (1925)

Ernst Krenek –

Die Jahreszeiten, Op. 35, for choir

Mammon, Op. 37, ballet, for orchestra

Der vertauschte Cupido, Op. 38, ballet, for orchestra

Bohuslav Martinů - String Quartet No. 2

Carl Nielsen - Symphony No. 6 Sinfonia Semplice

Juan Carlos Paz –

Chorale in F-sharp major, for piano

Cuatro fugas sobre un tema, for piano

Piano Sonata No. 2, in B-flat minor

Sergei Prokofiev - Symphony No. 2, Iron and Steel

Ottorino Respighi –

Concerto in modo misolidio, for piano and orchestra

Poema autunnale, for violinand orchestra

Rossiniana, suite for orchestra

Albert Roussel –

Duo, for bassoon and contrabass

Segovia, Op. 29, for guitar

Serenade, Op. 30, for flute, string trio, and harp

Arnold Schoenberg –

Drei Satiren, Op. 28, for SATB choir with viola, cello, and piano

Vier Stücke, Op. 27, for SATB choir with clarinet, mandolin, violin, and cello

Erwin Schulhoff - Symphony No. 1, String Quartet No. 2 ([1])

Ruth Crawford Seeger –

The Adventures of Tom Thumb, for piano

Piano Preludes Nos. 1–5

Dmitri Shostakovich - Symphony No. 1

Jean Sibelius –

Ett ensamt skidspår, for reciting voice and piano

Herran siunaus, for choir and organ

Intrada, for organ, Op. 111, No. 1

Kolme johdantovuorolaulua, for choir and organ

Morceau romantique sur un motif de M. Jacob de Julin, for orchestra

Narciss, for voice and piano

Skolsång, for choir

Skyddskårsmarsch, for choir

Stormen [The Tempest], Op. 109, incidental music for Shakespeare's play

Igor Stravinsky –

Serenade in A, for piano

Suite No. 1, for small orchestra

Suite, "d’après thèmes, fragments et pièces de Giambattista Pergolesi", for violin and piano

Marcel Tournier - Images No. 1, Op. 29; Etude de Concert "Au Matin"

Joaquín Turina –

La oración del torero, Op. 34, for lute quartet, also arranged for string quartet or string orchestra

La venta de los gatos, Op. 32, for piano

Edgard Varèse - Intégrales

Ralph Vaughan Williams -

Concerto Accademico for violin and strings

Flos Campi, for viola, wordless choir, and small orchestra

Hymns (5) for Songs of Praise, for choir

Two Poems by Seumas O'Sullivan, for voice and piano

Three Songs from Shakespeare, for voice and piano

Three Poems by Walt Whitman, for baritone and piano

Heitor Villa-Lobos –

Chôros No. 3 ("Pica-páo"), for male choir or seven wind instruments, or both together

Chôros No. 5 ("Alma brasileira"), for piano

Chôros No. 8, for large orchestra and two pianos

Cirandinhas, for piano

O Martírio dos Insetos, for violin and orchestra

Sul America, for piano

William Walton - Portsmouth Point, concert overture

Kurt Weill - Violin Concerto

Alberto Williams –

Canciones pasionales, for voice and piano

Piezas modernas para los niños, for piano

Stefan Wolpe - Three Songs by Heinrich von Kleist

Opera

Alban Berg - Wozzeck

Armstrong Gibbs - Blue Peter

Reynaldo Hahn - Mozart

Maurice Ravel - L'enfant et les sortilèges

Musical theater

Big Boy Broadway production opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on January 7 and later moved to the 44th Street Theatre for a total run of 168 performances

Boodle London production opened at the Empire Theatre on March 10 and ran for 94 performances

By The Way Broadway revue opened at the Gaiety Theatre on December 28 and ran for 176 performances. Starring Cicely Courtneidge.

The Cocoanuts Broadway production opened at the Lyric Theatre on December 8 and ran for 375 performances

Dearest Enemy (Music: Richard Rodgers, Lyrics: Lorenz Hart, Book: Herbert Fields. Broadway production opened at the Knickerbocker Theatre on September 18 and ran for 286 performances. Starring Helen Hart and Charles Purcell.

The Dollar Princess London revival

Garrick Gaieties Broadway revue opened at the Garrick Theatre on June 8 and ran for 211 performances

Katja the Dancer London production opened on February 21 at the Gaiety Theatre and ran for 505 performances

Mercenary Mary Broadway production opened at the Longacre Theatre on April 13 and ran for 136 performances

No, No, Nanette (Irving Caesar, Otto Harbach, and Vincent Youmans)

London production opened at the Palace Theatre on March 11 and ran for 665 performances

Broadway production opened at the Globe Theatre on September 16 and ran for 321 performances

On With the Dance London revue opened at the Pavilion on April 30 and ran for 229 performances

Rose-Marie London production opened at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on March 20 and ran for 851 performances

Sunny Broadway production opened at the New Amsterdam Theatre on September 22 and ran for 517 performances

Tip-Toes Broadway production opened at the Liberty Theatre on December 28 and ran for 194 performances

The Vagabond King Broadway production opened at the Casino Theatre on September 21 and ran for 511 performances

Births

January 13 - Gwen Verdon, singer and actress (d. 2000)

February 7 - Marius Constant, composer and conductor (d. 2004)

February 16 - Carlos Paredes, guitarist (d. 2004)

February 17 - Ron Goodwin, film composer (d. 2003)

February 19 - Jindřich Feld, composer and teacher (d. 2007)

February 26 - Delkash, singer (d. 2004)

March 4 - Paul Mauriat, French musician (Love Is Blue) (d. 2006)

March 22 – Gerard Hoffnung, cartoonist, comedian, musician (d. 1959)

March 26 - Pierre Boulez, French composer, conductor and author (d. 2016)

April 14 - Gene Ammons, jazz saxophonist (d. 1974)

April 26 - Jørgen Ingmann, guitarist (d. 2015)

May 14 - Boris Parsadanian, Armenian-Estonian composer (d. 1997)

May 15 - Andrei Eshpai, composer (d. 2015)

May 22 - James King, tenor (d. 2005)

May 25 - Aldo Clementi, composer (d. 2011)

May 28 - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Lieder singer (d. 2012)

June 1 - Marie Knight, American singer (d. 2009)

June 27 - Doc Pomus, American songwriter (d. 1991)

July 4 - Cathy Berberian, American mezzo-soprano and composer (d. 1983)

July 6 - Bill Haley, American singer (d. 1981)

July 11

Charles Chaynes, French classical composer (d. 2016)

Mattiwilda Dobbs, African American coloratura soprano (d. 2015)

Nicolai Gedda, Swedish operatic tenor (d. 2017)

July 28 - André Boucourechliev, composer (d. 1997)

July 29 - Mikis Theodorakis, composer

July 30 - Antoine Duhamel, French composer (d. 2014)

August 3 - Dom Um Romão, Brazilian jazz drummer (d. 2005)

August 7

Felice Bryant, American songwriter (d. 2003)

Julián Orbón, Spanish Cuban composer (d. 1991)

August 15

Aldo Ciccolini, pianist (d. 2015)

Robert Massard, French baritone

Oscar Peterson, pianist (d. 2007)

August 28 - Donald O'Connor, dancer, singer and actor (d. 2003)

September 1 - Art Pepper, jazz musician (d. 1982)

September 2 - Russ Conway, pianist (d. 2000)

September 3 - Hank Thompson, country musician (d. 2007)

September 6 - Jimmy Reed, blues singer (d. 1976)

September 8 - Peter Sellers, English actor and "novelty" singer (d. 1980)

September 10 - Boris Tchaikovsky, composer (d. 1996)

September 11

Alan Bergman, US songwriter

Harry Somers, composer (d. 1999)

September 13 - Mel Tormé, singer (d. 1999)

September 16 - B. B. King, blues musician (d. 2015)

September 26 - Marty Robbins, country singer (d. 1982)

September 28 - Cromwell Everson, South African composer (d. 1991)

October 5 - Herbert Kretzmer, songwriter

October 15 - Mickey Baker, guitarist and one half of the duo Mickey & Sylvia (d. 2012)

October 16 - Angela Lansbury, English actress and singer

October 20 - Tom Dowd, recording engineer/record producer (d. 2002)

October 21 - Virginia Zeani, soprano

October 24 - Luciano Berio, composer (d. 2003)

October 29 - Zoot Sims, jazz saxophonist (d. 1985)

November 17 - Sir Charles Mackerras, conductor (d. 2010)

November 22 - Gunther Schuller, composer, horn player and conductor (d. 2015)

December 8 - Sammy Davis, Jr., entertainer (d. 1990)

December 13 - Dick Van Dyke, American actor, singer, dancer and comedian

December 19 - Robert B. Sherman, songwriter, son of songwriter Al Sherman (d. 2012)

December 31 - Daphne Oram, composer (d. 2003)

date unknown - Julito Collazo, percussionist (d. 2004)

Deaths

January 6 - Ferdinand Löwe, Austrian conductor (b. 1865)

February 10 - Aristide Bruant, French singer and nightclub owner (b. 1851)

February 14 - Giuseppe Donati, inventor of the ocarina (b. 1836)

February 17 - Alwina Valleria, operatic soprano (b. 1848)

February 20 - Marco Enrico Bossi, organist and composer (b. 1861)

February 21 - Fernando de Lucia, operatic tenor (b. 1860)

March 4 - Moritz Moszkowski, Polish composer (b. 1854)

March 22 - Marie Brema, operatic mezzo-soprano (b. 1856)

April 3 - Jean de Reszke, operatic tenor (b. 1850)

April 22 - André Caplet, conductor and composer (b. 1878)

April 25 - George Stephănescu, Romanian composer (b. 1843)

May 12 - Arthur Napoleão dos Santos, Brazilian composer and pianist (b. 1843)

May 25 - Henry W. Petrie, US songwriter (b. 1857)

June 16 - Emmett Hardy, jazz musician (b. 1903)

July 1 - Erik Satie, composer (b. 1866)

July 9 - Leverett DeVeber, politician and singer (b. 1849)

August 4 - Charles W. Clark, American baritone (b. 1865)

August 11 - Theodore Spiering, violinist and conductor (b. 1871)

August 16 - Edna Hicks, blues singer (b. 1895) (killed in fire)

December 9 - Eugène Gigout, composer and organist (b. 1844)

December 13 - Caroline von Gomperz-Bettelheim, pianist and opera singer (b. 1845)

December 19 - Jose Ignacio Quinton, Puerto Rican composer and pianist (b. 1881)

December 27 - Guido Menasci, opera librettist (b. 1867)

date unknown - Hans Winderstein, conductor and composer (b. 1859)