1873
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1 January 1873 Albrecht, Count von Roon replaces Otto, Prince von Bismarck-Schönhausen as Prime Minister of Prussia.
A railroad opens between Mexico City and Veracruz.
6 January 1873 Les erinnyes, a tragedie antique by Jules Massenet (30) to words of Leconte de Lisle, is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre de l’Odéon, Paris.
7 January 1873 At the home of Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (28) in St. Petersburg, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (32) plays the finale of his Second Symphony to members of the kuchka. They unanimously approve of the work. It is the closest they will ever come to Tchaikovsky.
8 January 1873 Lunalilo is elected by the legislature to be King of Hawaii.
9 January 1873 Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (former Emperor Napoléon III) dies in Chislehurst, England following surgery.
13 January 1873 The Maid of Pskov, an opera by Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (28) to words of the composer after Mey, is performed for the first time, at the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg.
14 January 1873 Having been given the choice between a knighthood and a Civil List pension by Queen Victoria and Prime Minister Gladstone, Samuel Sebastian Wesley (62) accepts the pension, for his contributions to English Cathedral music.
17 January 1873 Richard Wagner (59) reads Götterdämmerung before a glittering assembly of potential subscribers gathered in the home of Count von Schleinitz in Berlin. “I cannot judge the impression the reading made, but I believe it was considerable.” (C.Wagner, 164)
19 January 1873 Concerto for cello and orchestra no.1 op.33 by Camille Saint-Saëns (37) is performed for the first time, at the Paris Conservatoire.
28 January 1873 Der Gang zum Liebchen op.48/1, a song by Johannes Brahms (39) to traditional words, is performed for the first time, in Vienna.
29 January 1873 Les braconniers, an opéra-bouffe by Jacques Offenbach (53) to words of Chivot and Duru, is performed for the first time, at the Variétès, Paris.
30 January 1873 Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours by Jules Verne is published in book form in Paris.
1 February 1873 James Clerk Maxwell dates the preface to his A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism.
Symphony no.5 D.485 by Franz Schubert (†44) is performed publicly for the first time, in the Crystal Palace, London, 57 years after it was composed.
7 February 1873 The first version of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s (32) Symphony no.2 is performed for the first time, in Moscow. It is a rousing critical and popular success. See 12 February 1881.
8 February 1873 The Hungarian Diet votes money to create an Academy of Music in Budapest.
Two songs for voice and piano by Gabriel Fauré (27) to words of Gautier are performed for the first time, by the Société National de Musique, Paris: Les matelots op.2/2 and La chanson du pêcheur op.4/1. Also on the program is the premiere of the first three movements of Fauré’s Suite d’orchestre in a reduction for two pianos played by Camille Saint-Saëns (37) and the composer, as well as the premiere of Allegro Appassionato op.43 for cello and orchestra by Camille Saint-Saëns. See 16 May 1874.
10 February 1873 Richard Wagner (59) begins reading Origin of Species by Charles Darwin.
11 February 1873 In the face of uprisings and apparently without popular support, King Amadeo I of Spain abdicates and the First Spanish Republic is proclaimed.
12 February 1873 Estanislao Figueras y Moragas replaces Manuel Ruiz Zorrilla as Prime Minister of Spain and functions as President of the Republic.
The Fourth Coinage Act goes into effect demonetizing silver and placing the United States on the gold standard.
15 February 1873 Mehmed Esad Pasha replaces Mütercim Mehmed Rüstü Pasha as Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire.
Valentin Alkan (59) makes his first appearance as pianist since 1849 in the first of six “Petits concerts” at the Salle Erard, Paris. Despite a couple of memory losses, the concert is warmly received by the audience.
16 February 1873 Fosca, an opera by Carlos Gomes (36) to words of Ghislanzoni, is performed for the first time, in Teatro alla Scala, Milan. The work is a failure.
17 February 1873 Three scenes from Modest Musorgsky’s (33) opera Boris Godunov are performed for the first time, at the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg. The performers and audience are very enthusiastic.
The separation of Geneva from the Diocese of Lausanne by Pope Pius IX without the approval of the State Council of Geneva or the Federal Council of Switzerland, causes the Swiss government to expel Bishop Gaspard Mermillod of Geneva from the country.
21 February 1873 The chapel organ at Versailles, built in 1736 and newly restored by Cavaillé-Coll, is inaugurated by Camille Saint-Saëns (37) and Charles-Marie Widor.
23 February 1873 Richard Strauss (8) appears as conductor for the first time, directing his first composition, Schneider-polka, orchestrated by his father, at a concert in Munich.
27 February 1873 Two members of the United States House of Representatives are censured for distributing shares in Credit Mobilier of America, the company building the Union Pacific Railroad, to Senators and Congressmen in return for political favors.
1 March 1873 Leos Janácek (18) begins duties as choirmaster of Svatopluk, a men’s society in Brünn (Brno).
Der Carneval in Rom, an operetta by Johann Strauss (47) to words of Braun after Sardou, is performed for the first time, in the Theater-an-der-Wien, Vienna to great success.
2 March 1873 The United States Congress passes the Comstock Act, providing criminal penalties for disseminating birth control or information about it. Presently, the US is the only western nation to have such a law.
Petite Suite for orchestra by Georges Bizet (34) is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre de l’Odéon, Paris. The audience accords it polite applause.
4 March 1873 US President Ulysses S. Grant is inaugurated for a second term. The Forty-third Congress of the United States convenes in Washington. Republicans continue their large majority in the Senate while greatly increasing their majority in the House of Representatives.
9 March 1873 Emperor Franz Joseph II of Austria-Hungary refuses to approve the petition of Josef Ritter von Scherer to bequeath his title to his stepdaughter’s husband, Johann Strauss (47).
Hymnus: The heirs of the white mountain, a cantata by Antonin Dvorák (31) to words of Hálek, is performed for the first time, in Prague.
19 March 1873 Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilan Reger is born in Brand, Upper Palatinate, Bavaria, the son of Joseph Reger, a schoolmaster and author of a harmony textbook, and Philomena Reichenberger.
Szózat und Hymnus for orchestra by Franz Liszt (61) is performed for the first time, in Budapest.
21 March 1873 The Seniority (governing body) of Cambridge University votes to offer Charles Villiers Stanford (20) the post of assistant organist at Trinity College. He will accept.
22 March 1873 Two songs for voice and piano by Gabriel Fauré (27) are performed for the first time, by the Société National de Musique, Paris: Mai op.1/2 to words of Hugo, and Hymne op.7/2 to words of Beaudelaire.
26 March 1873 After an emissary from Aceh holds talks with United States officials in Singapore, the Dutch bombard Banda Aceh.
30 March 1873 Three Nocturnes for orchestra by Antonin Dvorák (31) are performed for the first time, in Prague.
31 March 1873 Fisch-Ton-Kan, an operetta by Emanuel Chabrier (32) to words of Verlaine and Viotti, is performed for the first time, at the Cercle de l’Union Artistique, Paris.
1 April 1873 Sergey Vasilyevich Rakhmaninov is born on the Oneg estate, near Semyonova, in the Russian province of Novgorod, the fourth of six children born to Vasily Arkadyevich Rakhmaninov, a retired army officer, and Lyubov Petrovna Butakova, daughter of a general. Both parents are descended from wealthy landowners.
String Quartet in e by Giuseppe Verdi (59) is performed for the first time, in the Albergo delle Crocelle before friends of the composer mysteriously invited for the event. It is Verdi’s only work of chamber music. Of his string quartet, the composer later remarked, “I don’t know whether this quartet is beautiful or ugly, but I do know that it’s a quartet.”
2 April 1873 Austrian suffrage is reformed to favor Germans.
5 April 1873 Jovan Ristic replaces Milivoje Petrovic Blaznavac as Prime Minister of Serbia.
6 April 1873 St. Petersburg publisher Vasily Bessel announces the opening of subscriptions to the piano-vocal score of Modest Musorgsky’s (34) Boris Godunov.
Vom Donaustrande op.356, a polka schnell by Johann Strauss (47), is performed for the first time, in the Musikverein, Vienna.
8 April 1873 Dutch troops invade Banda Aceh.
10 April 1873 Rédemption, a symphonic poem for soprano, female chorus, speaker, and orchestra by César Franck (50), is performed for the first time, in Paris. Many of the audience walk out.
11 April 1873 On Good Friday, Marie-Magdaleine, a drame sacré by Jules Massenet (30) to words of Gallet, is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre de l’Odéon, Paris, to great success. See 9 February 1903.
12 April 1873 Valentin Alkan (59) premieres three “chants” from his Book 4 op.67, in Paris.
16 April 1873 A fugue in ab minor for organ by Johannes Brahms (39) is performed for the first time, in Leipzig.
17 April 1873 L’adorable Bel’-Boul’, an operetta by Jules Massenet (30) to words of Gallet, is performed for the first time, at the Cercle des Mirlitons, Paris.
22 April 1873 Wiener Blut op.354, a waltz by Johann Strauss (47), is performed for the first time, at a ball to celebrate the wedding of the daughter of Emperor Franz Joseph to Prince Leopold of Bavaria in the Musikverein, Vienna. It is conducted by the composer.
23 April 1873 An attempt by Spanish radicals to overthrow the new government is thwarted, largely through the efforts of Interior Minister Francisco Pi y Margall.
24 April 1873 A report in the Iglau (Jihlava) Mahrischer Grenzbote tells of a performance of Sigismund Thalberg’s (†1) Fantasia on Themes from the opera Norma by one Gustav Mahler (12). The reporter is quite overwhelmed by the virtuosity of the young man, as was the audience.
25 April 1873 Two weeks after their invasion, the Dutch are forced to withdraw from Aceh by local defenders.
27 April 1873 Three male choruses by Leos Janácek (18) are performed for the first time, in Brünn (Brno): The Enforced Bridegroom, Serbian Folksong, and Ploughing under the direction of the composer in his conducting debut.
1 May 1873 The great Vienna Exhibition opens in the presence of Emperor Franz Joseph II, Empress Elizabeth, Crown Prince Rudolph, the German crown prince and the Prince of Wales.
David Livingstone dies at Ilala (Zambia) at the age of 60.
8 May 1873 The prices in the Vienna stock exchange drop through the floor wiping out many individuals and companies. Panic sweeps Vienna with the usual accompaniment of suicides.
9 May 1873 The crisis in the Vienna stock exchange is so precipitous that the word “crash” is used for the first time, in a Vienna newspaper. The event leads to worldwide financial calamities. Since the beginning of the month, over 200 companies in Vienna have declared bankruptcy.
11 May 1873 Over the next five days, the “May Laws” are announced by Adalbert Falk, Prussian Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs. They eliminate the jurisdiction of the Vatican over the Catholic Church in Prussia. Only priests educated in Germany may serve in German churches.
18 May 1873 In the presence of Vincent d’Indy (22) and other musical notables in Weimar, Franz Liszt (61) plays through The Nursery by Modest Musorgsky (34). Liszt and all present are delighted with what they find.
20 May 1873 Lieutenant Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (29) is appointed Inspector of Music Bands of the Russian Navy Department.
German-born Levi Strauss receives a US patent for canvas pants with copper rivets as reinforcement. The idea actually came from Jacob Davis, a tailor in Reno, Nevada who requested Strauss’ help in securing a patent. Davis will become Strauss’ production manager.
22 May 1873 Italian novelist Alessandro Manzoni, hero of Giuseppe Verdi (59), dies in Milan at the age of 89.
Anton Rubinstein (43) gives his last concert in North America, in New York. In the last twelve days alone he gave 14 concerts in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia, ten of which were solo recitals. Since arriving last September he has given 203 performances in 58 cities as far north as Montreal, west as Burlington, Iowa and south as New Orleans. It has been perhaps the most successful and tumultuous such tour of the nineteenth century.
23 May 1873 Incidental music to Ostrovsky’s play The Snow Maiden by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (33) is performed for the first time, at the Bolshoy Theatre, Moscow.
24 May 1873 Marie Edmé Patrice Maurice, comte de Mac-Mahon, Duc de Magenta replaces Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers as President of France.
25 May 1873 Jacques Albert, duc de Broglie replaces Jules Armand Stanislas Dufaure as Prime Minister of France.
27 May 1873 Incidental music to Longfellow’s play The Spanish Student by Charles Villiers Stanford (20) is performed for the first time, at Cambridge University directed by the composer.
29 May 1873 Christus, an oratorio by Franz Liszt (61) to words from the Bible and the Roman Catholic liturgy, is performed completely for the first time, in the Weimar Stadtkirche, conducted by the composer. Liszt’s daughter, Cosima, and his son-in-law Richard Wagner (60) are present. Cosima reports that “Richard’s reaction covers all extremes, from ravishment to immense indignation, in his attempt to do it both profound and loving justice.” (C.Wagner, 178)
1 June 1873 Jacques Offenbach (53) takes over management of the Théâtre de la Gaîté, Paris.
2 June 1873 After being emotionally unable to attend the funeral of Alessandro Manzoni, Giuseppe Verdi (59) travels to Milan to visit his grave. In a day or two, Verdi will write to the mayor of Milan, offering to compose a Requiem mass for the anniversary of Manzoni’s death. See 22 May 1874.
By a vote of the President and Fellows of Harvard University, John Knowles Paine (34) is appointed Assistant Professor of Music. He is the first to hold such a position in the United States.
3 June 1873 St. Peter, an oratorio by John Knowles Paine (34), is performed for the first time, in Portland, Maine.
5 June 1873 The slave trade is abolished by the Sultan of Zanzibar, under pressure from the British.
11 June 1873 Francisco Pi y Margall replaces Estanislao Figueras y Moragas as President of the Executive Power and Prime Minister of Spain.
16 June 1873 Tsar Alyeksandr II affirms a new charter for the Russian Musical Society adding the title “Imperial” and assuming financial responsibility.
1 July 1873 Prince Edward Island joins the Dominion of Canada.
3 July 1873 Rotunde-Quadrille op.360 by Johann Strauss (47) is performed for the first time, in the Musikpavillon bei der Rotunde im Prater, Vienna.
5 July 1873 War Song for male chorus and piano by Leos Janácek (19) to anonymous words is performed for the first time, in Brünn (Brno), conducted by the composer.
9 July 1873 A revolt by socialist workers takes place in Alcoy, Spain where the republican mayor is murdered.
The German Empire adopts the Mark as its unified currency.
Three new works by Johann Strauss (47) are performed for the first time, in the Gartenbu, Vienna: the waltz Carnevalsbilder op.357, the polka française Nimm sie hin! op.358, and the polka mazurka Gruß aus Osterreich op.359.
10 July 1873 Paul Verlaine shoots Arthur Rimbaud in the wrist after the two argue heatedly in a Brussels hotel.
12 July 1873 A bar mitzvah for Gustav Mahler (13) takes place in Iglau, Bohemia (Jihlava, Czech Republic).
17 June 1873 Susan B. Anthony is found guilty in Canandaigua, New York of voting in the election of last 5 November.
18 July 1873 Spanish president Francisco Pi y Margall resigns. He is succeeded by Nicolas Salmerón y Alonso who also takes the title of Prime Minister.
In a courtroom in Canandaigua, New York, Susan B. Anthony is sentenced to pay $100 and court costs for voting in the election of last 5 November. She will never pay anything.
1 August 1873 Cable cars begin running in San Francisco for the first time.
2 August 1873 Accompanied by a small local ceremony, the roof is raised on the Bayreuth Festspielhaus. Attending along with Wagner (60) and his family is his father-in-law, Franz Liszt (61).
4 August 1873 Victor Hartmann, painter-friend of Modest Musorgsky (34) dies in Kireyev, near Moscow.
6 August 1873 Bei uns z’Haus op.361, a waltz for male chorus and orchestra by Johann Strauss (47), is performed for the first time, in Schwender’s “Neue Welt”, Vienna
7 August 1873 Republican forces enter Valencia ending the revolt.
10 August 1873 Marco Minghetti replaces Giovanni Lanza as Prime Minister of Italy.
11 August 1873 Richard Wagner (60) writes to King Ludwig II of Bavaria telling him that the German aristocracy is investing all its money in “Jewish and Jesuit” concerns and not him and his Festspielhaus. He asks for a loan of 100,000 taler. He will not receive a reply.
12 August 1873 Russia annexes Khiva and Bokhara.
13 August 1873 Austrians Julius Payer and Karl Weyprecht discover Franz Joseph Land, some 1,375 km north of Murmansk.
24 August 1873 “The Great Gale” hits the Maritime provinces of Canada. Approximately 1,000 people are killed on land and sea. Many structures are destroyed.
25 August 1873 Giacomo Puccini (14) passes his oral examination for the fifth and last year of Ginnasio. He had to repeat the last year.
27 August 1873 The Light of the World, an oratorio by Arthur Sullivan (31) to words of the Bible selected by the composer, is performed for the first time, in Birmingham, conducted by the composer. The audience, which includes the Duke of Edinburgh, is very appreciative.
30 August 1873 The Northwest Mounted Police are formed to maintain order in the Canadian outback. The name will later be changed to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
2 September 1873 Incidental music to Barrière and Davyl’s drame Le gascon by Jacques Offenbach (54), is performed for the first time, in the Théâtre de la Gaîté, Paris. This first production under Offenbach’s management of the Gaîté is a flop.
4 September 1873 Pomme d’api, an operetta by Jacques Offenbach (54) to words of Halévy and Busnach, is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre de la Renaissance, Paris.
7 September 1873 President Nicolas Salmerón y Alonso of Spain resigns, succeeded by Emilio Manuel Castelar Ripoll who also takes the title of Prime Minister.
13 September 1873 Anton Bruckner (49) visits Bayreuth to ask Richard Wagner (60) to accept the dedication of his Symphony no.3.
16 September 1873 A treaty signed by the Khan of Bukhara accepts a Russian protectorate.
France having paid an indemnity of 5,000,000,000 francs, German troops depart Verdun, the last part of French territory they hold.
18 September 1873 The Philadelphia banking house of Jay Cooke & Co., part financer of the Northern Pacific Railroad, fails, precipitating the “Panic of ‘73” in the United States.
20 September 1873 President Castelar of Spain institutes a dictatorship and rules by decree.
The New York Stock Exchange is forced to close for the first time, owing to the financial panic.
23 September 1873 Wartburg Lieder for tenor, two baritones, chorus and orchestra by Franz Liszt (61) is performed for the first time, in Wartburg.
18 October 1873 String Quartet no.2 op.51/2 by Johannes Brahms (40) is performed for the first time, in the Berlin Singakademie.
25 October 1873 On his 48th birthday, Johann Strauss conducts a concert for the benefit of Hungarian victims of a cholera epidemic, in Vienna. He premieres his Csárdás für Gesang, to words of Genée, part of the operetta he is working on. It is so successful that he hurries to finish the rest of the work: Die Fledermaus.
26 October 1873 The original version of Anton Bruckner’s (49) Symphony no.2 is performed for the first time, in Vienna, conducted by the composer. It is the first orchestral work by Bruckner to be performed in the capital. Reaction is mixed, but Bruckner is pleased. See 20 February 1876.
27 October 1873 The Comte de Chambord, pretender to the French throne, refuses to accept the tricolor as the national flag. This ends any hope of restoring the monarchy.
28 October 1873 The Paris Opéra in the Rue Le Peletièr burns down. The alarm is sounded at 23:25.
29 October 1873 02:30 The roof of the Paris Opéra collapses. By 04:00 the fire is brought under control.
King Johann of Saxony dies at Pillnitz and is succeeded by his son Albert.
30 October 1873 Franz Liszt (62) enters his new home in the Fish Market, Budapest.
31 October 1873 Spanish naval forces capture the Virginius on the high seas near Jamaica. The schooner is illegally flying the US flag and carries men and materiel to Cuban insurgents. The captain, 36 crew and 12 passengers will be executed. 102 survivors will be turned over to American authorities.
The international bridge over Niagara Falls opens.
2 November 1873 Variations on a Theme by Joseph Haydn op.56a for orchestra by Johannes Brahms (40) is performed for the first time, in the Großer Saal der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, Vienna, conducted by the composer. It is very successful.
3 November 1873 Jovan Marinovic replaces Jovan Ristic as Prime Minister of Serbia.
7 November 1873 Canadian Prime Minister John Alexander MacDonald and his cabinet resign as a result of the Pacific Scandal which resulted from charges that MacDonald received campaign contributions from a contractor wanting to build a trans-Canada railroad. He is replaced as prime minister by Alexander MacKenzie.
Today and tomorrow, 48 men from the Virginius, captured 31 October, are executed in Santiago.
8 November 1873 A grand jubilee of three days begins in Budapest to honor the 50th anniversary of Franz Liszt’s (62) career as a performer and composer. The honoree has come from Rome for the events.
HMS Niobe arrives in Santiago de Cuba and threatens to bombard the town if executions of the Virginius crew are not halted. The executions stop.
Barcarole op.44/3 for chorus by Johannes Brahms (40) to traditional Italian words translated by Witte is performed for the first time, in Hamburg.
Incidental music to Barbier’s play Jeanne d’Arc by Charles Gounod (55) is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre de la Gaîté, Paris. The critical response is somewhat tepid.
9 November 1873 Otto, Prince von Bismarck-Schönhausen replaces Albrecht, Count von Roon as Prime Minister of Prussia.
The Balakirev (36) circle sends a telegram to Franz Liszt (62) congratulating him on 50 years in music.
The Fickleness of Love for male choir by Leos Janácek (19) to a traditional Moravian text is performed for the first time, in Brünn (Brno), conducted by the composer.
11 November 1873 Dutch forces invade Aceh for a second time. They manage to hold their positions, but will never fully control the area.
14 November 1873 A student at Moscow Conservatory, Eduard Zak, kills himself. It is possible that he has been having a love affair with one of the professors, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (33).
17 November 1873 Antonin Dvorák (32) marries Anna Cermáková, daughter of a goldsmith and his piano pupil for several years. She is already pregnant.
Buda, Obuda and Pest are joined together to form Budapest.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (33) goes to a concert for the first time as a critic, in Moscow.
19 November 1873 William Tweed is convicted of defrauding New York City of $30,000,000.
20 November 1873 Daniel Gregory Mason is born in Brookline, Massachusetts, the son of Henry Mason, founder of Mason and Hamlin piano and organ builders. His uncle is William Mason, concert pianist and composer, and he is the grandson of Lowell Mason (†1), composer of hymns.
23 November 1873 Thomas Hardy’s Far From the Madding Crowd is published in London.
24 November 1873 Ferruccio Busoni (7) appears as pianist for the first time in public, at the Schiller-Verein in Trieste. He plays music of Mozart (†81), Schumann (†17), and Clementi (†41).
Joseph Glidden of DeKalb, Illinois receives the first patent for barbed wire.
29 November 1873 US and Spanish officials reach agreement in Washington over the Virginius affair. Spain agrees to release the ship and all remaining crew, and pay an indemnity.
La jolie parfumeuse, an opéra-comique by Jacques Offenbach (54) to words of Crémieux and Blum, is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre de la Renaissance, Paris.
1 December 1873 Der englische Gruss op.22/1 for unaccompanied chorus by Johannes Brahms (40) to traditional German words is performed for the first time, in Munich.
5 December 1873 Four songs by Johannes Brahms (40) are performed for the first time, in Frankfurt: Ruhe, Süssliebchen op.33/9 to words of Tieck, Die Kränze op.46/1 to ancient Greek words, Auf dem See op.59/1 to words of Simrock, and Das Lied vom Hern von Falkenstein op.43/4 to traditional words.
7 December 1873 Phaëton op.39, a symphonic poem by Camille Saint-Saëns (38) is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.
8 December 1873 Christus factus est for chorus, strings, and three trombones by Anton Bruckner (49), is performed for the first time.
11 December 1873 String Quartet no.1 op.51/1 by Johannes Brahms (40) is performed for the first time, in the Musikvereinsaal, Vienna.
12 December 1873 After the papacy objects to the expelling of Bishop Mermillod from Switzerland last February, the Papal Nuncio is expelled from the country.
13 December 1873 Modest Musorgsky (34) is promoted to the grade of Court Councillor.
19 December 1873 The Tempest, a symphonic fantasia by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (33), is performed for the first time, in Moscow. The work is accorded a warm reception.
22 December 1873 Five Songs (Ophelia-Lieder) WoO 22 for voice and piano by Johannes Brahms (40) to words of Shakespeare (tr.Schlegel), are performed for the first time, in Prague.
25 December 1873 Kinder-Katechismus zu Kosels Geburtstag “Sagt mir Kinder, was blüht am Maitag” for solo voice, children’s choir, and piano by Richard Wagner (60) is performed for the first time, at Bayreuth. Wagner has it sung by children in the room next to their bedroom so Cosima can hear it when she awakes.
©2004-2012 Paul Scharfenberger
13 August 2012
Last Updated (Monday, 13 August 2012 06:24)