1885
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4 January 1885 Dr. William West Grant performs the first successful appendectomy in history, in Davenport, Iowa.
5 January 1885 A bridge between Khartoum and the Mahdist-held city of Omdurman is destroyed.
8 January 1885 A Festmarsch in D for orchestra by Richard Strauss (20) is performed for the first time, in Munich.
9 January 1885 Spain establishes a protectorate over Rio de Muni (Equatorial Guinea) and Rio de Oro (Western Sahara).
The Wild Duck by Henrik Ibsen premieres in Bergen, Norway.
Two songs by Johannes Brahms (51) are performed for the first time, in Vienna: Sapphische Ode op.94/4, to words of Schmidt, and Mädchenlied op.95/6 to Italian words translated by Heyse.
10 January 1885 Impromptus nos.2&3 opp.31&34 for piano by Gabriel Fauré (39) are performed for the first time, by the Société National de Musique, Paris, Camille Saint-Saëns (49) at the piano.
12 January 1885 Engelbert Humperdinck (30) meets Richard Strauss (20) at a rehearsal for Strauss’ Symphony in f minor.
17 January 1885 British and Egyptian relief troops are attacked by forces of the Mahdi at Abu Klea. The British survive the attack in furious fighting.
19 January 1885 Mahdists attack the British and Egyptian relief force at Abu Kru. The British successfully extricate themselves but their commander, Sir Herbert Stewart, is mortally wounded.
20 January 1885 Edward Elgar (27) signs a contract in London with Schott for the publication of his Romance for violin and piano. Elgar gives them the copyright for one schilling and twenty free copies. It is his first work to be published.
22 January 1885 A treaty of friendship is reached between Germany and the South African Republic.
Anton Bruckner (60) is elected an honorary member of the Akademischer Richard-Wagner-Verein in Vienna.
24 January 1885 On the advice of Richard Strauss (20), Engelbert Humperdinck (30) meets the wealthy industrialist Alfred Krupp. Krupp hires him as a pianist at the Villa Hügel where he will stay until 1 August.
Orchestral Suite no.3 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (44) is performed for the first time, in St. Petersburg. Conducted by Hans von Bülow, it is extremely successful.
Prélude, Choral et Fugue for piano by César Franck (62) is performed for the first time, in the Salle Pleyel, Paris.
25 January 1885 La Saugefleurie, an orchestral work by Vincent d’Indy (33) is performed for the first time, in Paris. It is possible that Claude Debussy (22) has delayed his departure for Rome to hear this premiere.
26 January 1885 Besieging Mahdists make a successful attack on Khartoum and pour into the city. British commander, General Charles G. “Chinese” Gordon attempts to reach the Austrian embassy but is discovered on the street and shot dead on the spot by Mahdists. The entire garrison of colonial troops are killed, as are thousands of the inhabitants of the city.
Variations and Fugue on the Prelude in c minor op.28/20 by Frédéric Chopin for piano by Ferruccio Busoni (18) is performed for the first time, in Vienna by the composer.
27 January 1885 The six Songs and Romances op.93a for unaccompanied chorus by Johannes Brahms (51) to words of Anonymous, Arnim, Rückert and Goethe are performed completely for the first time, in Krefeld. See 9 December 1884.
Against his will, Claude Debussy (22) leaves for his sojourn at the Villa Medici in Rome, required of all Prix de Rome winners.
28 January 1885 A British-Egyptian relief force reaches Khartoum, two days too late.
Two works by Johannes Brahms (51) are performed for the first time, in Krefeld: O schöne Nacht op.92/1 for vocal quartet to words of Daumer, and Tafellied op.93b for chorus and piano.
30 January 1885 Two Songs op.91 for alto, viola and piano by Johannes Brahms (51) to words of Rückert and Geibel, are performed for the first time, in Krefeld.
Claude Debussy (22) arrives in Rome to begin his Prix de Rome stay.
5 February 1885 News of General Gordon’s death so incenses British public opinion that the government pledges a general conquest of the Sudan.
A covenant is agreed to by France and the Association Internationale du Congo ensuring French control of the Congo basin west of the Congo River.
6 February 1885 Italian forces occupy Massawa (Mits’iwa) on the Red Sea coast of Abyssinia.
Anti-Chinese riots erupt in Eureka, Washington Territory after a city councilman is accidentally killed in a Tong shooting.
9 February 1885 Alban Maria Johannes Berg is born in Vienna, third of four children born to Conrad Berg, a salesman in the export trade, and Johanna Maria Anna Braun, daughter of a court jeweler.
10 February 1885 British forces storm the heights of Kirbekan, routing the Mahdists defending the position. Among the dead is the British commander, General Earle.
Theme and 19 Variations for piano by Hubert Parry (36) is performed for the first time, in London.
12 February 1885 The German East Africa Company is chartered.
17 February 1885 Kaiser Wilhelm signs a charter for a protectorate in Tanganyika, to be administered by the German East Africa Company. It will be kept secret until the Berlin Conference is over.
18 February 1885 Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is published in New York.
21 February 1885 The Washington Monument is dedicated.
Nocturne no.1 op.33/1 for piano by Gabriel Fauré (39) is performed for the first time, by the Société National de Musique, Paris.
22 February 1885 The Moscow branch of the Russian Musical Society elects Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (44) as its director.
26 February 1885 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (44) rents a house in Maydanovo, the first of several homes he will have around Klin, 90 km from Moscow.
The General Act of the Congress of Berlin is signed by 15 countries. All nations are guaranteed free access to the Congo River. The act assures the neutrality of the Congo basin and provides for free access to the River Niger. It sets down rules for the European land rush in Africa and allows for the establishment of a Congo Free State in personal union with King Leopold of Belgium.
Arthur Sullivan (42) appears for the first time as conductor of the Philharmonic Society.
27 February 1885 Two songs by Johannes Brahms (51) are performed for the first time, in Vienna: Der Tod, das ist die kühle Nacht op. 96/1 to words of Heine, and Wir wandelten, wir zwei zusammen op.96/2 to traditional words.
3 March 1885 The German government announces suzerainty and protection over 150,000 sq km of territory in East Africa adjacent to Zanzibar, recently acquired from local chieftans by the German East Africa Company.
The American Bell Telephone Company is founded to create a network of long distance lines throughout the United States.
4 March 1885 Concerto for horn and orchestra no.1 op.11 by Richard Strauss (20) is performed for the first time, in Meiningen.
Grover Cleveland replaces Chester Alan Arthur as President of the United States. The Forty-ninth Congress convenes in Washington. His Democratic Party holds a majority in the House of Representatives but Republicans still control the Senate.
6 March 1885 Concert Fantasia op.56 for piano and orchestra by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (44) is performed for the first time, in Moscow.
8 March 1885 Dumka for violin and piano by Leos Janácek (30) is performed for the first time, in Brünn (Brno), the composer at the piano.
11 March 1885 Three songs from op.44 for unaccompanied chorus by Johannes Brahms (51) to words of Heyse are performed for the first time, in Vienna: Nun stehn die Rose in Blüte op.44/7, Die Berge sind spitz op.44/8, and Am Wildbach die Weiden op.44/9.
Arthur Sullivan (42) completes the music to The Mikado.
14 March 1885 The Mikado, or The Town of Titipu, an operetta by Arthur Sullivan (42) to words of Gilbert, is performed for the first time, in the Savoy Theatre, London conducted by the composer. It is an enormous success with the audience, among whom are the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and Prince Louis Alexander of Battenberg. As is his custom, the librettist walks the streets of London during the premiere. The work is phenomenally successful and will see 672 performances.
15 March 1885 Three works are performed for the first time by the Société National de Musique in the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris: Les Djinns, a symphonic poem by César Franck (62); Symphony no.2 op.40 by Gabriel Fauré (39); and La sulamite, a scène lyrique for mezzo-soprano, female chorus and orchestra by Emanuel Chabrier (44) to words of Richepin.
17 March 1885 Dr. Frederick Treves reports a medical description of the condition of Joseph Carey Merrick (the Elephant Man) to the Pathological Society of London.
19 March 1885 Rebels (mostly Métis and Indians) led by Louis Riel seize the parish church in Batoche, Saskatchewan, 275 km north of Regina, and demand the surrender of Fort Carleton.
20 March 1885 British forces defeat members of Osman Digna’s army at Hashin in the Sudan.
26 March 1885 Motion picture film is produced commercially for the first time by the Eastman Dry Plate and Film Company of Rochester, New York.
Canadian forces attack Métis at Duck Lake, Manitoba but are defeated.
27 March 1885 Allegretto on GEDGE for violin and piano by Edward Elgar (27) is performed for the first time, in Malvern.
28 March 1885 While attempting to extend their influence over Tonkin, the northern province of Annam, French forces are defeated by the Chinese at Lang Son, 110 km north of Haiphong. The news turns French public opinion against the Tonkin adventure.
The Spectre’s Bride, a dramatic cantata by Antonín Dvorák (43) to words of Erben, is performed for the first time, in Pilsen (Plzen), conducted by the composer.
Amy Marcy Cheney (17) plays with a major orchestra for the first time, performing Chopin’s (†35) f minor concerto with the Boston Symphony.
30 March 1885 Rival British and Russian imperial ambitions in Afghanistan break into open conflict at Pendjeh. Russians take the field.
The second and third movements of Piano Concerto no.1 by Edward MacDowell (24) are performed for the first time, in New York. See 3 April 1888.
31 March 1885 War breaks out in Central America over the drive by Guatemalan President Justo Rufino Barrios to unify the five republics.
1 April 1885 Gustav Mahler (24) formally requests to be released from his contract as conductor in Kassel. “My heart is bleeding from many wounds.”
2 April 1885 Cree Indians under Louis Riel kill nine whites at Frog Lake, Saskatchewan.
Salvadorans defeat Guatemalans at Chalchuapa, El Salvador. President Justo Rufino Barrios of Guatemala is killed. Since he was the driving force behind Central American unification, an armistice will soon be concluded and the plan shelved.
3 April 1885 Gottlieb Daimler receives a German patent for his water-cooled one cylinder engine. It effectively solves the problem of cooling and makes the internal combustion engine practical.
5 April 1885 Noé, an opéra by Fromental Halévy (†23), completed by Georges Bizet (†9) to words of Saint-Georges, is performed for the first time, in Karlsruhe.
6 April 1885 Eugène Henri Brisson replaces Jules Ferry as Prime Minister of France. Ferry resigned after the disaster of 28 March.
13 April 1885 The authorities in Kassel inform Gustav Mahler (24) that his contract will be terminated on 1 September. Mahler wants it to be 1 July.
18 April 1885 By the Convention of Tientsin, Japan and China agree to withdraw all troops from Korea and disengage themselves militarily from the peninsula.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (44) writes to Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (41) offering him the directorship of the Moscow Conservatory.
The entr’acte to Ernest Chausson’s (30) comédie lyrique after de Musset Les Caprices de Marianne is performed for the first time, by the Société National de Musique, Paris.
Hymn in honor of SS Cyril and Methodius for unaccompanied chorus by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (44) to his own words is performed for the first time, at Moscow Conservatory.
20 April 1885 Lied aus dem Gedicht “Ivan” op.3/4, a song by Johannes Brahms (51) to words of Bodenstedt, is performed for the first time, in Vienna, 32 years after it was composed.
22 April 1885 After three years of study, Pietro Mascagni (20) withdraws from the Milan Conservatory to become assistant conductor of the Castagnetta-Forlì operetta company.
Edvard (41) and Nina Grieg move into the house they have just built, 10 km south of Bergen on Lake Nordås. At the suggestion of Mrs. Grieg, they call it Troldhaugen (Troll Hill).
Symphony no.7 by Antonín Dvorák (43) is performed for the first time, in St. James’ Hall, London, conducted by the composer.
23 April 1885 The authorities in Kassel tell Gustav Mahler (24) that he is free to leave his position as of 1 July as he has requested.
26 April 1885 Great Britain occupies Port Hamilton (Geomun-do), Korea.
29 April 1885 An agreement is signed by Germany and Great Britain over their spheres of colonization in Africa.
Wallingford Riegger is born in Albany, Georgia, the son of Constantine Riegger, presently the proprietor of a lumber business, and Ida Wallingford, a music teacher and daughter of an auctioneer and furniture dealer who fell in the American Civil War.
If Doughty Deeds My Lady Please for chorus by Arthur Foote (32) to words of Graham is performed for the first time, at the Apollo Club, Boston.
The first movement of the Symphony no.2 by George Whitefield Chadwick (30) is performed for the first time, at the Music Hall, Boston, the composer conducting. See 10 December 1886.
30 April 1885 Theodoros Pangaiou Diligiannis replaces Charilaos Spiridonou Trikoupis as Prime Minister of Greece.
Luigi Russolo is born in Portogruaro, the son of Dominico Russolo, organist of the cathedral in Portogruaro, and Elisabetta Russolo.
2 May 1885 King Leopold II of Belgium creates the Congo Free State with himself as ruler.
A setting of the Te Deum for chorus and two pianos by Anton Bruckner (60) is performed for the first time, in Vienna, conducted by the composer. See 10 January 1886.
Canadians and Cree Indians battle at Cut Knife Creek, Manitoba. The Canadians have the greater losses and return to Battleford.
6 May 1885 In Nuenen, Vincent Van Gogh completes The Potato Eaters.
10 May 1885 An English court rules in favor of Georgina Weldon in her libel suit against Charles Gounod (66). He is currently in France and she can not collect, but she retains the right to have him arrested should he set foot in England.
11 May 1885 Symphony in C op.7 by Horatio Parker (21) is performed for the first time, in the Königliche Musikhochschule, Munich.
12 May 1885 Canadian troops defeat Métis (those of mixed French-Indian heritage) rebels under Louis Riel at Batoche, 275 km north of Regina.
13 May 1885 The second revised version of Hymnus: The Heirs of the White Mountains for chorus and orchestra by Antonín Dvorák (43) to words of Halek is performed for the first time, in London.
15 May 1885 Johan Sibelius (19) passes his studentexamen allowing him to enter Helsinki University as a law student.
16 May 1885 Amy Marcy Cheney (17) plays a recital entirely on her own for the first time, in Brookline, Massachusetts.
17 May 1885 Charles Villiers Stanford (32) writes to the Bach Choir Committee accepting their appointment as conductor.
22 May 1885 Victor Hugo dies in Paris at the age of 83.
1 June 1885 A large fire destroys two-thirds of the town of Klin, Russia. Among those fighting the blaze are Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (45) and his brother Modest.
2 June 1885 A monument to Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka (†28) is unveiled in his native city of Smolensk.
5 June 1885 Great Britain establishes a protectorate over territory adjacent to the River Niger called the Niger Districts Protectorate under the United African Company.
9 June 1885 By the Treaty of Tientsin, China recognizes a French protectorate over Annam.
17 June 1885 Ordered by his doctor to remove himself from work of any kind, Hubert Parry (37) and a companion depart from Liverpool aboard the Aconcagua bound for Valparaiso.
18 June 1885 Duke Georg II confirms the appointment of Richard Strauss (21) as assistant court conductor in Saxe-Meiningen.
Carl Auer, Baron von Welsbach tells the Vienna Academy of Sciences that he has divided didymia into to new earth elements which he calls Praseodymia and Neodymia.
20 June 1885 Arthur Sullivan (43) departs London for Liverpool where he will board ship for America. Soon to sail are Richard D’Oyly Carte and a complete cast for The Mikado traveling under assumed names. Carte wants to bring an authentic production to New York before pirates can mount theirs.
21 June 1885 The Mahdi, Mohammed Ahmed of Dongola, dies in Omdurman.
24 June 1885 Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury replaces William Ewart Gladstone as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
29 June 1885 Arthur Sullivan (43) arrives in New York from Liverpool, intending to visit his family in California.
1 July 1885 Gustav Mahler (24) leaves his conducting position at Kassel.
6 July 1885 Nine-year-old Joseph Meister is bitten by a rabid dog in Meissengott, Alsace. He is taken to the laboratory of Louis Pasteur in Paris and becomes the first person inoculated and cured with rabies vaccine.
12 July 1885 Arthur Sullivan (43) boards a train in New York making for San Francisco.
13 July 1885 The Rijksmuseum, designed by Pierre Cuypers, opens in Amsterdam.
Gustav Mahler (25) arrives in Prague where he has been appointed Kapellmeister.
Arthur Sullivan (43) arrives in Chicago. He finds it “new, handsome, and bustling, and...utterly uninteresting.”
15 July 1885 König Trojan op.8, a ballad for tenor, baritone, chorus, and orchestra by Horatio Parker (21) to words of Muth, is performed for the first time, in the Königliche Musikhochschule, Munich.
Arthur Sullivan (43) reaches Denver. He plays the organ in the cathedral for “a small select audience.”
18 July 1885 Arthur Sullivan (43) reaches Salt Lake City. He swims in the Salt Lake but pronounces it “too buoyant.”
19 July 1885 Arthur Sullivan (43) attends 14:00 Sunday service in the Mormon Tabernacle.
20 July 1885 Arthur Sullivan (43) arrives in San Francisco.
24 July 1885 Arthur Sullivan (43) takes the overnight train from San Francisco to Los Angeles where he visits his brother’s children, now living with their stepfather, their mother having died in January.
30 July 1885 Sudanese forces capture Kassala, 400 km east of Khartoum.
4 August 1885 Arthur Sullivan (43) and several family members set out from Los Angeles for a nine-day journey into the Yosemite Valley.
6 August 1885 César Franck (62) is awarded the Cross of the Legion of Honor.
14 August 1885 After three weeks “vacation” in Chile, Hubert Parry (37) boards ship again in Valparaiso, bound for England.
15 August 1885 In the German medical journal Fortschritte der Medezin, Theodor Escherich names the bacterium he discovered: E coli. He found it in the used diaper of a Munich baby.
17 August 1885 Gustav Mahler (25) conducts for the first time in Prague, a performance of Cherubini’s (†43) Der Wasserträger (Les deux journées), in the presence of Emperor Franz Joseph.
18 August 1885 The D’Oyly Carte production of The Mikado is put on in New York five days ahead of schedule to beat out a pirate production. The cast traveled under assumed names so as not to arouse suspicion. Arthur Sullivan (43) is currently in Los Angeles, WS Gilbert, in London.
26 August 1885 Mors et Vita, an oratorio by Charles Gounod (67) to his own words, is performed for the first time, in Birmingham. The work proves a great success but the composer is unable to attend. Should he set foot in England, he would be arrested for debts he owes Georgina Weldon. She won a judgment against Gounod of over £11,000 for secretarial work, room and board and damages for libels he spoke since their breakup.
28 August 1885 The Three Holy Children op.22, an oratorio for solo voices, chorus and orchestra by Charles Villiers Stanford (32) to words of the Bible, is performed for the first time, in Birmingham.
1 September 1885 The area south of the Molopo River in southern Africa is made a Crown Colony of Great Britain.
2 September 1885 Whites attack a Chinese settlement in Rock Springs, Wyoming killing 28 people and wounding 15. Several hundred others are driven away.
3 September 1885 After six weeks visiting his brother’s children, Arthur Sullivan (43) boards a train in Los Angeles making for New York.
6 September 1885 After one-and-a-half years in Europe, Charles Martin Loeffler (24) sails from Europe for Boston.
9 September 1885 Returning from his California trip, Arthur Sullivan (43) arrives by train in New York, where he is met by Richard D’Oyly Carte.
10 September 1885 Russia and Great Britain mediate their rival claims on Central Asia with a treaty signed in St. Petersburg.
15 September 1885 Johan Sibelius (19) enters the Music Institute in Helsinki, studying principally the violin.
18 September 1885 Bulgarian nationalists seize power in Plovdiv, capital of Eastern Rumelia, and declare union with Bulgaria.
21 September 1885 Prince Aleksandur of Bulgaria proclaims the union of the two Bulgarias.
Mrs. Jeannette Thurber receives a Certificate of Incorporation from the State of New York for the National Conservatory of Music.
22 September 1885 Russia, opposed to the action of Prince Aleksandur, removes its officers from Bulgaria.
25 September 1885 Following street demonstrations in favor of gaining the rest of Ipiros from Turkey, Greek forces are mobilized by the government.
29 September 1885 A US circuit court judge denies an injunction requested by Richard D’Oyly Carte to prevent pirate productions of The Mikado.
1 October 1885 Richard Strauss (21) takes up the position of assistant court conductor at Meiningen under perhaps the greatest living conductor, Hans von Bülow.
18 October 1885 Richard Strauss (21) makes his debut as solo pianist, in Meiningen, playing the Mozart (†93) Concerto K.491. He also conducts his own f minor symphony. In the audience is Johannes Brahms (52) who is visiting the city for the premiere of his own Fourth Symphony. He offers the young musician (what Strauss calls) a memorable piece of advice on composing.
A second round of voting in the French general election results in most seats going to parties of the center-left.
19 October 1885 Arthur Foote (32) premieres his Cinq Pièces op.6 for piano in Boston.
20 October 1885 Romance op.1 for violin and piano by Edward Elgar (28) is performed for the first time, in Worcester.
22 October 1885 The British government sends an ultimatum to King Thibaw of Burma to cease “anti-British activity.” The king will reject the ultimatum which will lead to war.
Pope Leo XIII gives his ruling in the arbitration of the Caroline Islands, claimed simultaneously by Spain and Germany. The Pope grants sovereignty to Spain while granting trading rights to Germany.
Arthur Sullivan (43) and Richard D’Oyly Carte arrive back in Southampton from the United States.
24 October 1885 Der Zigeunerbaron, an operetta by Johann Strauss to words of Schnitzer after Jókai, is performed for the first time, in the Theater-an-der-Wien, Vienna, conducted by the composer on the eve of his 60th birthday. It is an unqualified success and will run for 87 straight nights.
25 October 1885 Symphony no.4 of Johannes Brahms (52) is performed for the first time, in Meiningen conducted by the composer. Upon hearing the symphony, Richard Strauss (21) calls it a “giant work, great in concept and invention, masterful in its form, and yet from A-Z genuine Brahms, in a word, an enrichment of our art.”
1 November 1885 Richard Strauss (21), with little training or experience, becomes court conductor in Meiningen after the resignation of Hans von Bülow.
3 November 1885 Bergliot, a melodrama with orchestra by Edvard Grieg (42) to words of Bjørnson, is performed for the first time, at the Christiania (Oslo) Theatre. It is a hit with critics and public.
300 whites begin the expulsion of all Chinese from Tacoma, Washington Territory.
4 November 1885 Arson fires destroy part of the Chinese district of Tacoma, Washington Territory.
6 November 1885 Erik Satie (19) enters the intermediate piano class of Georges Mathias, a pupil of Chopin (†36), at the Paris Conservatoire. The Certificate of Admission is signed by the director, Ambroise Thomas (74).
Liebe und Frühling op.3/3, a song by Johannes Brahms (52) to words of von Fallersleben, is performed for the first time, in Vienna, 32 years after it was composed.
Arson fires destroy what is left of the Chinese district of Tacoma, Washington Territory. The governor of the Washington Territory calls out federal troops to protect Chinese in Seattle.
7 November 1885 09:22 Donald A. Smith, President of the Bank of Montreal, drives the last spike into the Canadian Pacific Railroad at Craigellachie, British Columbia, 80 km west of Revelstoke.
11 November 1885 The boundary is defined between Liberia and Sierra Leone.
10 November 1885 Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach attach their lightweight engine to a wooden bicycle creating the first motorcycle. Daimler’s son rides it 12 km from Canstatt to Unterurkheim. But the engine is so hot, the seat catches on fire.
13 November 1885 Serbia, angry at Bulgaria’s recent increase and concerned about its growing power, attacks Bulgaria.
16 November 1885 Louis Riel, leader of two rebellions against the Canadian government, is hanged at Regina, Northwest Territories (Saskatchewan).
19 November 1885 After a three-day battle, Bulgarian forces defeat the Serbians at Slivnitsa, 25 km northwest of Sofiya. They go on to invade Serbia.
22 November 1885 Schatz-Walzer op.418 by Johann Strauss (60) is performed for the first time, in the Musikverein, Vienna.
25 November 1885 King Alfonso XII of Spain dies of tuberculosis in Madrid and is succeeded by his five-year-old daughter María de las Mercedes under the regency of Queen María Cristina.
26 November 1885 Bulgarian troops enter Serbian territory with an open road to Belgrade.
Johann Strauss’ (60) Der Zigeunerbaron opens in Pest. It is just as successful in Hungary as it was in Austria and is seen as a symbol of harmony between the two parts of the empire. See 24 October 1885.
27 November 1885 Práxedes Mateo-Sagasta Escolar replaces Antonio Cánovas del Castillo as Prime Minister of Spain.
Cree Indians involved in the 2 April incident are hanged at Regina.
28 November 1885 British forces occupy Mandalay, the capital of Burma.
A truce brings two weeks of fighting between Serbia and Bulgaria to a halt.
29 November 1885 Brautschau op.417, a polka by Johann Strauss (60), is performed for the first time, in the Musikverein, Vienna.
30 November 1885 Le Cid, an opéra by Jules Massenet (43) to words of d’Ennery, Blau and Gallet after Corneille, is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra. The work is a triumph, although the composer spends the evening down the street at a performance of Manon. Twelve members of the chorus leave after the third act because they feel the performance has lasted long enough.
Three Character Pieces for piano and violin op.9 by Arthur Foote (32) are performed for the first time, the composer at the keyboard.
1 December 1885 Incidental music to Aeschylus’ play The Eumenides by Charles Villiers Stanford (33) is performed for the first time, at Theatre Royal, Cambridge, conducted by the composer.
2 December 1885 Amy Marcy Cheney (18) marries Henry Harris Aubrey Beach, MD in Trinity Church, Boston. He is 24 years her senior. After a honeymoon in New York, they will live in Beach’s home at 28 Commonwealth Avenue.
8 December 1885 Johann Strauss, Jr. (60) is granted release from his Austrian citizenship in order to marry his mistress, Adèle Deutsch Strauss (no relation).
A setting of Virga Jesse for unaccompanied chorus by Anton Bruckner (61) is performed for the first time, in the Vienna Hofkapelle.
Piano Quartet op.13 by Richard Strauss (21) is performed for the first time, in Weimar, the composer at the keyboard.
13 December 1885 Alyeksandr Borodin (52) makes a successful conducting debut with the amateur orchestra of the Medical Academy in St. Petersburg.
Kriegsabenteuer op.419, a polka schnell by Johann Strauss (60), is performed for the first time, in the Musikverein, Vienna.
14 December 1885 Johan Sibelius (20) appears in public, probably for the first time, at a concert of the Helsinki Music Institute. There are no reviews of the event since all the critics attend the local premiere of Tchaikovsky’s (45) First Piano Concerto.
17 December 1885 British liberal Allan Octavian Hume convenes an Indian National Congress with representatives from all over the subcontinent.
Queen Ranavalona III of Madagascar signs a Treaty of Alliance and Protectorate with France. France receives the Bay of Diego Suarez (Antsiranana), the islands of Nossi-Bê and Sainte Marie and power over Madagascar’s foreign relations.
Representatives of Spain and Germany sign a document in the Vatican amicably accepting the 22 October ruling of Pope Leo XIII.
The Jurist’s Song for chorus by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (45) to his own words, is performed for the first time, in St. Petersburg to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the School of Jurisprudence.
18 December 1885 A month of voting in the British general election comes to an end. The Liberal Party of Prime Minister William Gladstone loses 33 seats and its majority, but will continue to form the government.
20 December 1885 Germany enforces a protectorate over Dar-es-Salaam and the interior of East Africa.
22 December 1885 Marquis Hirobumi Ito replaces Prince Sanjo Sanetomi as Prime Minister of Japan.
26 December 1885 Die Wahrsagerin op.420, a polka mazur by Johann Strauss (60), is performed for the first time, in the Musikverein, Vienna.
28 December 1885 The Kneisel Quartet gives its first performance, in Chickering Hall, Boston. Made up of the first chair players from the Boston Symphony Orchestra, it is among the first world class chamber groups in America, and will lift the standard of chamber music performance in the New World.
30 December 1885 The protecting powers (France-Great Britain-Russia) demand that Greece demobilize and refrain from entering the war between Bulgaria and Serbia.
©2004-2012 Paul Scharfenberger
14 August 2012
Last Updated (Tuesday, 14 August 2012 06:22)