1894
| 
| 
1 January 1894 String Quartet no.12 “American” by Antonín Dvorák (52) is performed for the first time, in Boston.
2 January 1894 The new Peters Music Library opens in Leipzig amidst much fanfare.
4 January 1894 After an exchange of diplomatic letters, France and Russia announce their ratification of the treaty of alliance of 18 August 1892.
6 January 1894 “Bid me at least good-bye”, a song by Arthur Sullivan (51) to words of Grundy, is performed for the first time, as part of Grundy’s play An Old Jew in the Garrick Theatre, London.
7 January 1894 The Sneeze by Thomas Edison becomes the first film to be copyrighted.
Havanaise op.83 for violin and orchestra by Camille Saint-Saëns (58) is performed for the first time, in the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris.
12 January 1894 The String Quintet “American” op.97 by Antonín Dvorák (52) is performed for the first time, in Carnegie Hall, New York.
15 January 1894 King Behanzin of Danhome (known to the French as Dahomey) surrenders to the French at Atcheribé.
19 January 1894 This is the last day for Frederick S. Converse (23) at his job in a Boston banking firm. He has decided to pursue music as a career.
20 January 1894 Richard Strauss (29) visits his mentor Hans von Bülow for the last time, in Hamburg. Already quite ill, von Bülow is about to travel to Cairo.
Walter Hamor Piston, Jr. is born in Rockland, Maine, the second of four children born to Walter Hamor Piston, a bookkeeper, and Leona Stover from a family of seamen.
Poems of Vilhelm Krag, a cycle for voice and piano op.60 by Edvard Grieg (50), is performed for the first time, in Copenhagen.
22 January 1894 Symphony no.4 by Alyeksandr Glazunov (28) is performed for the first time, in the Hall of the Nobility, St. Petersburg, conducted by Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (49).
Piano Pieces op.118/3, 5 and op.119/2, 4, 1 or 3 by Johannes Brahms (60) are performed for the first time, in St. James’ Hall, London. See 7 March 1894.
Le filibustier, a comédie lyrique by Cesar Cui (59) to words of Richepin, is performed for the first time, in Théâtre Favart, Paris.
23 January 1894 The Mashonaland and Matabeleland protectorates of the British South Africa Company are joined as South Zambesia.
Mass in G op.46 for solo voices, chorus and orchestra by Charles Villiers Stanford (41) is performed publicly for the first time, in London. See 26 May 1893.
An arrangement of Stephen Foster’s (†29) song Old Folks at Home for vocal soloists, chorus, and orchestra by Antonín Dvorák (52) is performed for the first time, in the Madison Square Garden Concert Hall, New York.
24 January 1894 Dorde Simic replaces Sava Grujic as Prime Minister of Serbia.
29 January 1894 US naval forces break a rebel monarchist blockade of Rio de Janeiro, thus supporting the republican government of Brazil.
Tabasco, a burlesque opera by George Whitefield Chadwick (39) to words of Barnet, is performed for the first time, in the Tremont Theatre, Boston.
31 January 1894 Seven Pieces op.10 for piano by Sergey Rakhmaninov (20) is performed for the first time.
2 February 1894 Morceau fantastique for cello and orchestra by Charles Martin Loeffler (33) is performed for the first time, in the Music Hall, Boston. Audience and critics love it.
3 February 1894 Six Irish Fantasies op.54 for violin and piano by Charles Villiers Stanford (41) are performed for the first time, in St. James’ Hall, London.
9 February 1894 500 naval mutineers in Rio de Janeiro harbor go ashore to capture the town of Niterói. At first successful, they are forced to retreat.
Milton Hershey founds the Hershey Chocolate Company in Hershey, Pennsylvania. He wants to make the chocolate as a coating for his caramels.
10 February 1894 The Beginning of a Romance, an opera by Leos Janácek (39) to words of Tichy after Preissová, is performed for the first time, in the National Theatre, Brünn (Brno), conducted by the composer. Popular with the audience, the press is strongly divided. This is the only time Janácek conducts one of his operas (or any opera).
12 February 1894 Hans von Bülow dies of a brain tumor in Cairo.
Trio élégiaque (no.2) op.9 for piano and strings by Sergey Rakhmaninov (20), to the memory of Tchaikovsky (†0), is performed for the first time, in Moscow the composer at the keyboard. After working on it for two months he wrote, “It is a composition on the death of a great artist. How earnestly, intensely, and painstakingly I have worked. However such things only go well for priests and pathologists!” (Scott, 43)
String Quartet op.32 by Arthur Foote (40) is performed for the first time, in Chickering Hall, Boston. It is a success with press and public.
13 February 1894 String Quartet no.2 op.45 by Charles Villiers Stanford (41) is performed for the first time, in Prince’s Hall, London.
14 February 1894 Trio for piano and strings op.2 by Max Reger (20) is performed for the first time, in Berlin the composer at the keyboard, in the first concert devoted entirely to the music of Reger.
17 February 1894 Even though he has been living with Gabrielle Dupont for two years, Claude Debussy (31) announces his engagement to Thérèse Roger, a singer. Within a month, the couple will abandon this plan. Today, Roger sings the premiere of the last two of the Proses lyriques by Debussy in the Salle Favart, Paris, the composer at the piano.
Two works for strings by Jean Sibelius (28) are performed for the first time, in Turku, directed by the composer: Impromptu and Scherzo.
20 February 1894 Moses, a sacred opera by Anton Rubinstein (64) to words of Mosenthal, is performed for the first time, in a concert setting in the Neues Deutschestheater, Prague. The work did receive a public dress rehearsal in Riga in June 1892 but the performance was cancelled due to bankruptcy.
23 February 1894 Piano Sonata op.6 by Alyeksandr Skryabin (22) is performed for the first time, in St. Petersburg by the composer.
24 February 1894 Oscar Wilde’s play Salome is published in England.
1 March 1894 The first concert devoted entirely to the works of Claude Debussy (31) takes place in the gallery of La Libre Esthétique in Brussels.
Prudente José de Moraes Barros wins the first presidential elections in Brazil.
4 March 1894 Fire in Shanghai destroys over a thousand buildings.
5 March 1894 Regina Diaz, an opera by Umberto Giordano (26) to words of Targioni-Tozzetti and Menasci after Lockroy, is performed for the first time, in Teatro Mercadante, Naples. It will enjoy only two performances.
6 March 1894 Archibald Philip Primrose, Earl of Roseberry replaces William Ewart Gladstone as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
7 March 1894 The Piano Pieces op.118 and 119 by Johannes Brahms (60) are performed completely for the first time, in St. James’ Hall, London. See 22 January 1894.
8 March 1894 Hulda, an opera by César Franck (†3) to words of Grandmougin after Bjørnson, is performed for the first time, in Monte Carlo.
10 March 1894 Rondo op.2 for viola and piano by Jean Sibelius (28) is performed for the first time, in Helsinki.
11 March 1894 Hearing the loyal warships are heading for Rio de Janeiro, the mutineers in the harbor seek asylum on two Portuguese ships. It is granted.
14 March 1894 Symphony no.1 by Carl Nielsen (28) is performed for the first time, in the Concert Palace, Copenhagen. The audience, which includes King Christian IX, Queen Louise, and other members of the royal family, is very appreciative.
15 March 1894 A convention between France and Germany fixes the border between French Congo (Congo-Brazzaville) and the German Protectorate of Northwest Africa (Cameroon).
16 March 1894 Thaïs, a comèdie lyrique by Jules Massenet (51) to words of Gallet after France, is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra. Some critics find it immoral, but it is a hit with the public.
17 March 1894 Representatives of China and the United States sign a convention in Washington extending for ten years existing agreements and laws which bar the immigration of Chinese workers into the US.
20 March 1894 Richard Strauss (29) concludes a contract to conduct at the Munich opera beginning 1 October.
22 March 1894 The Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup is awarded to the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association team after it defeats the Ottawa Generals in a tournament. In later years, the trophy will be named after the man who donated it, the Governor General of Canada, Sir Frederick Arthur Stanley, Lord of Preston, 16th earl of Derby.
Richard Strauss (29) asks the parents of Pauline de Ahna for her hand. They agree and the two are engaged. This will remain secret until May.
25 March 1894 In the midst of a depression, Jacob S. Coxey begins a march of the unemployed from Massillon, Ohio to Washington, protesting the lack of action by the government in creating jobs.
26 March 1894 Jules Philippe Marie de Burlet replaces August Marie François Beernaert as head of government for Belgium.
29 March 1894 Gustav Mahler (39) attends the funeral service for Hans von Bülow in Hamburg. He hears The Resurrection by Klopstock and from this finds the inspiration for the conclusion of his Second Symphony.
1 April 1894 The Rock, a symphonic poem by Sergey Rakhmaninov, is performed for the first time, in Moscow on the composer’s 21st birthday.
3 April 1894 Svetomir Nikolajevic replaces Dorde Simic as Prime Minister of Serbia.
Charles Ives (19) pitches a baseball game for Hopkins Grammar School in which they defeat a team of Yale University freshmen.
Two-and-a-half years after arriving in America, Ferruccio Busoni (28) and his family depart New York for Europe.
4 April 1894 The Münchener Neueste Nachrichten announces that the Bavarian regent Prince Luitpold has approved of the engagement of Richard Strauss (29) by the Munich Opera.
8 April 1894 The “Schalk” version of Symphony no.5 by Anton Bruckner (69) is performed for the first time, in Graz. The composer is too ill to attend. See 20 April 1887.
9 April 1894 Sursum corda op.11 for strings, brass, and organ by Edward Elgar (36) is performed for the first time, in Worcester Cathedral, for a visit by George, Duke of York.
10 April 1894 Snefrid, a melodrama by Carl Nielsen (28) to words of Drachmann, is performed for the first time, in Copenhagen.
11 April 1894 Great Britain officially extends a protectorate over Buganda, to take effect on 18 June.
12 April 1894 Ferruccio Busoni (28) and his family arrive in Berlin from America. Except for the interval of World War I, this will be his home for the rest of his life.
Hymne à Apollon for voice, harp, flute and two clarinets by Gabriel Fauré (48) to an ancient Greek text, is performed for the first time, in the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris.
13 April 1894 Grand Duke Carl Alexander of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach grants leave to Richard Strauss (29) to resign his position.
14 April 1894 The first “peep show” (where the film is viewed through a vending machine) is put on exhibit at 1155 Broadway, New York. George Eastman created the film, Thomas Edison the viewer, the kinetoscope.
15 April 1894 Alfredo Casella (10) makes his public debut, playing the keyboard part in a Beethoven (†57) piano trio, in Turin.
18 April 1894 Antonín Dvorák (52) is elected an honorary member of the New York Philharmonic Society.
21 April 1894 The American Art Journal publishes the announcement by Antonín Dvorák (52) that George Whitefield Chadwick’s (39) Symphony no.3 has won the composition competition of the National Conservatory of Music.
Arms and the Man, a play by George Bernard Shaw, opens in London. After the performance, the playwright is called forth to near unanimous applause. Only one dissenter vocally registers his disdain. Shaw bows to the man saying, “I quite agree with you, sir, but what can two do against so many?”
22 April 1894 Ferruccio Busoni (28) attends the Berlin premiere of Falstaff. He will write to his parents that it is “undoubtedly the best comic opera since the Barbiere.”
25 April 1894 La bonne chanson, a song cycle for voice and piano by Gabriel Fauré (48) to words of Verlaine, is performed for the first time, at the home of Madeleine Lamaire, Paris the composer at the keyboard. See 20 April 1895.
Mit vierzig Jahren ist der Berg ersteigen op.94/1, a song by Johannes Brahms (60) to words of Rückert, is performed for the first time, in Hamburg.
28 April 1894 The Lover for male choir by Jean Sibelius (28) to words of Kanteletar is performed for the first time, in Helsinki. It has won second prize in a choral composition competition.
After a period of reticence due to Mrs. Thurber’s failure to pay his salary, Antonín Dvorák (52) signs a contract for a further two years as director of the National Conservatory, New York.
29 April 1894 Charles Ives (19) plays his last service as organist of St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church in Danbury, Connecticut.
30 April 1894 Erik Satie (27) applies for the second time to the Institut de France, this time to fill the vacancy left by the death of Charles Gounod (†0). See 17 May 1894.
After marching for five weeks from Massillon, Ohio, and growing considerably in numbers, Coxey’s Army reaches Washington to lobby the federal government to create jobs in the depression.
1 May 1894 Jacob Coxey and other leaders of Coxey’s Army of unemployed are arrested for trespassing on the grounds of the Capitol in Washington. Their followers disperse.
5 May 1894 Great Britain and Italy reach agreement in Rome on their competing imperial designs in East Africa.
7 May 1894 For the first time, Amy Beach (26) gives a recital which includes only her own music, at Wellesley College.
8 May 1894 Le portrait de Manon, an opéra comique by Jules Massenet (51) to words of Boyer, is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre Lyrique, Paris. It is a moderate success.
Three Cavalier Songs op.17 for baritone, male chorus and orchestra by Charles Villiers Stanford (41) to words of Browning is performed for the first time. See 22 March 1882.
9 May 1894 Joan Roëll replaces Cijsbert van Tienhoven as chief minister of the Netherlands.
At the dress rehearsal of his opera Guntram, Richard Strauss (29) criticizes all the singers except the lead soprano Pauline de Ahna. She becomes incensed at this, demands equal criticism and throws her score at him from the stage. The composer follows her to her dressing room where are heard loud noises from within. Several musicians who come to lend him support, enter the room finding the pair smiling. Strauss announces that they are engaged.
10 May 1894 Edvard Grieg (50) receives his honorary doctorate from Cambridge University. He was awarded it last year but was too ill to attend the ceremony.
Hear My Words, Ye People, an anthem for vocal soloists, chorus, brass, and organ by Hubert Parry (46) to words from the Bible, is performed for the first time, in Salisbury Cathedral.
Guntram, an opera by Richard Strauss (29) to his own words, is performed for the first time, in the Weimar Court Theatre. The critical response is tepid.
11 May 1894 Workers at the Pullman Palace Car Company, Chicago, begin what will become a violent strike.
12 May 1894 Great Britain and Belgium reach agreement in Brussels on Bahr-el-Ghazal. King Leopold is granted territory on the left bank of the Upper Nile.
13 May 1894 The Sun has Risen Above that Hill for baritone, chorus and piano by Leos Janácek (39) is performed for the first time, in Brünn (Brno), the composer conducting.
17 May 1894 Having been ignored by the jury choosing a successor to Charles Gounod (†0) for the Academy of Fine Arts of the Institut de France, Erik Satie, on his 28th birthday, fires off a letter to Le Ménestrel addressed to Camille Saint-Saëns (58), the jury president. “Your aberration can only be due to your refusal to accept the ideas of the Century and to your ignorance of God, which is the direct cause of Esthetic decline. I forgive you in Jesus Christ and embrace you in the grace of God.”
18 May 1894 The Prelude from L’épopée de l’Ecole Polytechnique op.2, a cantata by Charles Koechlin (26), is performed for the first time, in the Palais du Trocadéro, Paris.
An election to fill the place of Charles Gounod (†0) in the Académie des Beaux Arts takes place in Paris. It is won by Théodore Dubois, who receives 20 votes. Gabriel Fauré (49) receives four votes.
19 May 1894 Antonín Dvorák (52) and his family sail from New York on their way home to Prague.
21 May 1894 The Manchester Ship Canal is opened by Queen Victoria giving the city direct access to the sea. It has actually been in use since New Years Day.
23 May 1894 Two works by Claude Debussy (31) are performed for the first time: the second of the Deux Arabesques for piano, and the Petite Suite for piano-four hands. For the suite, it is the first public performance. See 1 March 1889.
28 May 1894 Däm’rung senkte sich von oben op.59/1, a song by Johannes Brahms (61) to words of Goethe, is performed for the first time, in Hamburg, 24 years after it was composed.
29 May 1894 La porte héroïque du ciel, a drame ésotérique by Erik Satie (28) to words of Bois, is performed for the first time, in Paris.
30 May 1894 Charles Alexandre Dupuy, dit Charles-Dupuy replaces Jean Paul Pierre Casimir-Périer as Prime Minister of France. A Minister of Colonies is appointed for the first time in the new government.
Antonín Dvorák (52) and his family arrive in Prague from New York.
31 May 1894 Konstantin Stoilov Konstantinov replaces Stefan Nikolov Stambolov as Prime Minister of Bulgaria.
Cantata for the University Ceremonies of 1894 for chorus and orchestra by Jean Sibelius (28) to words of Leino is performed for the first time, in Helsinki.
1 June 1894 Engelbert Humperdinck (39) meets Gustav Mahler (33) for the first time, in Weimar.
2 June 1894 Selections from Christus, a sacred opera by Anton Rubinstein (64) to words of Bulthaupt, are performed for the first time, in a concert setting in Stuttgart, the composer directing. This turns out to be his last conducting performance. See 25 May 1895.
4 June 1894 Anton Rubinstein (64) gives a concert of his piano music for the students of Stuttgart Conservatory. It is his last performance.
6 June 1894 Frederick Shepherd Converse (23) marries Emma Cecile Tudor of Boston in St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Brookline.
7 June 1894 At the request of the Korean royal family, who feel their safety threatened by the Tonghak insurrection, China sends troops into Korea, simultaneously informing Japan as required by treaty. The Japanese respond by sending troops as well.
Sultan Abu Ali al-Hasan of Morocco dies in Marrakech and is succeeded by his son, Abd al-Aziz.
10 June 1894 Japanese troops arrive in Seoul.
11 June 1894 Chinese troops arrive in Korea at Asan.
The first United States patent for a gasoline driven automobile is granted to Karl Benz.
14 June 1894 Albert Roussel (25) resigns from the French Navy. He has decided to become a musician.
20 June 1894 La Navarraise, an épisode lyrique by Jules Massenet (52) to words of Claretie and Cain, is performed for the first time, at Covent Garden, London. It is so successful, at the curtain, the audience begins standing and screaming for more. They call for the composer, but as is his custom, he refuses to appear before them.
21 June 1894 Song of Spring, a tone poem by Jean Sibelius (28), is performed for the first time, as Impromptu for Orchestra, in Vaasa, conducted by the composer.
22 June 1894 The French government joins its protectorate over Dahomey with its colony in Porto Novo to create the Colony of Dahomey (Benin).
23 June 1894 At a conference at the Sorbonne, Domenikos Vikelas of Greece becomes the first President of the Olympic Movement. An International Olympic Committee of 14 members is formed.
The French Navy accepts the resignation of Albert Roussel (25). He plans to pursue a career in composition.
24 June 1894 President Marie François Sadi-Carnot of France is stabbed to death by an Italian anarchist after giving a speech in Lyon.
26 June 1894 Eugene V. Debs, leader of the American Railway Union, orders a strike in sympathy with the Pullman workers.
27 June 1894 Jean Paul Pierre Casimir-Périer replaces Marie Farnçois Sadi-Carnot as President of France.
29 June 1894 Lady Radnor Suite for strings by Hubert Parry (46) is performed for the first time, in St. James’ Hall, London.
30 June 1894 Tower Bridge, over the Thames in London, is opened by the Prince of Wales.
In the last twelve months, 125 US railroads have gone into receivership. 63% of railroad stock pays no dividends.
1 July 1894 On a sightseeing trip in Malta, Giacomo Puccini (35) is arrested for photographing a military installation. He is released after a few hours having convinced the British authorities of his ignorance of military matters.
2 July 1894 A federal court in Illinois orders the American Railway Union to call off their strike.
3 July 1894 President Grover Cleveland orders federal troops to Chicago claiming the railway strike has interrupted the mail and interstate commerce.
4 July 1894 Unable to interest the Cleveland administration in annexation, the Republic of Hawaii is proclaimed by the whites who took over the government last year. Acting President Sanford Ballard Dole becomes permanent President of Hawaii.
6 July 1894 United States deputy marshals fire on strikers at Kensington, Illinois, killing two people and wounding several others.
United States forces occupy Bluefields, Nicaragua.
7 July 1894 Charles Hubert Hastings Parry (46) is elected to the Philharmonic Society.
11 July 1894 Legislation is enacted in Italy designed to suppress socialist and anarchist organizations.
Anton Bruckner (69) is made an honorary citizen of Linz and receives the freedom of the city.
13 July 1894 The Haut-Oubangui colony (Central African Republic) is created by France in central Africa.
Concert Waltz no.2 op.51 for orchestra by Alyeksandr Glazunov (28) is performed for the first time, at the Pavlovsky Station, St. Petersburg.
15 July 1894 Italian forces capture Kassala from the Dervishes.
17 July 1894 Union leader Eugene V. Debs is indicted for criminal conspiracy and contempt of court.
20 July 1894 Federal troops are withdrawn from Chicago.
21 July 1894 Alice Elgar, wife of the composer (37), is received into the Roman Catholic faith of her husband in St. George’s Church, Worcester.
23 July 1894 On his way to see King Kojong of Korea in Seoul, Japanese minister Otori is fired on by Korean troops. Japanese forces in Korea respond by taking control of the capital.
25 July 1894 Japanese and Chinese naval forces engage in Korean waters near Phung Do Island. Two Chinese ships are destroyed and others captured, thus preventing a Chinese troop ship from reaching Korea.
29 July 1894 The Japanese regent in Korea requests that the Japanese drive away all Chinese troops present in the country. Japanese forces defeat Chinese east of Asan and the Chinese withdraw.
1 August 1894 Japan formally declares war on China over Korea.
3 August 1894 The Pullman strike is ended with no resolution.
7 August 1894 Tage, Baron Reedtz-Thott replaces Jakob Brønnum Scavenius Estrup as Prime Minister of Denmark.
United States forces end their occupation of Bluefields, Nicaragua.
8 August 1894 The United States recognizes the Republic of Hawaii.
13 August 1894 Physicist Lord Rayleigh and chemist William Ramsay announce to the British Association for the Advancement of Science at Oxford that they have discovered Argon.
14 August 1894 By a treaty with France, King Leopold of the Congo Free State gives up his claims to the Upper Nile.
Oliver Joseph Lodge transmits radio signals before a meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science at Oxford University.
18 August 1894 Today begins 24 days of killing of Armenians by Turkish troops. It is the first systematic killing of Armenians by Turks in peacetime.
The Bureau of Immigration is created by an act of the US Congress.
22 August 1894 After seeing a performance of Die Meistersinger, and several other Wagner (†11) music-dramas, Jean Sibelius (28) writes to his wife from Germany, “I am no longer a Wagnerite.” He likes Wagner, but sees Franz Liszt (†8) and the tone poem as his true calling.
8 September 1894 Willem Frederik Johannes Pijper is born in Zeist, Netherlands, the son of Johannes Willem Pijper, a paper hanger, and Willemina Andrea Frederika Beeftink.
10 September 1894 Richard Strauss (30) marries Pauline de Ahna, an opera singer and his voice student, the daughter of a general, in Marquartstein in Bavaria near Salzburg, where her family has a summer home. As a wedding present, he dedicates his songs op.27 to her.
The massacre of Armenians by Turks in the Sassoun (Sason, northeast of Batman) area ends today. The exact number of dead is unknown but the majority of the people living in 25 villages are killed. Most are bayoneted by troops. Some are burned alive. The Turkish government denies any atrocities by Turks but fabricates stories of Armenian attacks on Muslims.
13 September 1894 Alexis-Emmanuel Chabrier dies in Paris, probably of the effects of syphilis, aged 53 years, seven months and 26 days. He was in failing health for years, the last in general paralysis.
15 September 1894 Japanese forces capture Ping-yang from the Chinese. 2,100 people are killed.
17 September 1894 Chinese and Japanese naval forces engage near the mouth of the Yalu River. Four Chinese ships are sunk, all others engaged are damaged and withdraw. The Japanese lose no vessels.
19 September 1894 The two Sonatas for clarinet and piano op.120 by Johannes Brahms (61) are performed for the first time, privately in Berchtesgaden. See 8 January 1895 and 11 January 1895.
25 September 1894 Great Britain annexes Pondoland, connecting the Cape Colony with Natal.
30 September 1894 Charles Ives (19) enters duties as organist at Center Church on the Green, New Haven, Connecticut.
1 October 1894 Richard Strauss (30) becomes assistant conductor of the Munich Opera.
3 October 1894 King Saul, an oratorio by Hubert Parry (46), is performed for the first time, in Birmingham. Like previous Parry oratorios, this is a triumph.
Charles Ives (19) enters Yale University.
4 October 1894 Friedrich Engels dates his preface to the third part of Capital by Karl Marx.
6 October 1894 The Schola Cantorum opens in Paris, led by Vincent d’Indy (43), Charles Bordes, and Alexandre Guilmant.
Richard Strauss (30) and his new wife Pauline de Anha return from their Italian honeymoon to their new home in Munich.
11 October 1894 Victor Alexander Bruce, Earl of Elgin replaces Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, Marquess of Lansdowne as Viceroy of India.
12 October 1894 Jabuka, an operetta by Johann Strauss (68) to words of Kalbeck and Davis, is performed for the first time, in Theater-an-der-Wien, Vienna.
At the premiere of the French version of Otello, Giuseppe Verdi (81) receives the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor from President Jean Casimir-Périer.
14 October 1894 Two works by Johann Strauss (68) are performed for the first time, at the Musikverein, Vienna: the waltz Ich bin Dir gut! op.455, and the march Zivio! op.456.
15 October 1894 Captain Alfred Dreyfus is arrested on a charge of treason. French Intelligence believes that he is the officer responsible for sending classified information to the German Military attache in Paris.
17 October 1894 Mily Balakirev (57) makes his last public appearance as pianist, in Chopin’s birthplace, Zelazowa Wola, on the 45th anniversary of Chopin’s death.
18 October 1894 Giuseppe Verdi (81) and his wife eat dinner with President Jean Casimir-Périer at the Elysée Place, France.
19 October 1894 Symphony no.3 by George Whitefield Chadwick (39) is performed for the first time, in the Music Hall, Boston, conducted by the composer. Reviews are mixed.
23 October 1894 A Menuett for orchestra by Jean Sibelius (28) is performed for the first time, in Helsinki.
25 October 1894 Japanese troops cross the Yalu River and, despite Chinese resistance, establish an effective bridgehead inside China.
26 October 1894 San Antonio de la Florida, a zarzuela by Isaac Albéniz (34) to word of Sierra, is performed for the first time, in Teatro Apolo, Madrid, conducted by the composer. It is strongly applauded but will receive only 20 performances.
Antonín Dvorák (52), his wife and son, arrive in New York for the autumn term at the National Conservatory.
27 October 1894 Nikola Hristic replaces Svetomir Nikolajevic as Prime Minister of Serbia.
29 October 1894 Chlodwig, Prince zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst replaces Georg Leo, Count Caprivi as Chancellor of Germany and Botho, Count Eulenburg as Prime Minister of Prussia.
30 October 1894 Richard Strauss (30) is appointed conductor of the Musical Academy concerts in Munich.
31 October 1894 Tipped off by leaks from army headquarters, the French anti-Semitic daily Le Soir publishes the information that Captain Alfred Dreyfus has been indicted for funneling secret military information to the Germans.
1 November 1894 Dr. Pierre-Paul-Émile Roux announces a vaccine for diphtheria in Paris.
Antonín Dvorák (53) resumes his duties as director of the National Conservatory, New York.
Tsar Alyeksandr III of Russia, Grand Duke of Finland, King of Poland dies in Livadiya in the Crimea and is succeeded by his son, Nikolay II.
The French newspaper La Libre Parole begins a campaign to label Capt. Alfred Dreyfus as a traitor.
3 November 1894 Ferruccio Busoni (28) plays the first of three concerts in Berlin. The critics are effusive in their praise.
The Virgin’s Cradle Song for voice and piano by Ralph Vaughan Williams (22) to words of Coleridge is performed for the first time, in the Cambridge University Musical Club the composer at the keyboard.
4 November 1894 Just before midnight. Charles Ives’ (20) father George suffers a stroke and dies instantly in Danbury, Connecticut.
5 November 1894 Anton Bruckner (70) delivers his last lecture at the University of Vienna.
7 November 1894 As part of a sojourn in Germany and Austria, Carl Nielsen (29) visits Johannes Brahms (61).
The revised version of Antonín Dvorák’s (53) opera Dimitrij to words of Cervinková-Riegrová is performed for the first time, in Prague.
14 November 1894 Romance for cello and piano op.69 by Gabriel Fauré (49) is performed for the first time, in Geneva.
15 November 1894 Prudente José de Moraes Barros replaces Floriano Vieira de Araújo Peixoto as President of Brazil.
20 November 1894 Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein dies at of heart disease in Peterhof (Petrovonets), aged 64 years, eleven months and 23 days.
21 November 1894 Japanese troops assault and capture Port Arthur (Lüshun), and carry out a massacre of Chinese inhabitants who have not fled. The Japanese soldiers are incensed by the display of mutilated bodies of their comrades by the Chinese. 4,000 people are killed.
Incidental music to Antigone, a play by Meurice and Vacquerie after Sophocles, by Camille Saint-Saëns (59), is performed for the first time, in the Comédie-Française, Paris.
28 November 1894 The earthly remains of Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein are laid to rest in Tikhvin Cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky monastery, St. Petersburg, on the 65th anniversary of his birth.
29 November 1894 The first movement of the Symphony no.6 by Anton Bruckner (55) is performed for the first time, in a four-hand piano arrangement, in Vienna. See 26 February 1899.
30 November 1894 Cello Concerto op.33 by Arthur Foote (41) is performed for the first time, in Chicago.
3 December 1894 Robert Louis Stevenson dies in Vailima, Samoa at the age of 44.
5 December 1894 The new German Reichstag building, designed by Paul Wallot, opens with ceremonies in Berlin.
10 December 1894 The Independent Territory of Amapá is established in lands disputed by France and Brazil. The new government favors Brazil.
11 December 1894 The Congo Free State extends a protectorate over the Sultanate of Zemio in central Africa (Central African Republic).
12 December 1894 French forces land and take the city of Tamatave (Toamasina), Madagascar.
Prime Minister John Sparrow David Thompson of Canada dies minutes after being sworn in to the Privy Council by Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle.
The Chieftan, an operetta by Arthur Sullivan (52) to words of Burnand, is performed for the first time, in the Savoy Theatre, London, conducted by the composer. The piece is a reworking of The Contrabandista. See 18 December 1867.
14 December 1894 The sentence of Eugene V. Debs, leader of the Pullman Strike, to six months in jail for criminal conspiracy and contempt of court is upheld by a federal appeals court in Chicago.
17 December 1894 Alyeksandr Glazunov (29) conducts the premiere of his Scènes de Ballet op.52 for orchestra in the Hall of the Nobility, St. Petersburg.
18 December 1894 Japanese troops take Kang-Wa-Seh, Manchuria in the midst of a general advance into China.
Minuet for orchestra by John Alden Carpenter (18) is performed for the first time, at Harvard University, where the composer is in his second year.
19 December 1894 The court martial of Captain Alfred Dreyfus begins in Paris, in secret.
21 December 1894 Mackenzie Bowell replaces John Sparrow David Thompson as Prime Minister of Canada.
22 December 1894 The lowest and highest natures of the French character are exhibited on the same day. After a four-day secret court martial, Captain Alfred Dreyfus is found guilty of betraying military secrets and is sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil’s Island, French Guiana. In the evening, Prélude a l’après-midi d’un faune, a tone poem by Claude Debussy (32) after Mallarmé, is performed for the first time, by the Société National de Musique, Paris. The work is cheered by audience and orchestra and is encored. The poet, who is in attendance, is pleased. The critics are mixed.
31 December 1894 The petition for appeal by Capt. Alfred Dreyfus is refused.
©Paul Scharfenberger 2004-2012
15 August 2012
Last Updated (Wednesday, 15 August 2012 05:30)