1895
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1 January 1895 The British Niger Company claims a protectorate over Busa, or Middle Niger, and Nikki, near Dahomey.
4 January 1895 Divertissement for violin and orchestra op.1 by Charles Martin Loeffler (33) is performed for the first time, in the Music Hall, Boston conducted by the composer.
5 January 1895 Captain Alfred Dreyfus is publicly degraded in the courtyard of the École Militaire, Paris before being sent to Devil’s Island, French Guiana.
6 January 1895 Gartenlaube-Walzer op. 461 by Johann Strauss (69) is performed for the first time, in the Musikverein, Vienna.
7 January 1895 Hubert Parry (46) delivers his first speech to the students as the newly-appointed director of the Royal College of Music.
8 January 1895 Sonata for clarinet and piano op.120/2 by Johannes Brahms (61) is performed publicly for the first time, in Saal Bösendorfer, Vienna. See 19 September 1894.
11 January 1895 Sonata for clarinet and piano op.120/1 by Johannes Brahms (61) is performed publicly for the first time, in Saal Bösendorfer, Vienna. See 19 September 1894.
12 January 1895 Incidental music to Comyns Carr’s play King Arthur by Arthur Sullivan (52) is performed for the first time, in the Lyceum Theatre, London conducted by the composer. The critics are mixed.
14 January 1895 Dezsö, Baron Bánffy de Losoncz replaces Sándor Werkele as Prime Minister of Hungary.
15 January 1895 Jean Paul Pierre Casimir-Périer resigns as President of France over opposition from Socialists and Radicals in the Chamber of Deputies.
Suite in e minor for piano and violin op.41 by Horatio Parker (31) is performed for the first time, in Boston.
17 January 1895 Tsar Nikolay II of Russia declares that any hope of popular participation in the central government constitutes “senseless dreams”, thus ending any hope for peaceful change.
François Félix Faure replaces Jean Paul Pierre Casimir-Périer as President of France.
19 January 1895 One movement of a Concerto for piano and orchestra no.3 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (†1), also called Allegro de concert or Konzertstück, is performed for the first time, in St. Petersburg.
20 January 1895 Japanese forces begin landing at Yung-cheng in Shantung (Shandong) province.
Ruggero Leoncavallo (37) marries Marie Rose Jean (Berthe) Rambaud at the City Hall of Milan. Her background is very sketchy. It is unclear whether Rambaud is her maiden name. (Leoncavallo will claim that he married in 1888 in Paris.)
21 January 1895 Edvard Grieg (51) is appointed Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav by King Oscar II.
String Quartet op.38 by Horatio Parker (31) is performed for the first time, in Boston.
22 January 1895 Nicholaos Petrou Diligiannis replaces Charilaos Spiridonou Trikoupis as Prime Minister of Greece.
24 January 1895 Members of the government of the Republic of Hawaii force Queen Liliuokalani, presently imprisoned in her palace, to abdicate her throne.
Norwegians Carsten Borchgrevink and Leonard Kristensen become the first humans to set foot on land inside the Antarctic Circle, at South Victoria Land.
27 January 1895 Alexandre Félix Joseph Ribot replaces Charles Alexandre Dupuy, dit Charles-Dupuy as Prime Minister of France.
29 January 1895 Across the World op.20, a villanelle for voice and piano by Amy Beach (27) to words of Thomas, is performed for the first time, in New York.
30 January 1895 The Japanese fleet begins a bombardment of the fortifications at Wei-Hai-Wei (Weihai).
Two songs by Amy Beach (27) are performed for the first time, in Boston: Just for This op.26/2 to words of Fabbri, and Wouldn’t That Be Queer op.26/4 to words of Cooley.
2 February 1895 Japanese land forces take the town of Wei-hai-Wei (Weihai), 215 km northeast of Tsingtao (Quingdao).
Die Braut op.44/11 for female chorus by Johannes Brahms (61) to words of Müller, is performed for the first time, in Vienna.
4 February 1895 From Darkness into Light op.53 for orchestra by Alyeksandr Glazunov (29) is performed for the first time, in St. Petersburg conducted by Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (50). The work is dedicated to Ferruccio Busoni (28).
6 February 1895 Otto Mahler, musician younger brother of Gustav (34), puts a bullet through his heart, in the Vienna apartment of his friend Nina Hoffmann. His motivation is unclear.
9 February 1895 William G. Morgan invents a game called Mintonette at the YMCA in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Next year it will be renamed Volleyball.
12 February 1895 After a battle of two weeks, Chinese naval forces surrender to the Japanese in the harbor of Wei-hai-Wei (Weihai).
13 February 1895 Auguste and Louis Lumière receive a French patent for a combined motion picture camera, printer, and projector, the cinématograph.
14 February 1895 The Importance of Being Earnest, a comedy by Oscar Wilde, opens at St. James’ Theatre, London.
15 February 1895 Three chamber works by Enrique Granados (27) are performed for the first time, in Madrid, the composer at the keyboard in each: Piano Quintet in g, Trio for violin, cello, and piano, and Valses poéticos.
16 February 1895 Antonín Dvorák (53) is made an honorary member of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, Vienna.
Guglielmo Ratcliff, a tragedia by Pietro Mascagni (31) to words translated by Maffei after Heine, is performed for the first time, in Teatro alla Scala, Milan, the composer conducting. Press and public are favorable, although there is much criticism of the drama.
18 February 1895 String Quintet by Charles Martin Loeffler (34) is performed for the first time, in Union Hall, Boston. Critics are generally, though not universally, pleased.
20 February 1895 France proclaims a protectorate over Haute-Volta (Burkina Faso).
21 February 1895 Klosterfräulein op.61/2 for soprano, alto and piano by Johannes Brahms (61) to words of Kerner is performed for the first time, in Merseburg.
22 February 1895 Alfred Dreyfus is sent from France to French Guiana to serve his life sentence.
24 February 1895 Cuban revolutionaries issue the Grito de Baire declaring Independence or Death in the struggle against Spain.
1 March 1895 Oscar Wilde swears out a warrant against the Marquess of Queensbury for libel. The Marquess called Wilde a sodomite.
4 March 1895 The first three movements of Symphony no.2 by Gustav Mahler (34) are performed for the first time, in Berlin conducted by the composer. The audience, filling only half of the seats, is extremely enthusiastic.
6 March 1895 Trennung op.14/5, a song by Johannes Brahms (61) to traditional words, is performed for the first time, in Vienna, 37 years after it was composed.
9 March 1895 The Wood Nymph for reciter, piano, two horns, and strings by Jean Sibelius (29) to words of Rydberg is performed for the first time, in Helsinki. See 17 April 1895
11 March 1895 In an exchange of notes between Russia and Great Britain, the boundary between Russia and Afghanistan is completely defined.
12 March 1895 Alfred Dreyfus arrives in French Guiana.
19 March 1895 Chinese and Japanese commissioners meet at Shimoneski to end their conflict.
Alyeksandr Skryabin (23) gives his debut professional performance, under the patronage of the millionaire music publisher Mitrofan Belayev, at the Petrov School of Commerce, St. Petersburg. He plays the first performance of the tenth of his 24 Preludes op.11.
20 March 1895 Alexander replaces Woldemar as Prince of Lippe.
Symphony no.5 “L’Allegro ed il Pensieroso” by Charles Villiers Stanford (42) is performed for the first time, in London.
22 March 1895 Auguste and Louis Lumière show their film La sortie des ouvriers de l’usine Lumière at 44 Rue de Rennes, Paris to a private audience. It is the first movie to be shown publicly on a screen.
23 March 1895 Antonio Cánovas del Castillo replaces Práxedes Mateo-Sagasta Escolar as Prime Minister of Spain.
Daniel Chennevière (Dane Rudhyar) is born in Paris, the second of two children born to Leon and Lucie Chennevière. The father owns a small factory producing zinc ornaments.
24 March 1895 Li Hung Chang, who leads the Chinese peace delegation at Shimoneski, is shot and wounded by a Japanese fanatic. The Japanese are so embarrassed that they immediately grant an armistice to China.
25 March 1895 Italian forces invade Ethiopia.
Silvano, a dramma marinaresco by Pietro Mascagni (31) to words of Targioni-Tozzetti after Karr, is performed for the first time, in Teatro alla Scala, Milan. The public is positive, and Mascagni is called ten times, but it is not the success of his earlier efforts.
26 March 1895 Sir William Ramsey in London sends simultaneous communications to the British Royal Society and the French Academy of Science announcing his creation of helium on Earth.
28 March 1895 Sir Edward Grey of the British Foreign Office declares that any French occupation of the Upper Nile will be viewed as an “unfriendly act” by Her Majesty’s Government.
29 March 1895 Cáhal Mór of the Wine-red Hand, a rhapsody for baritone and orchestra by Horatio Parker (31) to words of Mangan, is performed for the first time, in Boston.
30 March 1895 Cuban revolutionary leaders Antonio and José Maceo land on the island near Baracoa, having sailed from the Dominican Republic.
2 April 1895 Der arme Heinrich, a music drama by Hans Pfitzner (25) to words of Grun and the composer after von Aue, is performed for the first time, in Mainz.
5 April 1895 Oscar Wilde loses his libel suit against the Marquess of Queensbury. The defense claimed to have male prostitutes who would say they had intercourse with Wilde.
6 April 1895 Oscar Wilde is arrested in London for homosexual offences.
9 April 1895 Ruggero Leoncavallo (38) is granted an audience with Queen Margherita of Italy. He hopes to be able to dedicate his opera Chatterton to her. He will not be successful.
Voting for the Danish Folketing results in significant gains for the Left Reform Party who now constitute the largest party.
11 April 1895 José Martí and Máximo Gómez Baez arrive in eastern Cuba from Costa Rica to work for the revolution.
13 April 1895 Alfred Dreyfus arrives on Devil’s Island to begin a term of life imprisonment in solitary confinement.
16 April 1895 Antonín Dvorák (53), his wife and son leave New York for Europe aboard the SS Saale never to see America again.
17 April 1895 The Treaty of Shimoneski ends war between China and Japan. China cedes the Liaotung (Liaodong) Peninsula, Taiwan and the Pescadores to Japan, recognizes the independence of Korea and agrees to pay large reparations.
Three works by Jean Sibelius (29) are performed for the first time, in an all-Sibelius concert in Helsinki: The Wood Nymph, a tone poem, Serenade for baritone and orchestra to words of Stagnelius, these two conducted by the composer, and Sonata for piano op.12. See 10 March 1895.
18 April 1895 A third version of Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov’s (51) opera The Maid of Pskov to words of Krestovsky, Musorgsky (†14) and the composer after May, is performed for the first time, in St. Petersburg. See 13 January 1873.
Klug Gretelein op.462, a waltz by Johann Strauss (69), is performed for the first time, in the Musikverein, Vienna.
20 April 1895 La bonne chanson, a cycle for voice and piano by Gabriel Fauré (49) to words of Verlaine, is performed publicly for the first time, by the Société National de Musique, Paris, the composer at the keyboard. See 25 April 1894.
23 April 1895 Russia, Germany, and France prevail upon Japan to abandon the Liaotung (Liaodong) Peninsula.
26 April 1895 Children’s Songs op.61 for voice and piano by Edvard Grieg (51) are performed for the first time, in Copenhagen, by the composer’s wife.
27 April 1895 Antonín Dvorák (53) arrives in Prague from America.
British forces occupy Corinto, Nicaragua.
Souvenir d’Ismaïlia op.100 for piano by Camille Saint-Saëns (59) is performed for the first time, in Paris.
2 May 1895 The North Zambesia (Zambia) and South Zambesia (Zimbabwe) Protectorates of the British South Africa Company are organized as the Rhodesia Protectorate.
After acquiring a joint British-Nicaraguan rule over the Mosquito Reserve, British troops evacuate Corinto.
4 May 1895 Symphonic Suite op.8 for piano and the song cycle Songs and Verses by J.P. Jacobsen op.6 by Carl Nielsen (29) are performed for the first time, in Copenhagen.
The American Flag, a cantata for alto, tenor, bass, chorus, and orchestra by Antonín Dvorák (53) to words of Drake, is performed for the first time, in New York. Critics are not impressed.
8 May 1895 In a revision to the Treaty of Shimoneski, Japan gives up the Liaotung (Liaodong) Peninsula and Port Arthur in return for a huge indemnity.
Henry Clifford, an opera by Isaac Albéniz (34) to words of Money-Coutts, is performed for the first time, in Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona, conducted by the composer. Although originally in English, it is performed in Italian, the favored language of the Liceu. It is a critical success, but not with audiences.
Duet for organ and trombone by Gustav Holst (20) is performed for the first time, in Highbury Congregational Church, Cheltenham, the composer at the keyboard.
11 May 1895 William Grant Still, Jr. is born in Woodville, Mississippi, only child born to William Grant Still, Sr., owner of a grocery store and the town bandmaster, and Carrie Lena Fambro, both teachers.
15 May 1895 The Czecho-Slavonic Ethnographic Exhibition opens in Prague. It is a celebration of Czech culture. The man in charge of Moravian music is Leos Janácek (40).
A French gunboat lands marines and attacks the village of Amapá in disputed territory between Brazil and French Guiana in an attempt to capture the local leader, Francisco Xavier da Veiga Cabral. It is a disaster for the French. Many of the invading force are killed, including the commander.
18 May 1895 In his last letter, Cuban revolutionary José Martí proclaims that a major reason for the independence of Cuba is “to prevent...the United States from spreading over the West Indies and falling, with that added weight, upon other lands of our America...I have lived inside the monster and know its insides.”
19 May 1895 Cuban independence leader José Martí Pérez is killed at the Battle of Dos Ríos.
21 May 1895 Sommerabend op.84/1, a song by Johannes Brahms (62) to words of Schmidt, is performed for the first time, in Hamburg.
23 May 1895 The Lenox and Astor libraries combine with a $2,400,000 trust bequeathed to New York City by former Governor Samuel Tilden to form the New York Public Library.
25 May 1895 Oscar Wilde and Alfred Taylor are convicted in a London court of gross indecency and sentenced to two years at hard labor, the maximum allowed under the law.
Christus, a sacred opera by Anton Rubinstein (†0) to words of Bulthaupt, is staged for the first time, in Bremen. See 2 June 1894.
27 May 1895 Piano Concerto no.1 by Charles Villiers Stanford (42) is performed for the first time, in London.
2 June 1895 Pursuant to the Treaty of Shimoneski, Taiwan is formally handed over to Japan. Resistance to the annexation continues on the island.
4 June 1895 The Light That is Felt for bass, chorus, and organ by Charles Ives (20) to words of Whittier is performed for the first time, in Center Church on the Green, New Haven.
9 June 1895 Küçük Mehmed Said Pasha replaces Ahmed Cevad Pasha as Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire.
11 June 1895 The first long distance automobile race begins in Paris heading for Bordeaux.
12 June 1895 Theodoros Pangaiou Diligiannis replaces Nicholaos Petrou Diligiannis as Prime Minister of Greece.
President Grover Cleveland calls on United States citizens to refrain from aiding Cuban rebels and declares neutrality in the Cuban uprising.
13 June 1895 The first long distance automobile race ends in Bordeaux when Emile Levassor drives his Panhard et Levassor over the finish line at Bordeaux. The 1,178 km race took over 49 hours to complete, the winner clocking an average speed of 24 km per hour. Contestant André Michelin used pneumatic tires for the first time.
16 June 1895 The Colonies of Côte d’Ivoire, Sudan (Mali), Senegal, and Guinea become part of French West Africa.
19 June 1895 The Kiel Canal is opened.
Eric, Count Kielmansegg replaces Alfred August, Prince Windisch-Grätz as acting Chancellor of Austria.
28 June 1895 Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury replaces Archibald Philip Primrose, Earl of Roseberry as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
1 July 1895 The British East Africa Company is dissolved as a British protectorate is established over East Africa (Kenya).
4 July 1895 Anton Bruckner (70) moves into the custodian’s house of the Belvedere Palace, Vienna, the apartments having been made available by Emperor Franz Joseph II through the intercession of Archduchess Marie Valerie. Bruckner’s doctor has advised him to find ground floor living space.
A poem by Katherine Lee Bates entitled America the Beautiful appears in print for the first time, in The Congregationalist.
7 July 1895 Stojan Novakovic replaces Nikola Hristic as Prime Minister of Serbia.
8 July 1895 Organ Sonata in G by Edward Elgar (38) is performed for the first time, in Worcester Cathedral.
10 July 1895 Carl Orff is born in Munich, the son of Heinrich Orff, an army officer with strong musical interests, and Paula Koestler, a pianist of prodigious abilities, the daughter of a general.
13 July 1895 Julián Carrillo (20), a student at the National Conservatory of Music in Mexico City, discovers what he calls the 13th tone. He finds 16 identifiable pitches on a violin string between G and A. By breaking each of the six whole tones of the octave into 16 equal parts, creating 96 different pitches. He proposes a complete change in the musical system.
15 July 1895 Former Bulgarian Prime Minister Stephan Stambulov is severely beaten by unknown assailants on a Sofiya street. He will die from his wounds three days from now.
20 July 1895 US Secretary of State Richard Olney informs the British government that any use of force in their border dispute with Venezuela will constitute a violation of the Monroe Doctrine.
8 August 1895 WS Gilbert reads the plot of The Grand Duke to Arthur Sullivan (53) at Walton-on-Thames where Sullivan is staying while his apartment is redecorated. The composer is pleased.
10 August 1895 The Queen’s Hall Promenade Concerts begin under Sir Henry Wood.
14 August 1895 A simultaneous housewarming and coming out party for his daughter is staged by Cornelius Vanderbilt II at his new palatial “cottage” called The Breakers at Newport, Rhode Island. It was designed by Richard Morris Hunt.
15 August 1895 Today through 18 August are “Moravian Days” at the Czecho-Slavonic Ethonographic Exhibition in Prague. The array of orchestral, choral, and folk performers are all organized by Leos Janácek (41).
17 August 1895 Antonín Dvorák (53) resigns his post as head of the National Conservatory of New York.
A month of voting in the British general election comes to an end. The Conservatives and Liberal Unionists, led by the Marquess of Salisbury, gain almost 100 seats and a clear majority.
26 August 1895 The first large scale alternating current hydroelectric plant goes into operation at Niagara Falls.
28 August 1895 Suite of Ancient Dances op.58 for orchestra by Charles Villiers Stanford (42) is performed for the first time, in London.
30 August 1895 A compulsory Roman Catholic education is established in Belgian state schools.
13 September 1895 A government for the Republic of Cuba is organized in Jimaguayú, Camagüey. Salvador Cisneros Betancourt is named President.
19 September 1895 The Bard op.50, an ode for bass, chorus, and orchestra by Charles Villiers Stanford (42) to words of Gray, is performed for the first time, in Cardiff, conducted by the composer.
21 September 1895 The Duryea Motor Wagon Company of Springfield, Massachusetts becomes the first automobile company to incorporate in the United States.
30 September 1895 Kazimierz Felix, Count Badeni replaces Eric, Count Kielmansegg as Chancellor of Austria.
1 October 1895 Protesting widespread massacres in eastern Turkey, 4,000 Armenians march to the seat of government in Constantinople with petitions. They are set upon by police, many killed on the spot. Thus begins ten days of looting, burning, and killing in the city’s Armenian Quarter, orchestrated by the Turkish authorities. Most victims are beaten to death with clubs.
After a march inland over the last ten months in which thousands of soldiers died from disease, French forces capture Tana, the capital of Madagascar.
2 October 1895 Invocation to Music, an ode for solo voices, chorus and orchestra by Hubert Parry (47) to words of Bridges, is performed for the first time, in Leeds, the composer conducting.
3 October 1895 Kibrisli Mehmed Kamil Pasha replaces Küçük Mehmed Said Pasha as Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire.
5 October 1895 The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane is published in book form by D. Appleton & Co. of New York.
8 October 1895 About two dozen assassins, probably hired by the Japanese minister, Viscount Miura, enter Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul and kill Queen Min of Korea. The Japanese see her as an anti-Japanese influence on King Gojong.
The Turkish government implements a planned attack against the Armenian population of the country, beginning today with a massacre at Trebizond (Trabzon) and Akhisar.
11 October 1895 Turkish government massacres of Armenians continue with an attack on Gümüshane.
12 October 1895 In Frankfurt on an extended tour of central Europe, Pietro Mascagni (31) receives word that he is offered the position of director of the Liceo Rossini in Pesaro. He enthusiastically accepts.
13 October 1895 Turkish government massacres of Armenians continue with an attack on Bayburt.
14 October 1895 Francis Hagerup replaces Emil Stang as Prime Minister of Norway.
15 October 1895 Dimitrie Alexandru Sturdza replaces Lascar Catargiu as Prime Minister of Romania.
17 October 1895 Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamid agrees to the demands of the European powers to implement reforms in dealing with Armenians.
19 October 1895 A new concert hall opens in Munich, the Kaim-Saal.
21 October 1895 Turkish government massacres of Armenians continue with an attack on Erzincan.
24 October 1895 Armenians in Zeitoun (Süleymanli), 65 km northwest of Maras, begin an uprising against Turkish oppression.
25 October 1895 Turkish government massacres of Armenians continue with an attack on Diyarbekir (Diyarbakır), Palu.
28 October 1895 Turkish government massacres of Armenians continue with an attack on Tomarza and Sanliurfa (Urfa).
The Czecho-Slavonic Ethnographic Exhibition closes in Prague. The celebration of Czech culture has seen 2,000,000 visitors over the last five months. The Moravian music section was the charge of Leos Janácek (41).
30 October 1895 Turkish government massacres of Armenians continue with an attack on Erzurum, Khnus (Hinis) and Mus.
1 November 1895 After resigning his position in New York, Antonín Dvorák (54) resumes his composition classes at Prague Conservatory.
Léon Bourgeois replaces Alexandre Félix Joseph Ribot as Prime Minister of France.
5 November 1895 Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, a tone poem by Richard Strauss (31) is performed for the first time, in Cologne. It is a hit with critics and the public.
6 November 1895 Turkish government massacres of Armenians continue with an attack on Arabkir (Arapgir, Turkey).
8 November 1895 Wilhelm Röntgen discovers X-rays, by accident, at the University of Würzburg.
Turkish government massacres of Armenians continue with an attack on Tomarza.
10 November 1895 Turkish government massacres of Armenians continue with an attack on Gürün.
11 November 1895 Bechuanaland is annexed to the Cape Colony.
Turkish government massacres of Armenians continue with an attack on Harput (Elâzig).
12 November 1895 Turkish government massacres of Armenians continue with an attack on Sivas.
15 November 1895 Turkish government massacres of Armenians continue with an attack on Mus and Ayintab (Gaziantep).
Sleep, Little Darling op.29/2, a song by Amy Beach (28) to words of Spofford, is performed for the first time, in Chicago.
16 November 1895 Paul Hindemith is born in Hanau, near Frankfurt, eldest of three children born to Robert Rudolf Emil Hindemith, a house painter, and Marie Sophie Warnecke, daughter of sheepherders.
20 November 1895 Dutch paleontologist Dr. Marie Eugène François Thomas Dubois reads his paper, “On Pithecanthropus erectus: a Transitional Form Between Man and the Apes” before the Royal Dublin Society. He explains his discovery of “Java Man” over the last few years in the Dutch East Indies.
As part of the bicentennial of the death of Henry Purcell, the Royal College of Music presents, at the Lyceum Theatre, the first performance of Dido and Aeneas since the composer’s life. The work is directed by Charles Villiers Stanford (43) and the student participants include Ralph Vaughan Williams (23) and Gustav Holst (21).
21 November 1895 A grand service of commemoration is held in Westminster Cathedral to mark 200 years since the death of Henry Purcell. Wreaths are laid at his grave by some of the most notable figures in British music, including Hubert Parry (47) and Charles Villiers Stanford (43).
26 November 1895 Turkish government massacres of Armenians continue with an attack on Zela (Zile).
28 November 1895 Incidental music to Ibsen’s play Das Fest auf Solhaug by Hans Pfitzner (26) is performed for the first time, in Mainz.
An automobile race, staged by the Chicago Times-Herald, is run from Chicago to Evanston, Illinois, a distance of some 87 km. Of the six contestants the winning vehicle was built by Charles and Frank Duryea, and piloted by Frank Duryea. The race took ten hours at an average speed of eleven kph.
30 November 1895 Turkish government massacres of Armenians continue with an attack on Kayseri.
2 December 1895 The Fifty-fourth Congress of the United States convenes in Washington. Due to the Panic of 1893 and the economic depression, the Democrats have lost control of both houses. Republicans gained over 100 seats in the House of Representatives.
3 December 1895 Cuban rebels defeat Spanish forces at Iguará.
4 December 1895 Caprice bohémien op.12 for orchestra by Sergey Rakhmaninov (22) is performed for the first time, in Moscow the composer conducting.
Waldmeister, an operetta by Johann Strauss (70) to words of Davis, is performed for the first time, in the Theater-an-der-Wien, Vienna.
7 December 1895 Ethiopian forces defeat the Italians at Amba Alagi.
Cuban independence leader General Antonio Maceo Grajales is killed at the Battle of Punta Brava.
Two works for male chorus by Jean Sibelius are performed for the first time, in Helsinki: Fire on the Island op.18/4 and The Power of the Song, on the eve of the composer’s 30th birthday.
The Lily Nymph, a dramatic cantata by George Whitefield Chadwick (41) to words of Bates, is performed for the first time, in Carnegie Hall, New York.
10 December 1895 Christmas Eve, an opera by Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (51) to his own words after Gogol, is performed for the first time, in the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg. After the royal family enforced changes in the work, the composer boycotts the premiere.
13 December 1895 Symphony no.2 “Resurrection” for soprano, alto, chorus and orchestra by Gustav Mahler (35) is performed completely for the first time, in Berlin conducted by the composer. The work marks Mahler’s first great success as a composer. Bruno Walter will remember it as the true beginning of Mahler’s career as a composer and he resolves to devote himself to Mahler’s music.
15 December 1895 Trau, schau wem! op.463, a waltz by Johann Strauss (70), is performed for the first time, in the Musikverein, Vienna.
17 December 1895 Jurists’ March for orchestra by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (†2) is performed for the first time, in St. Petersburg.
18 December 1895 US President Cleveland issues a statement siding his country strongly with Venezuela in its border dispute with Great Britain. He threatens war, and US military forces are put on alert.
Frédégonde, a drame lyrique by Camille Saint-Saëns (60) to words of Gallet, is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra.
Within Thy Heart op.29/1, a song by Amy Beach (28) to her own words, is performed for the first time, in Newark. The same day sees the premiere of Beach’s cantata The Rose of Avon-Town op.30 for solo voices, female chorus and orchestra to words of Mischka, in New York.
19 December 1895 Die sieben Geislein, a Liederspiel by Engelbert Humperdinck (41) to words of Wette after Grimm, is performed for the first time, in the Schiller Theatre, Berlin.
20 December 1895 The ninth and 16th of the 24 Preludes op.11 for piano by Alyeksandr Skryabin (23) are performed for the first time, in Moscow by the composer.
21 December 1895 As a result of the bellicose statements by President Cleveland four days ago, the stock market undergoes a panic selloff. This also produces fears of another round of bank runs and failures.
22 December 1895 Wilhelm Röntgen takes his first X-ray photographs on a human, his wife’s hand, in Würzburg.
26 December 1895 Herrjemineh op.464, a polka française by Johann Strauss (70), is performed for the first time, in the Musikverein, Vienna.
28 December 1895 German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen publishes a scientific paper in Würzburg entitled “A New Kind of Ray, a Preliminary Communication.” He admits he does not fully understand what he has discovered and so calls it an X-Ray. Within a year, 49 books and over 1,000 articles will be written about X-rays.
The first movie shown to a paying audience, La sortie des ouvriers de l’usine Lumière, is seen today in the Grand Café, Paris. It is 50 seconds long and is only the first of a number of films shown today by the Lumière Brothers.
29 December 1895 British settlers under the Administrator of Rhodesia, Dr. Leander Starr Jameson, invade the Transvaal in an attempt to foment an uprising by English speaking residents against the Boer government.
Turkish government massacres of Armenians continue with an attack on Sanliurfa (Urfa).
30 December 1895 Hugo Wolf (35) calls on Wilhelm Jahn, the director of the Vienna Opera, to personally present the score of his recently completed work, Der Corregidor. He is told by a bureaucrat that he may not see Jahn and must submit his score in the usual way.
31 December 1895 Jules Massenet (53) is raised to a Commander of the Legion of Honor.
©Paul Scharfenberger 2004-2012
15 August 2012
Last Updated (Wednesday, 15 August 2012 05:31)