1897
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2 January 1897 The Swedish newspaper Nya Dagligt Allehanda publishes the will of Alfred Nobel.
3 January 1897 Symphony in C by Paul Dukas (31) is performed for the first time, in Paris.
4 January 1897 Violin Sonata op.34 by Amy Cheney Beach (29) is performed for the first time, in Association Hall, Boston, the composer at the piano.
10 January 1897 Saint-Georges de Bouhélier publishes the manifesto of the Naturiste movement in Le Figaro. It is anti-symbolist and advocates clarity, social action, and comprehensible answers to problems.
14 January 1897 A British expedition led by Mattias Zurbriggen become the first humans to stand atop Mt. Aconcagua, on the border of Argentina and Chile, the highest point in the Western Hemisphere.
16 January 1897 Edvard Grieg (53) is elected a member of the Akademie der Künste in Berlin.
20 January 1897 The Schubert (†68) exhibition opens in Vienna, eleven days before the one hundredth anniversary of the composer’s birth.
Several songs for voice and piano or orchestra by Charles Koechlin (29) are performed for the first time, in Paris: Rondels op.1 to words of Banville and Charles d’Orleans is performed completely for the first time, along with La Paix op.8/7 to words of Banville, and Les clairs de lune op.9 to words of Leconte de Lisle. See 30 April 1896.
23 January 1897 Königskinder, a melodrama by Engelbert Humperdinck (42) to words of Rosmer (pseud. of Bernstein-Porges), is performed for the first time, in the Munich Court Theatre. It is an enormous success.
Three Lieder op.27 by Ernest Chausson (42) to words of Mauclair, are performed for the first time.
30 January 1897 English bacteriologist Almroth Edward Wright reports in the British Medical Journal of his use of killed typhoid bacilli as a vaccine against typhoid. It will be used on troops heading for India with dramatic results.
31 January 1897 Briséïs, ou Les amants de Corinthe, an unfinished drame lyrique by Emanuel Chabrier (†2) to words of Mendès and Mikhaël after Goethe, is performed for the first time, in a concert setting in Paris. See 14 January 1899.
2 February 1897 Venezuela agrees to the US plan for arbitration of its boundary dispute with Great Britain.
5 February 1897 José Luciano de Castro Pereira Corte-Real replaces Ernesto Rodolfo Hintze Ribeiro as Prime Minister of Portugal.
8 February 1897 Alyeksandr Glazunov (31) conducts the premiere of his Symphony no.6 in the Hall of the Nobility, St. Petersburg.
9 February 1897 Fierabras D.796, an opera by Franz Schubert (†68) to words of Kupelwieser after Büsching, von der Hagen and de la Motte Fouqué, is performed for the first time, in Grossherzögliches Hoftheater, Karlsruhe, 74 years after it was composed and nine days after the centennial of the composer’s birth.
13 February 1897 Paysage op.38 for piano by Ernest Chausson (42) is performed for the first time.
14 February 1897 2,000 Greek soldiers land on Crete, at Kolimvari near Hania, to effect union of the island with Greece.
15 February 1897 The Christian governor of Crete, Georgi Pasba, flees to a Russian warship. The protecting powers (France-Great Britain-Russia) land troops and demand that the Greeks leave. Greece refuses.
In Annalen der Physik und Chemie, German physicist Karl Ferdinand Braun publishes his invention of the Braun Tube. It is the first cathode ray oscilloscope.
Octet for two clarinets, two violins, viola, cello, bass, and harp by Charles Martin Loeffler (36) is performed for the first time, in Association Hall, Boston.
18 February 1897 Johannes Brahms (63) suffers a slight stroke which stiffens the left side of his face. This will pass in March.
20 February 1897 The first and third of the Trois Gymnopédies by Erik Satie (30), as orchestrated by Claude Debussy (34), are performed for the first time, in the Salle Erard, Paris.
21 February 1897 Warships of the European powers bombard Greek forces near Hania, Crete.
22 February 1897 Hugo Wolf (36) makes his last public concert appearance, accompanying his songs in a recital at the Bösendorfersaal, Vienna.
23 February 1897 Gustav Mahler (36) accepts baptism as a Roman Catholic in the Kleine Michaeliskirche in Hamburg.
25 February 1897 Two songs for voice and piano by Edward Elgar (39) are performed for the first time, in St. James’ Hall, London: Through the Long Days to words of Hay, and Like to the Damask Rose to words of Wastell.
28 February 1897 French forces depose Queen Ranavalona III of Imerina, and institute a French administration from Tananarive. The French protectorate of Madagascar becomes a colony. The Queen is sent into exile on Reunion.
2 March 1897 The European powers demand that Greece withdraw its troops from Crete and refrain from annexing the island. They demand of Turkey that plans for Cretan autonomy go ahead.
4 March 1897 William McKinley replaces Grover Cleveland as President of the United States. The Fifty-fifth Congress of the United States convenes in Washington. Despite many losses in the House of Representatives, Republicans retain control of both houses.
Suite for organ op.16 by Max Reger (23) is performed for the first time, in Berlin.
March “Intercollegiate” with “Annie Lisle” for band by Charles Ives (22) is performed for the first time, in Washington.
7 March 1897 Johannes Brahms (63) appears for the last time at a performance of his music, the Fourth Symphony, at the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, Vienna. Every movement is applauded. Afterwards, the composer stands in the director’s box to thunderous applause.
9 March 1897 The third and sixth movements of Symphony no.3 by Gustav Mahler (36) are performed for the first time, in Berlin. Response to the third movement is mixed. The sixth causes an uproar. See 9 November 1896 and 9 June 1902.
10 March 1897 Gustav Mahler (36) departs Berlin for Moscow.
11 March 1897 08:30 Henry Dixon Cowell is born in Menlo Park, California, second child of Irish immigrant Henry (Harry) Clayton Blackwood Cowell, an aspiring essayist and poet, himself the son of the Dean of Kildare Cathedral, and Clarissa Belknap Dixon, a writer and daughter of a cabinet maker.
12 March 1897 Fervaal, an action musicale by Vincent d’Indy (45) to his own words, is performed for the first time, in Théâtre de la Monnaie, Brussels.
13 March 1897 Die Göttin der Vernunft, an operetta by Johann Strauss (71) to words of Willner and Buchbinder, is performed for the first time, in the Theater-an-der-Wien, Vienna. One audience member, Johannes Brahms (63), is so weak that he must be carried home after the second act. It is the last public appearance Brahms will ever make.
14 March 1897 Joaquín Turina (14) performs on the piano for the first time in public, in the Sala Piazza, Seville.
15 March 1897 Gustav Mahler (36) conducts for the first time in Moscow. The critics are not impressed.
17 March 1897 Bob Fitzsimmons knocks out Jim Corbett in round 14 to win the World Heavyweight Boxing Title in Carson City, Nevada. It is the first boxing match to be filmed.
18 March 1897 The great powers (France-Great Britain-Russia-Germany-Austria-Hungary) institute a blockade of Crete.
22 March 1897 The first session of the Australasian Federal Convention opens in Adelaide to discuss a constitution.
23 March 1897 5,000 additional troops of the protecting powers (France-Great Britain-Russia) land on Crete.
24 March 1897 Enoch Arden, a melodrama for reciter and piano by Richard Strauss (32) to words of Tennyson translated by Strodtmann, is performed for the first time, in Munich the composer at the piano.
25 March 1897 The Scottish Trades Union Congress is formed in a three-day meeting beginning today in Glasgow.
26 March 1897 Clear and Cool op.5 for chorus and orchestra by Gustav Holst (22) to words of Kingsley is performed for the first time, in the Athenaeum, London. This is part of a choral and dramatic evening featuring Holst’s chorus, the Hammersmith Socialist Choir. Following the choral program, a one-act play is presented, The Anarchist by Fritz Hart, wherein Holst takes a leading role.
27 March 1897 One day after the 70th anniversary of the death of Beethoven, Johannes Brahms (63) takes to his bed with liver cancer.
Prince Konstantinos departs Athens for Volos in Thessalia to take command of Greek troops.
Symphony no.1 by Sergey Rakhmaninov (23) is performed for the first time, in the Hall of the Nobility, St. Petersburg, conducted by Alyeksandr Glazunov (31). The work is a disaster, partly due to the performance, partly due to the music. Rakhmaninov can not force himself to enter the auditorium, hiding on the stairs to the balcony and pressing his fists to his ears, finally running out into the street. He will later blame the conductor. “…all my hopes, all belief in myself, had been destroyed; abject misery had taken the place of my former arrogance.” (Scott, 48)
28 March 1897 Heut’ ist heut’ op. 471, a waltz by Johann Strauss (71), is performed for the first time, in the Musikverein, Vienna.
29 March 1897 A gold standard is established in Japan.
3 April 1897 08:30 Johannes Brahms dies of liver cancer at his Vienna home, aged 63 years, ten months and 27 days.
Gustav Klimt, Josef Engelhart and Carl Moll form the Association of Austrian Fine Artists in Vienna. It is better known as the Secession and is meant to further the cause of modern art in the city.
Two works by Gabriel Fauré (51) are performed for the first time, by the Société National de Musique, Paris: Barcarolle no.6 op.70 for piano, and Prison op.83 for voice and piano to words of Verlaine. On the same program, two works by Ernest Chausson (42) are performed for the first time: Serres chaudes op.24 for voice and piano to words of Maeterlinck, and Quelques danses op.26 for piano.
4 April 1897 Gustav Mahler (36) agrees in principle to a one-year contract with the Vienna Opera.
6 April 1897 After an elaborate funeral in the Protestant church of Vienna, including many musical figures from throughout Europe and thousands of mourners, the earthly remains of Johannes Brahms are laid to rest in the Zentral Friedhof of Vienna near those of Beethoven (†70) and Schubert (†68). In Hamburg, the composer’s birthplace, ships lower their flags to half-mast.
Austrian Chancellor Kazimierz Felix, Count Badeni rules that the Czech language is granted equality with German in Bohemia.
Sultan Sayyid Hamud ibn Muhammad of Zanzibar abolishes slavery.
Thaddeus Cahill receives a US patent for the “art of and apparatus for generating and distributing music electrically.” It is the first version of what will be known as the Telharmonium.
7 April 1897 The Ottoman Empire declares war on Greece due to direct Greek involvement in Crete.
Chant for english horn and piano by Charles Koechlin (29) is performed for the first time, in Paris. Koechlin will orchestrate it as Au loin. See 23 February 1908.
8 April 1897 The Wiener Abendpost announces that Gustav Mahler (36) has been engaged as a conductor at the Vienna Opera.
John Philip Sousa (42) directs the Sousa Band in the last performance arranged by his business partner, David Blakely, who died last November. Sousa considers his contract with Blakely now terminated and stops splitting profits with Blakely’s heirs. Mrs. Blakely will take him to court and, after three years of litigation, will largely fail.
9 April 1897 While in a Vienna restaurant with Engelbert Humperdinck (42) and Frau Humperdinck, Hugo Wolf (37) shows the first signs of his impending illness. He seems irritable and changes his seat several times so that he will not be seen by acquaintances.
10 April 1897 Greek irregulars begin attacking Turkish outposts in Thessalia in support of the Cretan revolt. This will be followed within a week by an attack by Greek regular troops.
15-year-old Friedrich Franz IV replaces Friedrich Franz III as Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin under regency.
A bill of complaint is filed in Philadelphia against John Philip Sousa (42) by the widow of his business partner David Blakely. She claims that the contract between Sousa and Blakely is still in force and applies to Blakely’s heirs.
12 April 1897 Dimitrie Alexandru Sturdza replaces Petre S. Aurelian as Prime Minister of Romania.
17 April 1897 Hostilities begin between Greece and Turkey at Analipsi.
18 April 1897 Greece declares war on Turkey.
19 April 1897 Imperial March op.32 by Edward Elgar (39) is performed for the first time, in the Crystal Palace, London as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations for Queen Victoria. Credit for the composition is ascribed to Richard Elgar.
The first Boston Marathon takes place. 18 runners start, ten finish. It is won by John J. McDermott in a time of 2:55:10.
23 April 1897 The first session of the Australasian Federal Convention ends in Adelaide. A draft constitution is complete.
25 April 1897 After Greek defeats and a precipitous retreat, Turkish forces enter Larisa in Thessalia.
26 April 1897 Edward Elgar’s (39) song Rondel: The Little Eyes that Never Knew Light for voice and piano to words of Swinburne is performed for the first time, in Worcester, the composer at the piano.
27 April 1897 Gustav Mahler (36) arrives in Vienna from Hamburg to take up his position as a conductor at the Vienna Hofoper.
Following a series of military setbacks, Greece calls on the great powers to intervene.
Hymnus amoris op.12 for solo voices, children’s chorus, male chorus, chorus, and orchestra by Carl Nielsen (31) to words of Olrik, translated into Latin by Heiberg, is performed for the first time, in Copenhagen. Both the public and critics are enthusiastic.
28 April 1897 Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary and Tsar Nikolay of Russia agree that Macedonia and Thrace will be divided by Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia at some future date.
30 April 1897 Demetrios Rallis replaces Theodoros Pangaiou Diligiannis as Prime Minister of Greece.
John Joseph Thomson announces to the Royal Society of London that he has discovered the electron. He calls it a corpuscle.
1 May 1897 A new march by John Philip Sousa (42) is performed for the first time, in Augusta, Maine by the Sousa band. Sousa tells a reporter that this new march does not yet have a name. There is good reason to believe that this is The Stars and Stripes Forever. See 14 May 1897.
5 May 1897 The Japanese warship Naniwa arrives in Hawaii to enforce Japan’s demand that Hawaii stop restricting Japanese immigration.
Wo uns’re Fahne weht op.473, a march by Johann Strauss (71), is performed for the first time, in “Zum wilden Mann”, Vienna.
6 May 1897 In a paper read before the Association of American Physicians, John Jacob Abel describes how he isolated epinephrine (which he named) from the adrenal gland. It is the first hormone to be isolated.
La bohème, a commedia lirica by Ruggero Leoncavallo (40) to his own words after Murger, is performed for the first time, in Teatro La Fenice, Venice. The production is saved by the singers. Critics like the libretto, not so much the music.
11 May 1897 Following the removal of their troops from Crete, and with military disaster looming, Greece ask the great powers to mediate their war against Turkey.
After one rehearsal, Gustav Mahler (36) conducts his Vienna Hofoper debut with a performance of Lohengrin. It is a great success.
13 May 1897 Guglielmo Marconi sends the first wireless message over open water from Lavernock Point to Brean Down, about 14 km.
14 May 1897 The Vienna Hugo Wolf (37) Verein meets for the first time and gives a very successful concert.
The Stars and Stripes Forever, John Philip Sousa’s (42) most famous march, is performed officially for the first time, in Philadelphia at the unveiling of a statue of George Washington. It is a spectacular success. See 1 May 1897.
17 May 1897 Jelka Rosen, lover of Fritz (Frederick) Delius (35), buys a house at Grez-sur-Loing, France and moves in. Delius will move in next month. It will be his home for the rest of his life.
18 May 1897 L’apprenti sorcier by Paul Dukas (31) is performed for the first time, in Paris.
The Banner of St. George op.33 for chorus and orchestra by Edward Elgar (39) to words of Wensley is performed for the first time, in Earl’s Court, London.
Chansons de Miarka op.17 for voice and piano by Ernest Chausson (42) to words of Richepin is performed for the first time.
19 May 1897 Oscar Wilde is released from prison after serving two years at hard labor for homosexual offenses. He will go to Paris.
20 May 1897 An armistice is signed between Greece and Turkey.
23 May 1897 Hugo Egmont Hørring replaces Tage, Baron Reedtz-Thott as Prime Minister of Denmark.
25 May 1897 Victoria and Merrie England, a ballet by Arthur Sullivan (55) to a choreography by Coppi, is performed for the first time, in the Alhambra Theatre, London.
Light Leaves Whisper for chorus by Gustav Holst (22) to words of Hart is performed for the first time, in Stafford (Lancaster) House, London. The work is one of two winners of prizes offered by the Magpie Musical Society, who perform it. It is the first major performance of a Holst work in London and receives a favorable review in The Times.
26 May 1897 Dracula by Bram Stoker goes on sale in London.
28 May 1897 Hells Bells: “Hail to Phi”, a fraternity show by Charles Ives (22) to words of Hinsdale, is performed for the first time, in New Haven, Connecticut.
30 May 1897 Cantata for the Helsinki University ceremonies of 1897 by Jean Sibelius (31) to words of Koskimies is performed for the first time, in Helsinki.
31 May 1897 A monument to Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts Regiment by Augustus St. Gaudens is unveiled in Boston.
1 June 1897 Licht, Du ewiglich eines, a hymn for chorus and orchestra by Richard Strauss (32), is performed for the first time, in Munich conducted by the composer. The work helps to open an art exhibit.
3 June 1897 Symphonic Variations by Hubert Parry (49) is performed for the first time, in Queen’s Hall, London. It is well received.
4 June 1897 Hugo Wolf (37) writes to his mother that the conductor at the Vienna Opera, Gustav Mahler (36), has given him assurances that his opera Der Corregidor will be performed during the next season.
12 June 1897 An earthquake of magnitude 8.8 strikes Assam and devastates an area of 400,000 sq km. The known death toll is 1,542.
16 June 1897 Representatives of the United States and the Republic of Hawaii sign an agreement whereby the US annexes Hawaii. The Senate puts off action on ratification.
20 June 1897 The hymn O king of kings, whose reign of old by Arthur Sullivan (55) to words of How is heard for the first time, at services celebrating the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor.
22 June 1897 Celebrations take place in London and throughout the British Empire for the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. Services take place at St. Paul’s Cathedral and there is a dinner party in the evening at Buckingham Palace.
30 June 1897 Ecce jam noctis for male chorus and orchestra by George Whitefield Chadwick (42) to words of St. Gregory of Tours translated by Parker is performed for the first time, at commencement excercises of Yale University at which the composer receives an honorary MA.
1 July 1897 A strike of coal miners begins in the Midwest of the United States.
10 July 1897 Arthur Farwell (25) arrives in London for two years of travel and study in Europe.
13 July 1897 Baron von Bezecny, General Manager of the Vienna Hofoper, informs Director Wilhelm Jahn that during Jahn’s medical leave, his deputy Gustav Mahler (37) will perform his duties.
15 July 1897 After a six month investigation, a select committee of the British House of Commons severely criticizes Cecil Rhodes in the Jameson Raid, but exonerates Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain and the Colonial Office.
20 July 1897 Four months after he receives a British patent for a wireless communication device, Guglielmo Marconi founds the Wireless Telegraph and Signal Company, to be centered in Chelmsford.
21 July 1897 The National Gallery of British Art opens in London. It will be known colloquially as the Tate Gallery after its founder, Sir Henry Tate.
27 July 1897 Nicolas Gerhard Pierson replaces Joan Roëll as chief minister of the Netherlands.
29 July 1897 The British Workmen’s Compensation Act goes is passed. Employers are now required to compensate any worker injured on the job.
1 August 1897 While director Wilhelm Jahn is on medical leave, Gustav Mahler (37) begins serving as interim director of the Vienna Hofoper.
7 August 1897 British and Egyptian troops capture Abu Hamed in the Sudan, 450 km north of Khartoum, routing the Mahdists in the town.
8 August 1897 Kyoshi Shiga discovers and names the bacterium that causes dysentery.
Prime Minister Antonio Cánovas del Castillo of Spain is shot to death in Santa Agueda by Italian anarchist Michele Angeliolli to avenge the execution of several anarchists in Barcelona. He is replaced ad interim by Marcelo de Azcárraga y Palmero.
14 August 1897 Richard Strauss (33) meets Sergey Diaghilev for the first time, at the Bayerischer Hof hotel in Munich.
16 August 1897 The Yukon District is created as part of the Northwest Territories.
17 August 1897 Arthur Farwell (25) meets Engelbert Humperdinck (42) in Bayreuth. Humperdinck agrees to give Farwell lessons in the Fall.
19 August 1897 In Secunderabad, India, Ronald Ross finds the malarial parasite in a mosquito, thus proving that mosquitoes transmit malaria to man.
21 August 1897 Marcelo de Azcárraga y Palmero, since 8 August interim Prime Minister of Spain, attains the office in his own right.
27 August 1897 Today ends a five-day formal nuptial service joining Alyeksandr Nikolayevich Skryabin (25) and Vera Ivanovna Issakovich, a pianist and conservatory gold medalist.
1 September 1897 Hans Pfitzner (28) takes up duties at the Stern Conservatory, Berlin where he will teach piano, theory, composition, and conducting.
The first subway line in North America begins service from the Public Garden to Park Street in Boston.
2 September 1897 The second session of the Australasian Federal Convention opens in Sydney to reconsider the draft constitution and propose changes.
10 September 1897 Sheriff’s deputies fire into striking coal miners at Lattimer, Pennsylvania. 19 people are killed, 36 wounded. Many are shot in the back as they flee.
12 September 1897 Te Deum and Benedictus op.34 for chorus, orchestra, and organ by Edward Elgar (40) is performed for the first time, in Hereford.
15 September 1897 Magnificat for soprano, chorus, and orchestra by Hubert Parry (49) is performed for the first time, in Hereford. The critics are ecstatic.
18 September 1897 Great Britain and France come to an agreement over Tunisia.
The new opera director, Gustav Mahler (37), and Hugo Wolf (37) dispute Wolf’s desire to have Der Corregidor produced in Vienna. This appears to be the event triggering Wolf’s madness. Later in the day he proclaims himself to be the director of the Opera. Because of this and other bizarre, uncontrolled behavior, his friends make arrangements for his committal. (approximate date)
US Minister Stewart Woodford delivers an ultimatum to the Spanish government to resolve the conflict in Cuba or the US will intervene.
20 September 1897 Yefim Golishev is born in Kherson, Russia (Ukraine).
21 September 1897 Believing himself to be going to see Court Opera Obersthofmeister Prince Liechtenstein to be presented as the new opera director, Hugo Wolf (37) is transported to the “mental home” of Dr. Wilhelm Svetlin.
23 September 1897 Richard Strauss (33) receives an invitation from Edouard Colonne to conduct in Paris for the first time.
24 September 1897 The second session of the Australasian Federal Convention closes in Sydney.
Arthur Farwell (25) arrives at his lodgings in Boppard am Rhein. In the evening, he dines at the estate of Engelbert Humperdinck (43) with whom he will presently study.
27 September 1897 Gustav Mahler (37) signs a contract with Josef Weinberger, Viennese publishers, to print his first song cycle, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen.
1 October 1897 After one year of active service in the German army, Max Reger (24) is discharged into the reserves.
3 October 1897 Alexandros Thrasivoulou Zaimis replaces Demetrios Rallis as Prime Minister of Greece.
4 October 1897 Práxedes Mateo-Sagasta Escolar replaces Marcelo de Azcárraga y Palmero as Prime Minister of Spain.
5 October 1897 At the Vienna premiere of Giacomo Puccini’s (38) La bohème attended by the composer, Gustav Mahler (37) “laughs derisively” through the entire performance.
6 October 1897 A New York Journal reporter rescues Evangelina Cisneros from a jail in Havana and brings her to the US. She is the niece of the leader of the Cuban rebels and the Journal has been running lurid articles about her imprisonment and torture at the hands of the Spanish. It is all part of a campaign by Journal owner William Randolph Hearst to whip up war hysteria against Spain.
Requiem Mass op.63 for solo voices, chorus and orchestra by Charles Villiers Stanford (45) is performed for the first time, in Birmingham, conducted by the composer.
7 October 1897 A typhoon in the Philippines causes 1,500 deaths.
8 October 1897 The Vienna Hofoper announces that it has named Gustav Mahler (37) as director.
Three works by Ferruccio Busoni (31) are performed for the first time, in the Singakademie, Berlin conducted by the composer: Concerto for violin and orchestra op.35a, Second Orchestral Suite (Geharnischte Suite) op. 34a and the Comedy Overture op.38. Reviews are widely mixed.
9 October 1897 Ralph Vaughan Williams marries Adeline Fisher at Parish Church, All Saints, Hove, near Brighton, three days before his 25th birthday. The couple are joined by Rev. WJ Spooner, later of Spoonerism fame.
18 October 1897 Incidental music to Heiberg’s play Folkeraadet by Fritz (Frederick) Delius (35) is performed for the first time, in Christiania Theatre, Christiania (Oslo). The audience is strongly divided.
19 October 1897 Vladan Djordjevic replaces Djordje Simic as Prime Minister of Serbia.
23 October 1897 Concerto for piano and orchestra op.20 by Alyeksandr Skryabin (25) is performed for the first time, in Odessa the composer at the keyboard.
Three Bavarian Dances for orchestra by Edward Elgar (40) is performed for the first time, in Crystal Palace, London, conducted by the composer.
27 October 1897 For the first time, Sergey Rakhmaninov (24) publicly conducts music that is not his own, in his operatic debut in Moscow. He directs Camille Saint-Saëns’ (62) Samson et Dalila.
Charles Villiers Stanford (45) gives his first performance as conductor of the Leeds Philharmonic Society, in the Town Hall.
1 November 1897 The Ferryman’s Brides for solo voice and orchestra by Jean Sibelius (31) to words of Oksanen is performed for the first time, in Helsinki conducted by the composer.
4 November 1897 The Cape Railway reaches Bulawayo, 1,800 km northeast of Cape Town.
Le parfum impérissable op.76/1, a song for voice and piano by Gabriel Fauré (52) to words of de Lisle, is performed for the first time, in Paris.
Ferruccio Busoni (31) gives his first performance in London, at St. James’ Hall.
5 November 1897 Italy and Austria-Hungary reach agreement on Albania. If the Turks quit the Balkans, there will be an independent, neutral Albania.
At a military ceremony in Rio de Janeiro, Corporal Marcelino Bispo de Melo levels a gun at President Prudente de Morais. The gun misfires and bystanders fall upon the assassin at which point he brings forth a knife. Bispo stabs the chief of the military, Colonel Luiz Mendes de Moraes, and the Minister for War, Marshal Carlos Machado Bittencourt, the latter fatally. Bispo is thereupon taken into custody. The President is unhurt.
9 November 1897 Naval commanders of France, Great Britain, Italy, and Russia deliver an ultimatum to the Turkish commander on Crete to remove his troops from the island.
Enrique Granados (30) appears with the new Philharmonic Society as pianist at the Sala Estela, Barcelona. He will make more than 25 appearances with them. He performs the Beethoven (†70) Trio op.70/1 with Mathieu Crickboom, violin and Pablo Casals (21), cello.
11 November 1897 Sr. de Castro, a stock-broker from South America, notices a facsimile of the original treasonous message in the Dreyfus affair on sale at a newspaper stand. He realizes that the writing matches that of one of his clients, Major Ferdinand Walsin-Esterhazy, and immediately contacts Dreyfus’ brother Mathieu.
13 November 1897 The first all-metal dirigible, designed by Hungarian David Schwarz, takes off from Templehof Field, Berlin, powered by a Daimler engine. The craft flies several kilometers before crashing due to a gas leak.
On Devil’s Island, the hut of Alfred Dreyfus is surrounded by a double stockade two and a half meters high.
Over the Hills and Far Away, a fantasy overture by Fritz (Frederick) Delius (35), is performed for the first time, in the Elberfeld Stadthalle.
14 November 1897 German forces occupy Kiaochow (Jiaozhou) on the Shantung (Shandong) Peninsula. Their excuse is the killing of two German missionaries.
16:30 Giuseppina Strepponi Verdi dies of pneumonia at Villa Sant’Agata in the presence of her husband, Giuseppe Verdi (84). The two have been together for 54 years.
15 November 1897 In response to the ultimatum of 9 November, Turkish forces withdraw from Crete.
In an open letter to Le Temps, the vice-president of the French Senate, Auguste Scheurer-Kestner, declares the innocence of Alfred Dreyfus.
16 November 1897 Mathieu Dreyfus, brother of Alfred Dreyfus, writes to the French Minister of Justice. He names Major Ferdinand Walsin-Esterhazy as the author of the original treasonous note and says he will sue him.
17 November 1897 The military governor of Paris, General Saussier, opens an investigation of Major Esterhazy.
20 November 1897 Edvard Grieg (54) begins a month-long performing tour of Britain, in Liverpool.
25 November 1897 Emile Zola begins a campaign in Le Figaro to exonerate Alfred Dreyfus.
The Spanish government enacts plans to grant Cuba political autonomy.
27 November 1897 Sapho, a pièce lyrique by Jules Massenet (55) to words of Cain and Bernède after Daudet, is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre Lyrique, Paris. It is a resounding success.
28 November 1897 The Spanish government releases all US citizens held in Cuba.
Le Figaro begins publishing letters from Major Esterhazy to one of his mistresses wherein he insults the French and declares his intention to become a German.
An der Elbe op.477, a waltz by Johann Strauss (72), is performed for the first time, in the Musikverein, Vienna.
30 November 1897 France, Great Britain, Italy, and Russia announce that their choice for the Christian governor of Crete is Prince Giorgios of Greece.
Paul, Baron Gautsch von Frankenthurn replaces Kazimierz Felix, Count Badeni as Chancellor of Austria.
Edvard Grieg (54) makes his only concert appearance in Scotland, in Edinburgh.
Four songs for voice, viola, and piano by Charles Martin Loeffler (36) are performed for the first time, in Steinert Hall, Boston: La cloche félée and Harmonie du soir to words of Beaudelaire, and Dansons la gigue! and Sérénade to words of Verlaine.
1 December 1897 Zululand is annexed to Natal.
The Bells of Yale for baritone, male chorus, piano, and violin by Charles Ives (23) is performed for the first time, in South Norwalk, Connecticut.
4 December 1897 The Treaty of Constantinople establishes peace between Greece and the Ottoman Empire. Crete is left under nominal Turkish sovereignty but with an international force to maintain order. Greece gives up a small amount of territory and 4,000,000 Turkish pounds.
6 December 1897 Edvard (54) and Nina Grieg, and violinist Johannes Wolff, perform a program of Grieg’s piano, violin, and vocal music at Windsor Castle in the presence of Queen Victoria. “The Queen is sweet...She is full of enthusiasm.”
7 December 1897 Rondel op.16c, a song by Edward Elgar (40) to words of Longfellow after Froissart, is performed for the first time, in St. James’ Hall, London.
Richard Strauss (33) conducts for the first time before a British audience, in Queen’s Hall, music of Wagner (†14), Mozart (†106) and himself. Among the trombonists is a Royal College of Music student named Gustav Holst (23).
8 December 1897 Three Shakespeare Choruses for female chorus and piano op.39 by Amy Beach (30) are performed for the first time, in Detroit.
11 December 1897 Ferruccio Busoni (31) departs London for Vienna after his first visit of six successful weeks.
12 December 1897 A French protectorate is extended over the Sultanate of Dar al-Kuti in central Africa.
13 December 1897 Marche religieuse for organ op.107 by Camille Saint-Saëns (62) is performed for the first time, in the Church of San Francisco, Madrid, by the composer.
15 December 1897 Spain concludes the Pact of Biak-na-Bato with Philippine insurgents. In return for ending the insurgency, Spain pays the revolutionaries 800,000 pesos, grants full amnesty and allows rebel leader Emilio Aguinaldo safe passage to exile in Hong Kong.
25 December 1897 Italy cedes Kassala to Egypt.
26 December 1897 Three handwriting experts declare that the original treasonous document in the Dreyfus case was not written by Major Esterhazy.
28 December 1897 Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand is performed for the first time, in Paris. It is an overnight sensation and will receive over 200 performances.
The Bride Elect, an operetta by John Philip Sousa (43) to his own words, is performed for the first time, in the Hyperion Theatre, New Haven, Connecticut.
29 December 1897 Wary of the recent German acquisition of Kiaochow (Jiaozhou), Russian forces seize Port Arthur (Lüshun) from China.
©2004-2012 Paul Scharfenberger
15 August 2012
Last Updated (Wednesday, 15 August 2012 05:33)