1901
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1 January 1901 The Commonwealth of Australia is formed from the British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and West Australia. The Earl of Hopetoun is sworn in as the first Governor-General. Edmund Barton is named the first Prime Minister.
The German Crown Land of North-West Africa is renamed Kamerun.
5 January 1901 Wilhelm Ernst replaces Carl Alexander as Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.
10 January 1901 Croatian immigrant Anthony Lucas strikes oil south of Beaumont, Texas beginning the Texas oil boom.
11 January 1901 Great Britain creates the Gambia Colony and Protectorate.
17 January 1901 Le Maschere, a commedia lirica e giocosa with words by Illica and music by Pietro Mascagni (37) is premiered simultaneously at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa, Teatro Costanzi, Rome, Teatro Regio, Turin, Teatro La Fenice, Venice, and Teatro Filarmonico, Verona. Except for Rome, where the composer conducts, the evening is a disaster. The critics are mixed but the public is not.
20 January 1901 Two songs for voice and orchestra by Charles Koechlin (33) are performed for the first time, in Paris: La prière du mort op.17/2 to words of Heredia, and Epiphanie op.17/3 to words of Leconte de Lisle.
21 January 1901 About 10:30, Giuseppe Verdi (87) loses consciousness in his room at the Grand Hotel, Milan. He shows signs of a cerebral hemorrhage, paralyzing his right side.
22 January 1901 Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and of all British conquests across the earth, Empress of India, dies at the age of 82 in the presence of her family (including her grandson Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany) at Osborne on the Isle of Wight. She is succeeded by her son, Edward VII.
23 January 1901 Racho Petrov Stoylov replaces Todor Ivanchov as Prime Minister of Bulgaria.
A fire in Montreal destroys 30 buildings and causes millions of dollars in damage.
24 January 1901 Giuseppe Verdi (87), now in a coma, receives the last rights of the Roman Catholic Church. Straw is laid on the street outside Verdi’s room so that traffic noises will not disturb him.
27 January 1901 02:50 Giuseppe Fortunio Francesco Verdi dies in Milan at the age of 87 years, three months, and 18 days.
29 January 1901 The Divertissement espagnol for saxophone and orchestra, by Charles Martin Loeffler is performed for the first time, in Chickering Hall, Boston on the eve of the composer’s 40th birthday.
30 January 1901 06:30 The body of Giuseppe Verdi is temporarily buried in the Milan municipal cemetery. According to his wishes, the ceremony is simple. See 28 February 1901.
The draft of the new Cuban constitution is published.
31 January 1901 Corporal punishment is henceforth forbidden in the French navy.
Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov opens to a mixed reception at the Moscow Art Theatre in a production directed by Konstantin Stanislavsky.
2 February 1901 Horn Quintet by Albert Roussel (31) is performed for the first time, in a performance of the Société National de Musique, in a mimed production in the Salle des Fêtes, Paris.
3 February 1901 A suite from Pelléas et Mélisande by Gabriel Fauré (55) is performed for the first time, in Paris. See 21 June 1898.
7 February 1901 The Chansons de Bilitis for two flutes, two harps, and celesta of Claude Debussy (38) is performed for the first time, in Paris.
8 February 1901 A visit to Madrid by the Count of Caserta, whose son is about to marry the sister of King Alfonso, is met by angry crowds because of the part played by the Count in the uprising of Don Carlos.
The Diamond on the March Snow op.36/6, a song for voice and piano by Jean Sibelius (35) to words of Wecksell, is performed for the first time, in Helsinki.
9 February 1901 Anti-clerical student demonstrations take place in Madrid, Valladolid, and Barcelona, especially aimed at Jesuits. Police use force to disperse the crowds, causing many injuries.
11 February 1901 Aschenbrödel Waltz by Johann Strauss (†1) is performed for the first time, in the Sophiensaal, Vienna. See 2 May 1901.
14 February 1901 Martial law is declared in Madrid to deal with angry crowds opposed to today’s wedding of Prince Charles of Bourbon to the Princess of the Asturias (sister to King Alfonso). The constitution is suspended. Police battle the crowds.
Charles T. Griffes (16) appears in public as pianist for the first time in a concert sponsored by the Elmira, New York Women’s Club. He plays Weber’s (†74) Rondo Brillante and Chopin’s (†51) Ballade op.23.
15 February 1901 Giuseppe Zanardelli replaces Giuseppe Saracco as Prime Minister of Italy. The government fell over a weak response to dock strikes in Genoa.
17 February 1901 Movements two and three of the revised version of the cantata Das klagende Lied, words and music by Gustav Mahler (40), is performed for the first time, in Vienna, under the baton of the composer. See 2 December 1934.
21 February 1901 A convention meeting in Havana adopts and signs a constitution for the Republic of Cuba.
23 February 1901 Germany and Great Britain draw the boundary between Nyasaland (Malawi) and German East Africa (Tanzania) in an agreement in Berlin.
Picarol, a zarzuela with words by Mestres and music by Enrique Granados (33), is performed for the first time, at the Teatre Líric Català, Barcelona. It enjoys a good success.
24 February 1901 After conducting a Vienna Philharmonic concert in the afternoon and Die Zauberflöte in the evening, Gustav Mahler (40) suffers severe bleeding due to hemorrhoids. Dr. Julius Hochenegg, a prominent surgeon, is called in and he manages to stop the bleeding. The doctor tells Mahler “half an hour later would have been too late.” (Leberecht 2010, 103)
25 February 1901 The formerly contested area of Amapá is incorporated into Brazil.
United States Steel is incorporated by J. Pierpont Morgan as one of the largest businesses in the world, capitalized at $1,400,000,000.
26 February 1901 Andrew Carnegie sells his stake in Carnegie Steel Company to J. Pierpont Morgan for $225,639,000 in bonds.
27 February 1901 The Russian Minister of Education, Nikolay Pavlovich Bogolepov, is shot by a Socialist Revolutionary in St. Petersburg.
Dimitrie Alexandru Sturdza replaces Petre Carp as Prime Minister of Romania.
According to the composer’s wishes, the bodies of Giuseppe Verdi (†0) and his wife, Giuseppina, are moved from the Cimitero Monumentale and buried together at the Casa di Riposa, Milan. This second funeral is attended by 300,000 people, including many eminent representatives of the Italian state and foreign governments. Also in attendance are Ruggero Leoncavallo (43), Giacomo Puccini (42) and Pietro Mascagni (37). Before the procession begins, a massed choir of 820 voices, directed by Arturo Toscanini, sings Va pensiero from Nabucco.
28 February 1901 British commander Lord Kitchener meets with Boer General Louis Botha at Middelburg to talk peace.
2 March 1901 Vêpres pour le commun des vierges op.31 for organ by Ernest Chausson (†1) is performed for the first time, in the hall of the Schola Cantorum, Paris.
The US Congress passes the Platt Amendment which limits Cuban sovereignty in return for withdrawal of US troops. At night, 15,000 Cubans take part in a protest in Havana against the Platt Amendment.
4 March 1901 Petko Stoychev Karavelov replaces Racho Petrov Stoylov as Prime Minister of Bulgaria.
Gustav Mahler (40) undergoes a third operation for hemorrhoids, in Vienna. It is a success but he is put in a nursing home to convalesce slowly.
The Fifty-seventh Congress of the United States convenes in Washington. Republicans have made modest gains in the House of Representatives and maintain a strong majority in the Senate.
A piano piece, Festive Prelude to the New Century, by Carl Nielsen (35), is performed for the first time, in Copenhagen.
5 March 1901 The Heroic Elegy and Triumphal Epilogue, a work for orchestra by Ralph Vaughan Williams (28), is performed for the first time, at the Royal College of Music, London.
L’archet op.26 for soprano, viola d’amore, women’s chorus, and piano by Charles Martin Loeffler (40) to words of Cros, is performed for the first time, in a private performance in the home of JM Sears, Boston. The composer performs on viola d’amore. See 4 February 1902.
6 March 1901 Práxedes Mateo-Sagasta Escolar replaces Marcelo de Azcárraga y Palmero as Prime Minister of Spain.
7 March 1901 Hubert Parry (53) gives his Inaugural Lecture as professor at Oxford University. His subject is “Style in Musical Art.” So many people desire admittance that the lecture is moved from the Sheldonian Theatre to the Town Hall.
Lord Kitchener presents the British conditions for peace to Boer General Louis Botha. They will be rejected.
Lola, a scène dramatique by Camille Saint-Saëns (65) to words of Bordèse, is performed for the first time, in Paris.
Violin Concerto no.1 by Charles Villiers Stanford (48) is performed for the first time, in Bournemouth conducted by the composer.
10 March 1901 Brumaire, ouverture pour le drame de Ed. Noël for orchestra by Jules Massenet (58) is performed for the first time, in Paris.
12 March 1901 Andrew Carnegie announces his retirement from business. He is resolved to give away his entire fortune, estimated at $300,000,000.
14 March 1901 The complete Symphony no.6 by Anton Bruckner (†4) is performed for the first time, in Stuttgart. See 11 February 1883 and 26 February 1899.
String quartet in B flat by Frank Bridge (22) is performed for the first time, at the Royal College of Music, London. It won the Sullivan Prize.
15 March 1901 An Irish Idyll op.77, a cycle for voice and piano by Charles Villiers Stanford (48) to words of O’Neill, is performed for the first time, in St. James’ Hall, London.
16 March 1901 South African peace talks at Middelburg break down. The British refuse to grant amnesty to the Boer rebels.
Two of the Seven Danish Songs by Fritz (Frederick) Delius (39), to words of Jacobsen, for solo voice and orchestra are performed for the first time, at the Société National de Musique, Paris, conducted by Vincent d’Indy (49). See 30 May 1899.
17 March 1901 The Wild Duck, for mixed chorus, by Leos Janácek (46), is performed for the first time, in Brünn (Brno).
20 March 1901 The Nocturne no.7, op.74 for piano, by Gabriel Fauré (55) is performed for the first time, at the Société National de Musique, Paris.
Cantique à lépouse from Deux mélodies op.36 for voice and piano by Ernest Chausson (†1) to words of Jounet is performed for the first time.
21 March 1901 Tritons for orchestra by John Ireland (21) is performed for the first time, in Alexandra House, London, conducted by Charles Villiers Stanford (48).
23 March 1901 Philippine patriot Emilio Aguinaldo is captured by the Americans at Palawan, Luzon and forced to sign a document calling on Filipinos to lay down their arms.
Five Songs op.69 and Five Songs op.70 for voice and piano by Edvard Grieg (57) to words of Benzon are performed for the first time, in Copenhagen. The critics are not impressed.
28 March 1901 The Texas Fuel Company is founded in Port Arthur by Joseph Cullinana and Arnold Schlaet. In 1959 it will become Texaco, Inc.
29 March 1901 The First Symphony of Alyeksandr Skryabin (29) is given it’s first complete performance, in Moscow. See 24 November 1900.
30 March 1901 Elections for the first Parliament since the declaration of the Commonwealth take place in Australia. The Protectionist Party wins the most seats, though not a majority, and their leader, Edmund Barton, will form the government.
31 March 1901 The lyric fairy tale Rusalka, with words by Kvapil after de La Motte Fouqué, and music by Antonín Dvorák (59), is performed for the first time, at the National Theatre, Prague.
1 April 1901 Readers of the Parisian La revue blanche are treated to the first music criticism of Monsieur Croche. It is the nom de plume of Claude Debussy (38).
Gustav Mahler (40) resigns as conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic.
2 April 1901 Mihajlo Vujic replaces Aleksa Jovanovic as Prime Minister of Serbia.
3 April 1901 The producer for the Gilbert and Sullivan (†0) operettas, Richard D’Oyly Carte, dies in London.
Heitor Villa-Lobos (14) enters Pedro II College in Rio de Janeiro.
Elections to the Danish Folketing result in gains for the Left Reform Party who constitute a majority.
4 April 1901 The Serenade for small orchestra by Ralph Vaughan Williams (28) is performed for the first time, at the Winter Gardens, Bournemouth.
5 April 1901 The US military government in Havana closes the offices of La Discusión newspaper for running an anti-Platt Amendment cartoon.
6 April 1901 The Constitutional Convention in Havana votes overwhelmingly to reject the Platt Amendment.
12 April 1901 Ernst Bloch (20) is engaged to Margarethe Schneider, a pianist, during a performance of Siegfried.
The Constitutional Convention in Havana rejects the Platt Amendment for a second time.
13 April 1901 Sérénade grotesque for piano by Maurice Ravel (26) is performed for the first time, in Paris.
15 April 1901 Wilhelm August von Breitling replaces Max, Baron Schott von Schottenstein as Prime Minister of Württemberg.
16 April 1901 An agreement between Great Britain and Italy, signed at Todluc (near Kassala, Sudan), defines the border between Sudan and Eritrea.
27 April 1901 The Emerald Isle, or The Caves of Carig-Cleena, an operetta by Arthur Sullivan (†0) to words of Hood, is performed for the first time, at the Savoy Theatre, London. Left unfinished at the composer’s death, it was completed by Edward German.
2 May 1901 The ballet Aschenbrödel by Johann Strauss (†1) on a scenario by Regel after Kollmann and completed by Josef Bayer, is performed for the first time, at the Royal Opera, Berlin.
3 May 1901 Albert Carré, director of the Opéra-Comique, gives Claude Debussy (38) a written understanding that he will stage Pelléas et Mélisande.
8 May 1901 A British investigating commission finds that 1,250,000 Indians have starved to death since 1899. They say that overpopulation is the cause.
9 May 1901 The first Australian Parliament convenes in Melbourne.
10 May 1901 The Piano Sonata in e flat minor of Paul Dukas (35) is performed for the first time, in the Salle Pleyel, Paris.
Incidental music to Aristophanes’ play The Birds by John Knowles Paine (62) is performed for the first time, in the Fogg Art Museum of Harvard University.
12 May 1901 Fantasy on “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme” op.52/2 for organ by Max Reger (28) is performed for the first time, in Berlin.
13 May 1901 Henry F. Gilbert (32) arrives in Paris on his second trip to Europe. During his two-week stay he will witness Louise by Gustave Charpentier (40). It has a profound effect on him. “There in the top gallery of the Opéra Comique in Paris I vowed to devote the rest of my life to musical composition come what may.”
14 May 1901 Antonín Dvorák (59) takes the oath as a member of the Austrian House of Peers, in Czech.
15 May 1901 An Old Flame, a song by Charles Ives (26) to his own words, is performed for the first time, at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York.
17 May 1901 Werner Joseph Mayer (Egk) is born in Auchsesheim near Donauwörth, the second of four children born to Joseph Mayer, a teacher, and Maria Mayer.
Pope Leo XIII publicly commends the Benedictine monks of Solesmes for their reconstruction of the Gregorian modes.
To Ole Bull for male chorus by Edvard Grieg (57) to words of Welhaven is performed for the first time, at the unveiling of the Ole Bull statue in Bergen.
21 May 1901 The first excessive speed law for automobiles in the United States is enacted by the State of Connecticut. Drivers may not exceed eight miles per hour (13 kph) in cities, twelve miles per hour (19 kph) on country roads.
23 May 1901 Gaetano Bresci, the assassin of King Umberto of Italy, is found dead in Santo Stefano Prison on Ventotene Island where he is serving a life term at hard labor. Some claim suicide, others murder.
Ave Maria op.9b, for eight-part female choir, by Gustav Holst (26) is performed for the first time, in St. James’ Hall, London.
28 May 1901 The Constitutional Convention in Havana narrowly accepts the Platt Amendment which limits Cuban sovereignty in return for removal of US troops.
30 May 1901 Maxim Gorky, arrested on charges of printing revolutionary literature, is released from prison after Tolstoy intercedes on his behalf.
Hail! Moon op.18/2 for male chorus by Jean Sibelius (35) to words of the Kalevala is performed for the first time, in Helsinki.
Much Ado About Nothing, an opera with words by Sturgis after Shakespeare, music by Charles Villiers Stanford (48) is performed for the first time, at Covent Garden, London. The public and press give it a generally positive response.
1 June 1901 Carl Nielsen’s (35) Cantata for the Students’ Association, for solo voices, piano, and other instruments, to words of Drachmann, is performed for the first time, in Copenhagen, the composer directing from the piano.
2 June 1901 Taro Katsura replaces Kimmochi Saionji as Prime Minister of Japan.
5 June 1901 The Quintet for clarinet, horn, violin, cello, and piano in D by Ralph Vaughan Williams (28) is performed for the first time, in Queen’s Hall, London.
11 June 1901 The Cook Islands are incorporated into New Zealand.
12 June 1901 The Cuban constitutional convention accedes to the Platt Amendment verbatim, effectively making Cuba an American protectorate. Officials in Washington announce that US troops will soon be withdrawn from the island. The acceptance of 28 May included assurances from US Secretary of War Elihu Root that the US would never interfere in the internal affairs of Cuba. Root demanded that those statements be removed.
13 June 1901 Ode to Music for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra by Hubert Parry (53) to words of Benson, is performed for the first time, at the Royal College of Music, London. It is very enthusiastically received.
15 June 1901 Universal Edition is founded in Vienna.
Our Father for tenor, mixed chorus, and piano, by Leos Janácek (46), is performed for the first time, in Brünn (Brno), under the direction of the composer.
17 June 1901 French chemist Eugène-Anatole Demarçay publishes his discovery of the rare earth element Europia.
20 June 1901 The Cockaigne Overture (In London Town) op.40 by Edward Elgar (44), is performed for the first time, at Queen’s Hall, London, directed by the composer. It is a great success with press and public.
22 June 1901 Gustav Holst (26) marries Emily Isobel Harrison at Fulham Registrar’s Office.
23 June 1901 The symphonic diptych Vivre Aimer, by Ernest Bloch (20) is performed for the first time, in Geneva.
24 June 1901 The work of an unknown 19-year-old Spanish artist named Pablo Picasso is exhibited for the first time in Paris.
Prelude, Chorale, and Fugue for orchestra by Ottorino Respighi (21) is performed for the first time, at the Rossini Music School, Bologna. It is a final examination for Respighi, who conducts.
Harry Partch is born in Oakland, California, the third of three children born to Virgil Franklin Partch, a postal clerk and Jennie Childers, both former missionaries in China.
28 June 1901 Maurice Ravel’s (26) Prix de Rome entry, the cantata Myrrha, to words of Bessier, for three solo voices and orchestra, is performed for the first time, at the Paris Conservatoire.
30 June 1901 Maurice Ravel (26) receives the ‘deuxième second’ Prix de Rome for his cantata Myrrha, behind Andre Caplet and Gabriel Dupont.
1 July 1901 An electric railroad is inaugurated in France.
The Association Law goes into effect in France. It bans all religious associations not sanctioned by the state and it regulates those that are.
From this day on, all government officials hired in Bohemia and Moravia must demonstrate proficiency in both Czech and German.
3 July 1901 Ruth Porter Crawford (Seeger) is born in Liverpool, Ohio, the second of two children born to Clark Crawford, a minister, and Clara Arletta Graves, daughter of a minister.
4 July 1901 A civilian colonial administration takes power in the Philippines, replacing the American military government. William Howard Taft is the first governor-general.
6 July 1901 Antonín Dvorák (59) becomes the director of the Prague Conservatory, although he has no administrative duties.
15 July 1901 74,000 steelworkers go out on strike in Pittsburgh.
24 July 1901 Johan Henrik Deuntzer replaces Hannibal Sehested as Prime Minister of Denmark.
1 August 1901 Abraham Kuyper replaces Nicolas Gerhard Pierson as chief minister of the Netherlands.
2 August 1901 Vincent d’Indy (50) writes to his friend Guy Ropartz who is about to travel to Lyon. He warns Ropartz against the Jews and Socialists in music there who support Dreyfus.
22 August 1901 The Cadillac Company is founded in Detroit, named after 18th century French explorer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac.
1 September 1901 Feeling isolated, Max Reger (28) moves from Weiden to Munich.
2 September 1901 In a speech at the Minnesota State Fair in St. Paul, Vice President Theodore Roosevelt advises that in foreign policy, his country “speak softly and carry a big stick.”
5 September 1901 Lili Boulanger (8) makes her performing debut, as violinist at Notre Dame de Bon Secours in Trouville, on the Normandy coast, just across the mouth of the Seine from Le Havre.
6 September 1901 United States President William McKinley is shot at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo by anarchist Leon Czolgosz. Czolgosz is captured and beaten by McKinley’s guards. At 17:29 an operation commences to recover the bullet from the President’s abdomen. It is unsuccessful.
7 September 1901 China is forced to sign the Boxer Protocol which requires it to apologize for the deaths of foreign diplomats during the Boxer Rebellion, erect a memorial to the German minister, root out anti-foreignism among government officials and pay an indemnity of approximately $300,000,000 to France, Germany, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. As security, almost all Chinese money is placed in foreign hands.
9 September 1901 Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec dies at his family chateau of Malromé at the age of 36.
14 September 1901 Two works for small orchestra, Chanson de matin, op.15a and Chanson de nuit, op.15b, by Edward Elgar (44), are performed for the first time, in Queen’s Hall, London.
United States President William McKinley dies of wounds suffered when he was shot by Leon Czolgosz in Buffalo on 6 September, and from gangrene as a result of the operation to recover the bullet. Vice-President Theodore Roosevelt succeeds him as the youngest American president.
18 September 1901 Colombian forces defeat invading Venezuelans at La Hacha.
22 September 1901 Segunda serenata andaluza and Suite Fantástica for piano by Manuel de Falla (24) are performed for the first time, in Teatro del Parque Genovés, Cádiz by the composer.
23 September 1901 Leon Czolgosz goes on trial in Buffalo for the murder of US President William McKinley.
26 September 1901 Great Britain annexes the Ashanti Kingdom (Ghana) and Ocean Island (Banaba).
Leon Czolgosz is sentenced to death in Buffalo for the murder of US President William McKinley.
The lyric drama Judith by George Whitefield Chadwick (46) to words of Langdon after the composer is performed for the first time, in a concert setting in Worcester, Massachusetts conducted by the composer.
30 September 1901 Registration of all vehicles which can travel faster than 25 kph becomes compulsory in France.
3 October 1901 Emir Abdor Rahman Khan of Afghanistan dies in Kabul and is succeeded by his son Habibullah Khan.
The Victor Talking Machine Company is incorporated.
4 October 1901 John Philip Sousa (46) and his band arrive in London for their second tour of Great Britain.
7 October 1901 Arnold Schoenberg (27) marries Mathilde von Zemlinsky in a civil ceremony in Pressburg (Bratislava). See 18 October 1901.
16 October 1901 Black leader Booker T. Washington visits the White House at the invitation of President Roosevelt. The visit incites controversy and violence in certain areas of the country.
18 October 1901 Arnold Schoenberg (27) marries Mathilde von Zemlinsky in a religious ceremony in the Church of the Dorotheer Community, Vienna. See 7 October 1901.
19 October 1901 Edward Elgar’s (44) Pomp and Circumstance Marches nos. 1 and 2, op.39/1-2, are performed for the first time, in Liverpool.
21 October 1901 Incidental music to the play Grania and Diarmid by Moore and Yeats, composed by Edward Elgar (44), is performed for the first time, at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin.
Béla Bartók (20) makes his Budapest debut at a student concert, playing the b minor piano sonata of Franz Liszt (†15).
22 October 1901 Edward Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance March no.1 is performed in London for the first time. The conductor, Henry Wood, says “The people simply rose and yelled...the one and only time in the history of the Promenade concerts that an orchestral item was accorded a double encore.”
23 October 1901 The ‘definitive’ version of Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov’s (57) opera The Maid of Pskov to words of Krestovsky, Musorgsky (†20), and the composer after May, is performed for the first time, at the Bolshoy Theatre, Moscow. See 13 January 1873.
The tragédie lyrique Les barbares, words by Sardou and Gheusi, music by Camille Saint-Saëns (66), is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra.
The Hymnos Andron op.53 for solo voices, male chorus, and orchestra, words by Goodell and music by Horatio Parker (38) is performed for the first time, at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut for the 200th anniversary of the founding of the college.
24 October 1901 The Eastman Kodak Company is incorporated in Trenton, New Jersey.
Anna Edson Taylor becomes the first person to survive going over Niagara Falls in a barrel.
25 October 1901 British Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain remarks in Edinburgh that whatever severity the British have used against the Boers, it pales beside the atrocities practiced by Germans on the French in the Franco-Prussian War. German politicians and press react with anger.
26 October 1901 Edward Elgar’s (44) song In the Dawn, to words of Benson, is performed for the first time, in Queen’s Hall, London.
27 October 1901 Nocturnes, by Claude Debussy (39), is given it’s first complete performance, in Paris. See 9 December 1900.
29 October 1901 Leon Czolgosz is executed in Auburn, New York by electrocution, for killing President William McKinley.
31 October 1901 Piece for organ op.59/2 by Max Reger (28) is performed for the first time, in Zwickau.
Come, gentle night, a song by Edward Elgar (44) to words of Bingham, is performed for the first time, in Royal Albert Hall, London.
3 November 1901 Regular passenger rail service begins from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok.
4 November 1901 Incidental music to Clemenceau’s play Le voile du bonheur op.88 by Gabriel Fauré (56) is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre de la Renaissance, Paris.
7 November 1901 At a dinner party at the home of the Viennese anatomist Emil Zuckerkandl, Gustav Mahler (41) once again meets the daughter of the late landscape painter Anton Schindler, Alma Maria Schindler (22).
9 November 1901 Viceroy Lord Curzon creates the Northwest Frontier Province of India (Pakistan) as a buffer between Afghanistan and Punjab.
The Second Piano Concerto of Sergey Rakhmaninov (28) is given its first complete performance, in Moscow, with the composer at the piano. It is well received. He is now financially solvent. See 15 December 1900.
Die Rose vom Liebesgarten, an opera with words by Grun and music by Hans Pfitzner (32), is performed for the first time, in Elberfeld, conducted by the composer.
Three works for organ by Max Reger (28) are performed for the first time, in Munich: Fantasy on “Halleluja! Gott zu loben, bleibe meine Seelenfreud” op.52/3 and the Pieces for Organ op.59/7,9.
13 November 1901 Küçük Mehmed Said Pasha replaces Halil Rifat Pasha as Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire.
15 November 1901 Miller Reese Hutchinson of New York receives a US patent for the first practical electric hearing aid which he will market under the name Acousticon.
18 November 1901 A second treaty negotiated by Lord Pauncefote of Preston, British ambassador in Washington, and US Secretary of State John Hay gives the US freedom to construct a canal across the Isthmus of Panama, to fortify it, maintain it, and secure its neutrality.
After a performance of Gluck’s (†114) Orfeo ed Euridice in Vienna, Gustav Mahler (41) asks Alma Schindler to introduce him to her mother. He then invites the two of them to his office where they have tea and a pleasant conversation. He is invited to their home and accepts.
20 November 1901 Panamanian rebels capture Colon.
Alma Schindler confides to her diary that “Mahler’s (41) picture is graven in my heart.”
The conte lyrique Griséldis, words by Silvestre and Morand, music by Jules Massenet (59), is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre Favart, Paris. It is a financial success, but the critics are mixed.
21 November 1901 Feuersnot, an opera by Richard Strauss (37) to words of von Wolzogen, is performed for the first time, at the Dresden Court Opera, under the direction of the composer. It is a success.
22 November 1901 Joaquín Rodrigo Vidre is born at Sagunto, Spain, the youngest of six children born to Vicente Rodrigo Peirats, a landowner, and the youngest of ten children born to Juana Vidre Ribelles.
Alexandros Thrasivoulou Zamis replaces Georgios Theotokis as Prime Minister of Greece.
24 November 1901 A Feast in Time of Plague, dramatic scenes by Cesar Cui (66) after Pushkin, is performed for the first time, in Novy Theatre, Moscow.
25 November 1901 Gustav Mahler (41) conducts his own Fourth Symphony in it’s world premiere at the Kaim Saal, Munich. The critics are not impressed. “No trace of spontaneity, not a single autonomous idea, no original feeling, indeed not even pure colors for the impure images--nothing but technical skill, calculation, and inner deceit, a sickly, ill-tasting Supermusic.”
28 November 1901 A new constitution for the State of Alabama requires literacy tests and proof that one’s grandfather was eligible to vote.
1 December 1901 The Sousa (47) Band appears in a command performance before the British royal family at Sandringham. He requests permission of King Edward to dedicate a march to him. The request is granted. See 21 May 1902.
A seven page pamphlet is published in Newton Center, Massachusetts announcing the establishment of the Wa-Wan Press “Established for the Periodical Publication of Contemporary American Compositions.” The editor of the Wa-Wan Press is Arthur Farwell (29).
2 December 1901 Gustav Mahler (41) tells Alma Schindler that he loves her and they share a kiss. She is drawn to him but feels remorse for the promises she has made to Alexander von Zemlinsky.
Concert allegro, op.46 for piano, of Edward Elgar (44) is performed for the first time, in St. James’ Hall, London. It is warmly received by the audience but critics are cool.
4 December 1901 String Quintet in e minor by Frank Bridge (22) is performed for the first time, at the Royal College of Music, London.
6 December 1901 Representatives of Nicaragua and the United States sign an agreement for the building of a canal across Nicaragua.
7 December 1901 Gustav Mahler (41) and Alma Schindler secretly decide to marry.
The Suite no.2 for two pianos, by Sergey Rakhmaninov (28) is performed for the first time, by Alexander Siloti and the composer, in Moscow.
9 December 1901 Jules Massenet’s (59) ballet Les Rosati, to a story by Mariquita, is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre Favart, Paris.
10 December 1901 King Carl XV of Sweden awards the first Nobel Prizes at ceremonies in Stockholm.
12 December 1901 Alma Schindler writes to Alexander von Zemlinsky, asking his forgiveness and his blessing for her decision to be with Gustav Mahler (41).
Guglielmo Marconi receives the letter “S” by wireless telegraph from Poldhu, Cornwall to St. John’s, Newfoundland, the first transatlantic radio signal.
14 December 1901 US biochemist Jokichi Takamine informs the Physiological Society in London that he has synthesized epinephrine (adrenaline), the first pure hormone synthesized from natural sources.
Guglielmo Marconi informs the press in St. John’s Newfoundland of his achievement of two days ago.
Fritz (Frederick) Delius’ (39) orchestral work Paris: A Nocturne is performed for the first time, in Elberfeld.
Béla Bartók (20) is paid for making music for the first time, by a Budapest casino.
15 December 1901 The Cello Sonata op.19 by Sergey Rakhmaninov (28) is performed for the first time, in Moscow, by cellist Anatol Brandukov and the composer at the piano.
16 December 1901 Arnold Schoenberg (27) is hired as conductor at the Wohlzogen Theater, Berlin.
Deux Rhapsodies for oboe, viola, and piano by Charles Martin Loeffler (40) is performed for the first time, in Chickering Hall, Boston, the composer playing the viola part.
Largo for violin and organ by Charles Ives (27) is performed for the first time, in Central Presbyterian Church, New York, the composer at the organ.
17 December 1901 Symphonic Poem op.14 by Antonín Dvorák (60) is performed for the first time, in Vienna, 27 years after it was composed.
18 December 1901 Gretel op.11/5, a song for voice and piano by Hans Pfitzner (32) to words of Busse, is performed for the first time, in Berlin.
19 December 1901 Incidental music to Wied and Petersen’s play Atalanta, by Carl Nielsen (36) is performed for the first time, in Copenhagen.
20 December 1901 Alma Schindler receives a letter from Gustav Mahler (41) indicating that she will have to give up any ambitions to be a composer. At first angry, she will convince herself tomorrow that this is the best course.
The last spike is driven in the Uganda Railway. It is opened between Mombasa and Lake Victoria but, ironically, it does not extend to Uganda.
23 December 1901 Gustav Mahler (41) and Alma Schindler become engaged, before her guardians, Carl and Anna Moll, at their home in Vienna.
25 December 1901 Boers attack and defeat British forces at Tweefontein
26 December 1901 The first locomotive arrives at Lake Victoria via the Uganda Railway.
27 December 1901 The engagement of Gustav Mahler (41) and Alma Schindler appears for the first time in the Vienna papers.
29 December 1901 Le ménestral reports that Mary Garden will play Melisande in the upcoming Debussy-Maeterlinck opera. The poet is so angry that he goes to the composer’s house with the intent of using his cane on Debussy (39). Debussy remains unmoved and Maeterlinck will seek to destroy the performance. There is reason to believe that Maeterlinck desires that his mistress, Georgette Leblanc be cast in the role.
31 December 1901 Tomás Estrada y Palma wins the presidential election in Cuba. He is the only candidate, his opponents having withdrawn charging favoritism on the part of the North American occupiers.
©Paul Scharfenberger 2004-2012
16 August 2012
Last Updated (Thursday, 16 August 2012 05:16)