1909
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1 January 1909 The insurance firm of Ives (34) and Myrick is formed as agents of the Mutual Insurance Company.
2 January 1909 The second movement of the Suite no.2 for orchestra by Béla Bartók (27) is performed for the first time, in Berlin, conducted by the composer. It is the only time he conducts professionally. See 22 November 1909.
5 January 1909 Der Abend for solo voice and piano by Alphons Diepenbrock (46) to words of Brentano, is performed for the first time, in Diligentia, The Hague.
9 January 1909 Ernest Shackelton and his expedition reach to within 160 km of the South Pole and establish a furthest south at 88° 23’S.
The first flight in a heavier-than-air craft in the British Empire takes place when Douglas McCurdy flies nine meters above Bras d’Or Lake at Baddeck, Nova Scotia at 65 kph. 150 townspeople, including all the school children, witness the event.
Ion I. Constantin Bratianu replaces Dimitrie Alexandru Sturdza as Prime Minister of Romania.
Representatives of Colombia, Panama, and the United States sign treaties in Washington. Colombia agrees to recognize the independence of Panama. Panama agrees to pay its share of Colombia’s national debt.
Maurice Ravel’s (33) piano work Gaspard de la nuit is performed for the first time, at the Salle Erard, Paris.
15 January 1909 Three members of the Shackleton expedition, Douglas Mawson, Edgeworth David, and Alistair Mackay, become the first humans to stand at the South Magnetic Pole.
23 January 1909 An earthquake strikes western Persia killing over 8,000 people.
The Italian liner SS Florida rams the British liner RMS Republic in fog off Nantucket. For the first time, Marconi’s wireless device summons help. Although Republic will eventually sink, the six people lost were killed by the original collision.
Distraught by incessant charges that she is having an affair with Giacomo Puccini (50), brought by Sra. Elvira Puccini, Doria Manfredi, their servant, ingests poison. The dose is not immediately fatal but renders her seriously ill. See 28 January 1909.
Night Ride and Sunrise, a tone poem by Jean Sibelius (43), is performed for the first time, in St. Petersburg. The critics are not kind, although Alyeksandr Glazunov (43) tells the composer he likes it.
25 January 1909 Is My Team Ploughing?, a song by Ralph Vaughan Williams (36) to words of Houseman, is performed for the first time, in Aeolian Hall, London.
Elektra op.58, an opera by Richard Strauss (44) to words of Hofmannsthal, is performed for the first time, at the Dresden Court Opera. The audience is confused, the press hostile.
26 January 1909 Phantasie-Trio for violin, cello, and piano by John Ireland (29) is performed for the first time, in Aeolian Hall, London.
28 January 1909 Doria Manfredi, servant to Giacomo (50) and Elvira Puccini, dies after having ingested poison on 23 January. She was distraught over charges of a liaison between herself and the composer brought by Sra. Puccini. An autopsy reveals that the charges were unfounded. See 1 February 1909.
30 January 1909 Funeral Song op.5 for orchestra by Igor Stravinsky (26) is performed for the first time, in St. Petersburg.
1 February 1909 One year after his father and brother were killed by revolutionaries, Manuel II becomes King of Portugal.
The family of Doria Manfredi brings suit against Elvira Puccini, charging defamation of character which resulted in her suicide. Sra. Puccini will be found guilty and sentenced to prison, which she will avoid by settling with the family for a large sum of money. See 23 January 1909.
Sergey Prokofiev (17) attends with his friend and fellow composer, 21-year-old Nikolay Myaskovsky, the Russian premiere of Alyeksandr Skryabin’s (37) Poem of Ecstasy in St. Petersburg. Both men are embarrassed to concede that they understand neither the music nor its meaning. See 10 December 1908.
2 February 1909 Incidental music to Drotzal’s play (after the brothers Grimm) Perce-Neige et les sept gnomes by Jules Massenet (66) is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre Fémina, Paris.
4 February 1909 Charles T. Griffes (24) signs a contract with G. Schirmer, Inc. for five German songs.
6 February 1909 Scherzo fantastique op.3 for orchestra by Igor Stravinsky (26) is performed for the first time, in St. Petersburg. Also possibly performed is an early version of Fireworks op.4. An interested ballet impressario named Sergey Dyaghilev is in the audience. See 17 June 1908.
8 February 1909 A concert of the music of Mily Balakirev (72) set for this date, at which the composer was to have conducted, is cancelled because of embarrassingly low ticket sales.
9 February 1909 Grand Duke Vladimir Alyeksandrovich, uncle of Tsar Nikolay II, dies in St. Petersburg. He is the most important patron of Sergey Dyaghilev and the Ballet Russe. This causes the cancellation of Russian government backing for the company.
The body of Catulle Mendès, critic and opera librettist, is found in the railway tunnel of Saint-Germain. His death is thought to be an accident.
France and Germany reach agreement in Berlin on their conflicting claims in Morocco. Germany will accept French interests in Morocco in return for economic considerations.
The fourth book of the piano suite Iberia by Isaac Albéniz (48) is performed for the first time, at the Salon d’Automne, Paris.
11 February 1909 The Cantata In Celebration of the Year 1659 by Carl Nielsen (43), to words of LC Nielsen, is performed for the first time, in Copenhagen Town Hall.
12 February 1909 Amoureux séparées, the second of the Deux Poèmes chinois op.12 for voice and piano by Albert Roussel (39) to words of Roché after Giles, is performed for the first time, in Le Havre.
The National Negro Committee is founded in New York led by black intellectuals, such as WEB DuBois, and white progressives.
13 February 1909 Deux morceaux op.57 for piano by Alyeksandr Skryabin (37) are performed for the first time, in St. Petersburg by the composer.
14 February 1909 The Teatro Flores in Acapulco catches fire. Between 250-300 people are killed.
Flammes op.10 for voice and piano by Albert Roussel (39) to words of Jean-Aubry is performed for the first time, in Le Havre, the composer at the keyboard. Also premiered is Amoureux séparés, the second of Roussel’s Deux Poèmes chinois op.12 for voice and piano to words of Roché, the composer at the keyboard.
16 February 1909 The New York Sun reports that sufficient funds have been raised to revive the New York Philharmonic Society and that Gustav Mahler (48) has been engaged as conductor.
20 February 1909 The first “Futurist” manifesto appears in Le Figaro written by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti.
Several businessmen in Detroit form the Hudson Motor Car Company.
Two of the Four Old English Carols op.20b by Gustav Holst (34), to anonymous words, for chorus and piano, are performed for the first time, in Blackburn, Lancashire. See 26 March 1909.
22 February 1909 Leos Janácek (54) is named chair of the Club of the Friends of Art in Brno.
In the Fen Country for orchestra by Ralph Vaughan Williams (36) is performed for the first time, in Queen’s Hall, London.
After a round-the-world voyage of 15 months to display American naval power, the Great White Fleet returns to Hampton Roads, Virginia reviewed by President Roosevelt.
23 February 1909 Sergey Prokofiev’s (17) “Second Symphony” is given its first performance, privately, in St. Petersburg. He will withdraw it.
27 February 1909 After a concert in Queen’s Hall, London wherein he conducts two of his works, Claude Debussy (45) meets Jean Sibelius (43) for the first time. The two are complimentary towards each other.
28 February 1909 Turkey recognizes Austria’s annexation of Bosnia.
1 March 1909 Suite no.1 for orchestra op.3 by Béla Bartók (27) is given its first complete performance, in Budapest. See 29 November 1905.
2 March 1909 Ave atque vale op.114, a choral overture for chorus and orchestra by Charles Villiers Stanford (56) to words of the Bible, is performed for the first time, in Queen’s Hall, London, conducted by the composer. It is intended to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of Franz Joseph Haydn and the birth of Alfred, Lord Tennyson.
4 March 1909 William Howard Taft replaces Theodore Roosevelt as President of the United States. The 61st Congress of the United States convenes in Washington. President Taft’s Republican Party remains in control of both houses.
6 March 1909 The Serbian government accedes to the insistence of the great powers and recognizes the annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina by Austria-Hungary and will roll back its recent arms buildup.
9 March 1909 Interlude pour six trombones op.42/5 by Charles Koechlin (41) is performed for the first time, in Salle Pleyel, Paris.
Sinfonischer Prolog zu einer Tragodie op.108 by Max Reger (35) is performed for the first time, in Cologne.
10 March 1909 Representatives of Great Britain and Siam sign an agreement in Bangkok effectively dividing the Malay states between them.
11 March 1909 Trois chansons de Charles d’Orléans for acappella chorus by Claude Debussy (46) is performed for the first time, in Salle de L’Université des arts, in Paris.
Capriccio no.2 for piano by Frank Bridge (30) is performed for the first time, in Bechstein Hall, London.
13 March 1909 Gabriel Fauré (63) is elected a member of the Institute in the Academy of Fine Arts.
15 March 1909 Selfridges Department Store is opened in London. It is deemed by many to be the first modern department store in Great Britain.
26 March 1909 Russian forces invade Persia in support of Shah Muhammed Ali and his desire for autocracy.
Symphony no.1 op.15 by Karol Szymanowski (26) is performed for the first time, in Warsaw.
Four Old English Carols op.20b by Gustav Holst (34) for chorus and piano, are given their first complete performance, in Blackburn, Lancashire. See 20 February 1909.
27 March 1909 New compositions are performed for the first time, by the Société National de Musique in Salle Erard, Paris: Quintet for piano and strings op.51 by Florent Schmitt (38), and Four piano pieces by Manuel de Falla (32), Aragonesa, Cubana, Montañesa, and Andaluza. These are known collectively as Cuatro piezas españolas.
28 March 1909 With the death of Prince Karl Günther of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, the line comes to an end. The principality joins in personal union with Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, under Prince Günther Viktor.
30 March 1909 Two piano pieces by Gabriel Fauré (63), Barcarolle no.9 op.101 and Impromptu no.5 op.102, are performed for the first time, at the Salle Erard, Paris.
31 March 1909 France extends a protectorate over the Sultanate of Rafai (Central African Republic).
Gustav Mahler (48), suffering from influenza, conducts the New York Philharmonic Orchestra for the first time, in Carnegie Hall.
1 April 1909 On advice from his doctors, Isaac Albéniz (48) departs Paris with his family for the resort of Cambo-les-Bains.
Modest Musorgsky’s (†28) incomplete comic opera The Marriage, to words of Gogol, is performed for the first time, at the Suvorin Theatre School, St. Petersburg. See 6 October 1868.
The last United States troops depart Cuba.
The Opium Exclusion Act goes into effect. It is the first federal law in the United States prohibiting a narcotic.
2 April 1909 Sebastião Custódio de Sousa Teles replaces Arturo Alberto de Campos Henriques as Prime Minister of Portugal.
A Piano Trio by Leos Janácek (54) is performed for the first time, in Brünn (Brno).
A scheduled performance of Richard Strauss’ (44) opera Salome in Boston is banned by Mayor Hibbard.
6 April 1909 Robert Peary, Matthew Henson, Coqueeh, Ootah, Eginwah, Seegloo, and several dogs are the first living beings in recorded history to reach the North Pole. (Many people now believe that Peary did not reach the Pole)
The Ottoman Parliament recognizes the Austrian annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina in return for compensatory payments.
7 April 1909 Erich Loeffler, 46-year-old cellist with the Boston Symphony and brother of Charles Martin Loeffler (48), kills himself with gas in a West Springfield Street apartment in Boston.
9 April 1909 The first wireless transmission of the human voice takes place when Enrico Caruso’s singing is broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, to the home of Lee de Forest. Mr. de Forest invented the Audion, a three-element vacuum tube which made radio possible.
10 April 1909 Incidental music to Brieux’s play La foi by Camille Saint-Saëns (73) is performed for the first time, in Monaco.
Gustav (48) and Alma Mahler, their daughter and governess sail from New York after his second season with the Metropolitan Opera.
11 April 1909 Several Jewish families gather outside Yafo and hold a lottery for a division of land to build homes. The community will one day be known as Tel Aviv.
12 April 1909 France extends a protectorate over the Sultanate of Zemio (Central African Republic).
13 April 1909 A counterrevolution against the nine-month-old liberal constitution breaks out among army units in Constantinople. Troops surround Parliament, deposing Grand Vizier Hilmi Pasha.
14 April 1909 The Ottoman government begins wholesale massacre of Armenians in the Adana region. In the first two days, over 2,000 Armenians will be killed.
The Anglo-Persian Oil Company, Ltd. is founded to exploit recent oil discoveries in Persia. It will one day be known as British Petroleum.
16 April 1909 Suite in E for string orchestra op.63 by Arthur Foote (56) is performed for the first time, in Boston.
19 April 1909 The Ottoman Empire officially recognizes the independence of Bulgaria.
A Sonata for violin and piano by Karol Szymanowski (26) is performed for the first time, in Warsaw.
Into the Twilight for orchestra by Arnold Bax (25) is performed for the first time, in Queen’s Hall, London.
20 April 1909 A pregnant Harmony Ives, wife of Charles Ives (34), suffers bleeding and is rushed to a New York hospital where she loses the baby and undergoes an emergency hysterectomy. She will be hospitalized until 15 May.
23 April 1909 The Second Symphony of Mily Balakirev (72) is performed for the first time, at the Free School of Music, St. Petersburg.
Gustav Mahler (48) meets Auguste Rodin for the first time, in Paris. Mahler will sit for Rodin several times over the next month as Rodin produces a bust of the composer.
24 April 1909 Troops of the Young Turk movement enter Constantinople and, after some fighting, put down the counterrevolution begun 13 April.
25 April 1909 Young Turk troops arrive in Adana and begin the massacre of Armenians again. 2,000 more Armenians are killed. Turks set fire to the Mouseghian School which holds students and thousands of refugees. Those inside are burned to death or killed as they try to flee.
27 April 1909 Sultan Abdülhamid II of the Ottoman Empire is overthrown by unanimous vote of both houses of Parliament and succeeded by his brother Mehmet V. He supported the recent counterrevolution. Celebrations break out through the streets of Constantinople. The massacre of Armenians in the Adana region ends. In two weeks, 25,000 people have been killed.
The Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy recognize the independence of Bulgaria.
Phantasy in c minor for piano trio by Frank Bridge (30) is performed for the first time, in London.
1 May 1909 The Isle of the Dead, a symphonic poem by Sergey Rakhmaninov (36), is performed for the first time, in Moscow, conducted by the composer.
4 May 1909 Incidental music to The Stepney Children’s Pageant op.27b by Gustav Holst (34) is performed for the first time, in Whitechapel Art Gallery, London.
5 May 1909 Bacchus, an opera by Jules Massenet (66) to words of Mendès, is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra. It is a dismal failure, receiving only six performances.
10 May 1909 Two of the Hymns from the Rig-Veda op.24/4-5 for voice and piano, translated by the composer, Gustav Holst (34), are performed for the first time, in the Hotel Cecil, London.
13 May 1909 Venceslau de Sousa Pereira de Lima replaces Sebastião Custódio de Sousa Teles as Prime Minister of Portugal.
The cantata Roussalka (Dnégouchka) by Nadia Boulanger (22) to words of Delaquys is performed for the first time, in Paris. It is her Prix de Rome entry. The programming is controversial, since Prix de Rome entries which do not win are usually never performed again.
18 May 1909 20:00 Isaac Manuel Francisco Albéniz dies at Cambô-les-Bains of Bright’s Disease, aged 48 years, eleven months, and 19 days. His mortal remains will be brought to Barcelona for a funeral mass and burial.
A Cantata for the National Exhibition at Aarhus by Carl Nielsen (43) to the words of LC Nielsen, is performed for the first time, in Aarhus, directed by the composer. Because of the rush to finish this work, parts of it have been composed by his student, Emilius Bangert.
19 May 1909 The Ballets Russes of Sergey Diaghilev gives its first performance, in the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris. Among the dancers is Vaclav Nizhinsky and Anna Pavlova.
25 May 1909 The Indian Councils Act receives royal assent. It gives native Indians seats on legislative councils and makes allowance for Moslem representation.
The Left Reform Party continues its losing ways in voting for the Danish Folketing. The Right Party and the Radical Left Party both gain seats. However, the Left Reform remains the largest party.
26 May 1909 Seven selections from Gabriel Fauré’s (64) song cycle La chanson d’Eve op.95, to words of van Leberghe, are performed, four of them for the first time, at the Salle Erard, Paris, the composer at the piano. See 3 February 1908 and 20 April 1910.
30 May 1909 Ray Harroun wins the first Indianapolis 500 automobile race. His average speed is 120 kph.
2 June 1909 Alfred Deakin replaces Andrew Fisher as Prime Minister of Australia.
Noel for vocal soloists, chorus and orchestra by George Whitefield Chadwick (54) is performed for the first time, in Norfolk, Connecticut.
3 June 1909 An earthquake in central Sumatra, Dutch East Indies kills 101 people.
5 June 1909 The body of Isaac Albéniz arrives in Barcelona by train. The station is transformed into a funeral chapel and the public files by the deceased to pay their respects.
6 June 1909 French forces capture Abéché (in present Chad), putting an end to the independence of the Wadai sultanate.
The body of Isaac Albéniz is born by a horse-drawn hearse from the estació de França through the streets of Barcelona. It is attended by a military band playing excerpts from Götterdämmerung, the Requiem of Gabriel Fauré (64) and the Funeral March of Frédéric Chopin (†49), and a multitude of people including many city and Catalonian officials. At the Cementiri del Sud-Oest (Cementiri de Montjuïc), the mayor and the composer’s son speak, and the remains are laid to rest.
7 June 1909 The first complete performance of A Mass of Life for soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone soloists, chorus, and orchestra by Frederick Delius (47) to words of Nietzsche, takes place in Queen’s Hall, London. See 4 June 1908.
9 June 1909 Sonata for clarinet and piano no.3 op.107 by Max Reger (36) is performed for the first time, in Darmstadt, the composer at the piano.
Charles Villiers Stanford’s (56) work for chorus and orchestra, Ode to Discord to words of Graves, is performed for the first time, in London.
14 June 1909 President Affonso Augusto Moreira Penna of Brazil dies in Rio de Janeiro and is succeded by Nilo Procópio Peçanha.
16 June 1909 String Quartet no.1 by Frank Bridge (30) is performed for the first time, in Bechstein Hall, London.
22 June 1909 The Wreckers, a lyrical drama by Ethel Smyth (51) to words of Brewster and the composer, in an English translation by Strettell and the composer, is performed for the first time, in His Majesty’s Theatre, London. See 11 November 1906.
24 June 1909 Sarah Orne Jewett dies in South Berwick, Maine at the age of 59.
25 June 1909 Claude Champagne (18) receives a diploma with honors in piano from the National Conservatory of Montreal.
26 June 1909 The Victoria and Albert Museum opens in London. Named in honor of his parents, the building is inaugurated by King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra.
29 June 1909 Percy Grainger (26) returns to England after a tour of Australia and New Zealand.
1 July 1909 The United States Copyright Law comes into effect. It grants “exclusive rights to composers and/or publishers to print, publish, copy, vend, arrange, record by means of a gramophone or any other mechanical device, and perform publicly for profit original musical compositions, and affording protection against infringement for a period of 28 years and a renewal period of the same length. The act was championed by John Philip Sousa (54) and Victor Herbert (50).
4 July 1909 At an official ceremony in Arcueil Town Hall, Erik Satie (43) is decorated by the Prefect of the Seine with the Palmes académiques for civil services, an honor usually reserved for “earnest school teachers and public minded civil servants.”
6 July 1909 A court in Pisa hears the case brought by the family of Doria Manfredi against Elvira Puccini (wife of Giacomo Puccini (50)). She will be found guilty of defamation of character and libel resulting in Doria Manfredi’s suicide and sentenced to five months and five days in prison, a fine of 700 lire and all court costs. See 23 January 1909.
12 July 1909 Liberal forces retake Teheran as Shah Mohammed Ali takes refuge in the Russian embassy.
13 July 1909 Elegy op.58 for strings by Edward Elgar (52) is performed for the first time, at the Mansion House, London.
14 July 1909 Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg replaces Bernard, Prince von Bülow as Chancellor of Germany and Prime Minister of Prussia.
The Teatro Municipal is opened in Rio de Janeiro in the presence of President Nilo Peçanha.
Two works for voice and piano by Frank Bridge (30) to words of Bridges are performed for the first time, in Queen’s Hall, London, the composer conducting: I praise the tender flower and Thou didst delight my eyes.
15 July 1909 Incidental music to Sophocles’ play Electra by Granville Bantock (40) is performed for the first time, in London.
16 July 1909 Mohammed Ali, Shah of Persia, is deposed by liberal forces and succeeded by his eleven-year-old son, Ahmed Mirza.
19 July 1909 Béla Bartók (28) begins another tour of Transylvania collecting folk songs.
Choric Ode for chorus and orchestra by Charles Villiers Stanford (56) to words of Skrine is performed for the first time, in Bath.
20 July 1909 Demetrios Rallis replaces Georgios Theotokis as Prime Minister of Greece.
21 July 1909 Elvira Puccini files an appeal to the verdict and sentence of 6 July. She admits libel but denies defamation. Her husband, Giacomo Puccini (50) will eventually settle the suit with Doria Manfredi’s family for 12,000 lire.
22 July 1909 Incidental music to the masque The Vision of Dame Christian op.27a by Gustav Holst (34) is performed for the first time, at St. Paul’s Girls School, London, under the baton of the composer.
24 July 1909 Aristide Briand replaces Georges Clemenceau as Prime Minister of France.
25 July 1909 Louis Blériot becomes the first human to cross the English Channel in an airplane. The Frenchman flies from Calais to Dover in 37 minutes.
26 July 1909 The European powers remove all of their forces from Crete.
Anarchists call a general strike in Barcelona to protest the Spanish monarchy and the Moroccan war.
On a trip from Melbourne to London, the British liner SS Waratah departs Durban for Cape Town. Neither the ship nor the 211 souls aboard will make it. No one is quite sure what happened.
27 July 1909 Radicals and anarchists in Barcelona raise the barricades and burn 42 convents and churches in two days of anti-clerical and anti-monarchy violence.
30 July 1909 Earthquakes today and tomorrow destroy the towns of Acapulco and Chilpancingo, Mexico.
2 August 1909 The United States War Department buys its first airplane, Signal Corps Plane No.1, from Wilbur and Orville Wright. It will be the army’s only airplane for two years.
5 August 1909 An explosion in a coal mine in Onoura, Japan kills 243 people.
8 August 1909 Alban Berg (24) witnesses a performance of Parsifal in Bayreuth. He writes to his wife that it made a “gigantic, vivifying and shattering impression” on him. (Floros, 58)
10 August 1909 Édouard Bénédictus receives a French patent for laminated (safety) glass.
12 August 1909 The Greek government arrest several leaders of the reformist Military League.
14 August 1909 In the face of certain dissolution by the government, the Military League of Greece begins a coup. Their demands are both political and internal military grievances.
16 August 1909 Johan Ludwig, Count Holstein replaces Niels Thomasins Neergaard as Prime Minister of Denmark.
19 August 1909 Emperor Franz Joseph II decrees that Hungarian will be the language of instruction in all Romanian schools.
22 August 1909 Battles between strikers and police at Pressed Steel Car Company factories near Pittsburgh result in at least five deaths and many injuries.
27 August 1909 A hurricane makes landfall at Tamaulipas state, Mexico. 4,000 people are killed. The hardest hit is Monterrey.
28 August 1909 Kiriakoulis Mavromichalis replaces Demetrios Rallis as Prime Minister of Greece.
31 August 1909 Paul Ehrlich, in Frankfurt, instructs Sahachiro Hata to inject a syphilitic rabbit with Preparation 606, arsphenamine. It immediately cures the rabbit and Ehrlich will coin the term chemotherapy.
2 September 1909 The New York Herald announces that Frederick Cook has returned from the north and claims that he reached the North Pole on 21 April 1908.
Richard Strauss (45) returns the score of Arnold Schoenberg’s (34) Five Orchestral Pieces to the composer without hope of performance, saying “...your pieces are such daring experiments in content and sound that...I dare not introduce them to the more than conservative Berlin public.”
6 September 1909 Charles Nicolle, director of the Pasteur Institute in Tunis, reports his proof that typhus is transmitted by lice.
Robert Peary telegraphs the New York Times from the Marconi Station at Battle Harbour, Labrador that he has achieved the North Pole.
8 September 1909 Dance Rhapsody no.1 for orchestra by Frederick Delius (47) is performed for the first time, in Shire Hall, Hereford, conducted by the composer.
9 September 1909 Edward Elgar’s (52) partsong Go, Song of Mine op.57 to words of Cavalcanti (tr. Rossetti), is performed for the first time, in Hereford.
11 September 1909 The Rose of Algeria, a reworking of Algeria, a musical play by Victor Herbert (50) to words of MacDonough, is performed for the first time, at the Grand Opera House, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. See 24 August 1908 and 20 September 1909.
14 September 1909 Sergey Prokofiev (18) graduates from St. Petersburg Conservatory with a diploma declaring him a “free artist.”
A large demonstration takes place in Athens in support of the Military League.
15 September 1909 Willow-wood, a cantata by Ralph Vaughan Williams (36) to words of Rossetti, is performed for the first time, in a setting for baritone or mezzo-soprano, female chorus, and orchestra, at Liverpool. See 12 March 1903.
16 September 1909 Robert Peary reaches Battle Harbour, Labrador where three whale boats full of reporters await him.
20 September 1909 King Edward grants royal assent to the South Africa Act. It creates the Union of South Africa, to take effect next 31 May.
The Rose of Algeria, a reworking of Algeria, a musical play by Victor Herbert (50) to words of MacDonough, is performed for the first time in New York, in the Herald Square Theatre. See 20 September 1909.
21 September 1909 A hurricane makes landfall at Grand Isle, Louisiana and moves north. Over 350 people are killed.
23 September 1909 Swiss chemist Jacques Brandenberger receives a British patent for cellophane.
24 September 1909 The first festival of The Musical League takes place in Liverpool today and tomorrow. It features music by English composers including Ethel Smyth (51), Frederick Delius (47), Ralph Vaughan Williams (36), Frank Bridge (30), Percy Grainger (27), and Arnold Bax (25).
25 September 1909 Fatherland, for tenor, chorus, and orchestra by Arnold Bax (25) to words of Runeberg, is performed for the first time, in Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. Also premiered is Dance Rhapsody by Frank Bridge (30).
30 September 1909 String Quartet no.4 op.109 by Max Reger (36) is performed for the first time, in Frankfurt.
2 October 1909 A railroad between Peking and Kalgan (Zhangjiakou) is inaugurated. It is the first railroad built entirely by the Chinese.
7 October 1909 Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov’s (†1) opera The Golden Cockerel, to words of Belsky after Pushkin, is performed for the first time, at the Solodovnikov Theatre, Moscow.
Das Fürstenkind, an operetta by Franz Lehár (39) to words of Léon after About, is performed for the first time, in the Johann Strauss Theater, Vienna.
11 October 1909 General Juan J. Estrada, Governor-Intendant of the Atlantic Region of Nicaragua, declares a revolt against President Zelaya. Estrada and conservative leaders establish a government at Bluefields, cheered on by North American corporations in the area. The rebellion is probably aided by members of the United States government and military.
13 October 1909 The anti-clerical Catalan leader Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia is executed by firing squad in Barcelona, without trial.
Gustav (49) and Alma Mahler, their daughter and governess sail from Cherbourg aboard the Kaiser Wilhelm II making for New York. Also on board is Fritz Kreisler.
15 October 1909 Sergey Rakhmaninov (36) leaves Moscow for the United States.
Sonata Romantica sobre un tema español op.3 for piano by Joaquín Turina (26) is performed for the first time, in Paris.
Ernst Bloch (29) gives his first concert as orchestra conductor in Lausanne.
16 October 1909 Fantasia after JS Bach for piano by Ferruccio Busoni (43) is performed for the first time, in Bechstein Hall, London, by the composer. The work is in memory of his father. Busoni also premieres most of his An die jugend for piano.
19 October 1909 Gustav Mahler (49) and his family arrive in New York, six days out of Cherbourg, for his third season in the United States.
20 October 1909 An earthquake centered in Baluchistan, India (present Pakistan) kills 231 people.
21 October 1909 Liberal Segismundo Moret y Prendergast replaces Antonio Maura y Montaner as Prime Minister of Spain.
24 October 1909 Nikola Pasic replaces Stojan Novakovic as Prime Minister of Serbia.
Italy and Russia conclude the Racconigi Agreement to preserve the status quo in the Balkans.
26 October 1909 Prince Ito Hirobumi, the Japanese resident-general in Korea, is shot to death in Harbin, by An Chung-gun, a member of a Korean independence movement.
28 October 1909 Carl Theodor Zahle replaces Johan Ludwig, Count Holstein as Prime Minister of Denmark.
29 October 1909 Leos Janácek (55) receives a phonograph in Brno which he has ordered from Berlin. He and his colleagues will shortly put it to use collecting folksongs.
31 October 1909 North American Lee Roy Cannon is captured by Nicaraguan government troops on the San Juan River. He freely admits to participating in the Conservative rebellion.
2 November 1909 North American Leonard Groce is captured by Nicaraguan government troops on the San Juan River. He holds a commission in the Conservative rebel army.
4 November 1909 Sergey Rakhmaninov (36) makes his American debut at Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts. It is his first solo recital anywhere.
Gustav Mahler (49) conducts the first concert of the new season with the New York Philharmonic.
6 November 1909 Old Dutch, a musical farce by Victor Herbert (50) to words of Smith and Hobart, is performed for the first time, at the Grand Opera House, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. See 22 November 1909.
8 November 1909 A String Quartet by Ralph Vaughan Williams (37) is performed for the first time, in Novello’s Rooms, London.
The Boston Opera Company gives its first performance, La Gioconda, in the new Boston Opera House.
Sergey Rakhmaninov (36) performs at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, playing his Second Piano Concerto with the Boston Symphony.
9 November 1909 Franz Schreker (31) marries the soprano Maria Binder, daughter of a hotel owner, in Vienna.
11 November 1909 Construction begins on a United States naval base at Pearl Harbor in the Hawaii Territory.
12 November 1909 Der Graf von Luxemburg, an operetta by Franz Lehár (39) to words of Willner and Bodanzky, is performed for the first time, in Theater an der Wien, Vienna.
Two songs for voice and guitar or piano by Jean Sibelius (43) to accompany a production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night are performed for the first time, in Helsinki.
A hurricane makes landfall in northern Haiti, killing several hundred people.
13 November 1909 Mein Oden ist schwach op.110/1 for chorus by Max Reger (36) is performed for the first time, in Leipzig.
Fire in a mine in Cherry, Illinois kills 260 men and boys. 21 men are able to survive eight days before being rescued.
14 November 1909 Incidental music to Aakjaer’s play The Wolf’s Son by Carl Nielsen (44) is performed for the first time, in Aarhus.
Après-midi d’Octobre op.30/2 for orchestra by Charles Koechlin (41) is performed for the first time, in Théâtre des Arts, Paris.
15 November 1909 On Wenlock Edge for tenor, piano, and string quartet by Ralph Vaughan Williams (37) is performed for the first time, in Aeolian Hall, London.
16 November 1909 Béla Bartók (28) marries his 16-year-old student Márta Ziegler in a civil ceremony in Budapest. She is the daughter of the Inspector-General of Police for Budapest.
English Lyrics Set IX for voice and piano by Hubert Parry (61) to word of M. Coleridge, is performed for the first time, in Bechstein Hall, London.
Having freely admitted their participation in the Conservative rebellion in Nicaragua, North Americans Lee Roy Cannon and Leonard Groce are shot by a government firing squad. The United States will use this as one pretext for intervention.
18 November 1909 United States troops are ordered to Nicaragua.
20 November 1909 Song of the Young for male chorus by Carl Nielsen (44), to words of Hostrup, is performed for the first time, in Odd Fellow Palæet, Copenhagen.
22 November 1909 Suite no.2 for orchestra op.4 by Béla Bartók (28) is given its first complete performance, in Budapest. See 2 January 1909.
Old Dutch, a musical farce by Victor Herbert (50) to words of Smith and Hobart, is performed for the first time in New York, at the Herald Square Theatre. See 22 November 1909.
23 November 1909 “The Uprising of the 20,000” begins in New York as young women working in the garment industry in New York, mostly Yiddish-speaking recent immigrants, go on strike for wages, working conditions, and the right to organize. It will last eleven weeks.
Two works for solo voice and piano by Alphons Diepenbrock (47) to words of Verlaine are performed for the first time, in the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam: Puisque l’aube grandit and Mandoline.
24 November 1909 Three works by Frank Bridge (30) are performed for the first time, at the Royal College of Music, London: Allegro appassionato for viola and piano, the third of the Three Dances for violin and piano, and Pensiero for viola and piano.
25 November 1909 The Act III interlude “Nachtstück” from Franz Schreker’s (31) unfinished opera Der ferne Klang is performed for the first time, in Vienna. The audience is incensed and make various loud noises of disapproval. See 18 August 1912.
26 November 1909 Songs by Carl Nielsen (44) to words of Aakjær are performed for the first time, in Odd Fellow Palæet, Copenhagen: Song of Old Anders the Cattleman, and Now is the Time, Smallholders.
Incidental music to Aristophanes’ play The Wasps by Ralph Vaughan Williams (37) is performed for the first time, at the University of Cambridge. See 23 July 1912.
On his North American tour, Sergey Rakhmaninov (36) conducts the Boston Symphony in Philadelphia.
27 November 1909 The Christiania to Bergen railway is opened by King Haakon VII.
United States Marines land in Nicaragua at Bluefields in support of a conservative rebellion against President José Santos Zelaya. The rebellion is supported by American capitalists in the country.
28 November 1909 The Piano Concerto no.3 by Sergey Rakhmaninov (36) is performed for the first time, in New York, with Walter Damrosch on the podium and the composer at the piano. Critics are warm but not ecstatic.
1 December 1909 Degania Alef is created as the first kibbutz by six members on the Sea of Galilee.
US President Taft breaks diplomatic relations with Nicaragua and declares his support for conservative rebels now operating in that country.
2 December 1909 The National Hockey Association is founded in Montreal.
3 December 1909 On his North American tour, Sergey Rakhmaninov plays his Second Piano Concerto in Chicago and conducts the Theodore Thomas Orchestra in The Isle of the Dead.
4 December 1909 In Memoriam PS Krøyer, a cantata by Carl Nielsen (44) to words of LC Nielsen, for reciter, solo voices, chorus, and piano, is performed for the first time, in Copenhagen. The composer performs the piano part.
La sina d’Vergöun, an opera by Francesco Pratella (29) to his own words, is performed for the first time, in Bologna.
7 December 1909 Two patents are granted to Dr. Leo Baekeland of Yonkers, New York for Bakelite, the first completely synthetic plastic.
9 December 1909 Among the four second prizes of the Glinka Prize, one goes to Alyeksandr Skryabin (37) for his Piano Sonata no.5 and one to Igor Stravinsky (27) for his Scherzo fantastique.
10 December 1909 Lili Boulanger (16) begins serious musical study: harmony with Georges Caussade.
Sidney, Baron Sonnino replaces Giovanni Giolitti as Prime Minister of Italy.
Le passeur d’eau for string sextet by Charles Martin Loeffler (48) is performed for the first time, in Fenway Court, Boston.
12 December 1909 The scherzo from the original version of Anton Bruckner’s (†13) Fourth Symphony is performed for the first time, in Linz.
15 December 1909 Francisco de Asís Tárrega y Eixea dies in Barcelona at the age of 57.
16 December 1909 President José Santos Zelaya of Nicaragua resigns in the face of US Marines in his country. He is succeeded by the jurist José Madriz.
17 December 1909 King Leopold II of Belgium dies in Laeken after reigning for 44 years. He is succeeded by his nephew Albert.
Sergey Rakhmaninov (36) appears in Boston, playing and conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
21 December 1909 After examining evidence from Frederick Cook, a commission at the University of Copenhagen rejects his claim to have reached the North Pole. His rival, Robert Peary, refuses to submit his evidence to any outside arbiter.
22 December 1909 Francisco António da Veiga Beirão replaces Venceslau de Sousa Pereira de Lima as Prime Minister of Portugal.
©2004-2016 Paul Scharfenberger
16 July 2016
Last Updated (Saturday, 16 July 2016 04:52)