1920
| 
| 
1 January 1920 Music and Letters begins publication in London.
Dane Rudhyar (24) arrives in Hollywood from Chicago. Here he will meet the theosophists Albert Powell Warrington and Bomanji Pestonji Wadia.
2 January 1920 579 agents of the US Justice Department sweep through 33 cities and arrest over 10,000 people who hold political views disliked by the state. Private homes and union headquarters are routinely invaded as are schools and restaurants. 3,500 are held for weeks in wretched conditions, often deprived of food and always deprived of the benefit of legal counsel. Most will be released in a few weeks for want of evidence.
3 January 1920 Red forces capture Tsaritsyn (Volgograd, Russia).
Le chant du Nigamon, a symphonic poem by Arthur Honegger (27), is performed publicly for the first time, in the Cirque d’Hiver, Paris. See 18 April 1918.
4 January 1920 Alyeksandr Kolchak resigns as Supreme Ruler of the White Government of Russia. He is succeeded by Anton Denikin. Kolchak leaves Irkutsk and will be captured by the Czech Legion.
5 January 1920 Polish and Lithuanian troops capture Dvinsk from the Bolsheviks.
8 January 1920 Red forces take Krasnoyarsk, 600 km east of Novosibirsk, taking 60,000 prisoners.
Red troops take Rostov. By this time the White armies have lost all their gains made last year.
A meeting takes place in an apartment in the rue Gaillard, Paris at the invitation of the apartment’s occupant, Darius Milhaud (27). It brings together several music critics and six young composers: Milhaud, Arthur Honegger (27), Francis Poulenc (21), Louis Durey, Georges Auric and Germaine Tailleferre. They spend the afternoon and evening talking about and listening to the new music. This sees the first performance of Honegger’s Violin Sonata no.2 played by the composer and his future wife, Andrée Vaurabourg. See 28 February 1920.
Al Jolson records Swanee for Columbia Records. It will be George Gershwin’s (21) first “hit”, selling in the hundreds of thousands.
10 January 1920 The League of Nations meets for the first time, in Geneva, as the Treaty of Versailles comes into force. Sir James Eric Drummond of Great Britain is the first Secretary-General. Founding members are Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, El Salvador, France, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Italy, Japan, Liberia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Liberia, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Persia, Poland, Portugal, the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, Siam, Spain, Sweden, the Union of South Africa, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
Eupen and Melmédy are united with Belgium.
Poèmes juifs op.34, a cycle for voice and piano by Darius Milhaud (27), is performed for the first time, in Paris, the composer at the keyboard.
12 January 1920 Mauritania becomes a colony of France.
The Chamber of Deputies of the Ottoman Empire meets for the last time in Constantinople.
13 January 1920 Argentina is admitted to the League of Nations.
The Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic ceases to exist. Russian troops will evacuate on 1 February.
14 January 1920 42 people are killed and 105 injured in riots near the Reichstag. Berlin is placed under martial law.
15 January 1920 The Czech Legion turns over former White Supreme Ruler Alyeksandr Kolchak to Bolshevik sympathizers.
The United States approves a loan of $150,000,000 for Armenia, Austria, and Poland to fight the Red Army.
16 January 1920 On a country visit to the home of Ferdinand Hérold, Maurice Ravel (44) learns that he is to be awarded Chevalier in the Legion of Honor by reading it in a newspaper.
Henri Collet publishes his article “Un livre de Rimsky et un livre de Cocteau--Les Cinqs Russes, les Six Français et Erik Satie (53),” in Comoedia. This begins the history of that unlikely combination of six French composers called “Les Six”: Arthur Honegger (27), Darius Milhaud (27), Germaine Tailleferre, Louis Durey, Francis Poulenc (20) and Georges Auric.
Romanian Folk Dances for piano by Béla Bartók (38) is performed for the first time, in Cluj.
The United States Senate votes not to ratify the League of Nations Covenant.
The 18th amendment to the United States Constitution, banning the importation and sale of intoxicating liquors, goes into effect.
17 January 1920 Maurice Ravel (44) refuses his nomination as a Chevalier in the Legion of Honor.
18 January 1920 New York state orders public school teachers fired if they are members of the Communist Party.
249 aliens deported by the United States on 21 December arrive in Hango, Finland. They are taken to the border and handed over to Russia where they are given a hero’s welcome.
19 January 1920 Étienne Alexandre Millerand replaces Georges Clemenceau as Prime Minister of France. Clemenceau resigned and retired after he was passed over for the presidency.
Charles T. Griffes (35) is taken to Loomis Sanitorium in Loomis, New York suffering from empyema.
20 January 1920 Hungary completes its withdrawal from Czechoslovakia.
21 January 1920 Turkish nationalists under Mustafa Kemal attack Marash (Kahramanmaras, Turkey)
Domingos Leite Pereira replaces Alfredo Ernesto de Sá Cardoso as Prime Minister of Portugal.
Der Schatzgräber, an opera by Franz Schreker (41) to his own words, is performed for the first time, in Frankfurt-am-Main. Dedicated to the City of Frankfurt and its opera house, the work is an overwhelming success.
22 January 1920 Morning Song for cello and piano by Frank Bridge (40) is performed for the first time, at the Royal College of Music.
24 January 1920 Karol Szymanowski (37) gives his first concert in Warsaw since fleeing his home in Ukraine. The response is not favorable.
25 January 1920 The first elections based on universal suffrage in Hungary are held today and tomorrow. A unicameral parliament is elected. Communists are not allowed to vote and socialist leaders are arrested, ensuring a right-wing parliament.
26 January 1920 The commander of the only effective White force in the field, General Vasily Kappel, dies of frostbite and pneumonia near Lake Baikal.
The Lincoln Motor Car Company is founded. It will be bought by Ford in two years.
Overture on Hebrew Themes op.34 for piano, clarinet and string quartet by Sergey Prokofiev (28) is performed for the first time, in New York. See 30 November 1934.
28 January 1920 Russia agrees to a border with Poland well east of the Curzon Line.
A new Albanian government is formed at Lushnjë, dismissing provisional President Turhan Pasha.
29 January 1920 The parliament of Czechoslovakia adopts a democratic constitution.
30 January 1920 Chant funèbre à la mémoire des jeunes femmes défuntes op.37 for chorus, organ, and orchestra by Charles Koechlin (52) is performed for the first time, in Salle Gaveau, Paris. The organist is Nadia Boulanger (32).
Symphony no.2 by Frederick S. Converse (49) is performed for the first time, in Boston. Reviews are fairly positive.
31 January 1920 Bolsheviks succeed in overthrowing the White government in Vladivostok.
A new Albanian congress names Suleyman Bey Delvina as Prime Minister.
1 February 1920 Latvia concludes an armistice with the Bolsheviks.
Alban Berg (34) writes to his wife that Anton Webern (36) has been forced to send the three elder Webern children to live with relatives, keeping only a newborn baby with them. This is due to extreme cold and almost depleted fuel in Mödling and Vienna.
2 February 1920 As the Red Army approaches, a state of siege is declared in Irkutsk.
Russia and Estonia conclude a peace treaty in Tartu.
We’re Pals, a song by George Gershwin (21) to words of Caesar, is performed for the first time as part of the musical comedy Dere Mabel in the Academy of Music, Baltimore.
3 February 1920 The Allies hand over to Germany a list of 900 people who are to be surrendered to them for trial on various war crimes. Almost all of Germany’s wartime civilian and military leadership are on the list. The response of the German government is so strong that the Allies eventually will rescind their demands.
7 February 1920 The former Supreme Ruler of the White Siberian government, Alyeksandr Vasilyevich Kolchak, is executed by Reds near Irkutsk, along with his Prime Minister, Viktor Nikolayevich Pepelyayev.
Four Russian Songs for voice and piano by Igor Stravinsky (37) are performed for the first time, in the Salle Gaveau, Paris.
Rapsodie sur des chansons françaises op.62 for orchestra by Charles Koechlin (52) is performed for the first time, in Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris.
8 February 1920 The Red Army captures Odessa.
Fantasía baetica for piano by Manuel de Falla (43) is performed for the first time, in New York.
9 February 1920 The World Court rules that Norway possesses sovereignty over Svalbard.
10 February 1920 A plebiscite in the first zone of North Schleswig votes 74% for union with Denmark.
11 February 1920 The League of Nations takes control of Danzig (Gdansk).
Tirana is chosen as the new capital of Albania. A Council of State sets up operations.
12 February 1920 The Parliament of the Ottoman Empire publishes the National Pact. Among other things it calls for self-determination, opening the Straits and the security of Constantinople.
13 February 1920 Switzerland is admitted to the League of Nations.
Danzas fantasicas op.22 for orchestra by Joaquín Turina (37) is performed for the first time, in Teatro Price, Madrid.
14 February 1920 Erik Satie’s (53) symphonic drama Socrate is performed publicly for the first time, in a piano setting, by the Société National de Musique in Salle de l’Ancien Conservatoire, Paris. Critics are confused and mixed. See 3 April 1918, 24 June 1918, 21 March 1919, and 7 June 1920.
18 February 1920 Paul Eugène Louis Deschanel replaces Raymond Nicolas Landry Poincaré as President of France.
Stojan Protic replaces Ljubomir Davidovic as Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes.
19 February 1920 China annexes Outer Mongolia, including Tuva.
Four Characteristic Pieces for piano by Frank Bridge (40) are performed for the first time, at the Royal College of Music, London.
20 February 1920 White forces once again take Rostov.
21 February 1920 Red forces capture Arkhangelsk.
Double Concerto for violin, cello, and orchestra by Frederick Delius (58) is performed for the first time, in Queen’s Hall, London.
At a concert organized by Jean Cocteau at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées, the following works are performed for the first time: Le boeuf sur le toit, a ballet by Darius Milhaud (27), Sonata for piano duet and Cocardes, a cycle for solo voice, cornet, trombone, bass drum, triangle, and violin, both by Francis Poulenc (21) (the latter to words of Cocteau), and Trois petites pièces montées by Erik Satie (53).
24 February 1920 The first large meeting of the German Workers Party takes place in the Munich Hofbräuhaus. One member, a veteran with particularly good speaking ability, is chosen to read out the party platform. His name is Adolf Hitler.
25 February 1920 The last Romanian troops leave Hungary.
26 February 1920 The League of Nations takes control of the Saarland.
The Czech Legion for male chorus by Leos Janácek (65) to words of Horák is performed for the first time, in Kromeriz.
Three Hymns of Walt Whitman op.14 for voice and piano by Paul Hindemith (24) is performed for the first time, in Frankfurt-am-Main.
The Song of the High Hills for textless chorus and orchestra by Frederick Delius (58) is performed for the first time, in Queen’s Hall, London.
27 February 1920 George Gershwin (21) signs a contract with George White to compose music for his yearly Scandals. His salary is $75 per week.
28 February 1920 In einer Nacht.../Träume und Erlibnisse op.15, a suite for piano by Paul Hindemith (24) is performed for the first time, in Stuttgart.
Le Tombeau de Couperin by Maurice Ravel (44) is performed for the first time, in a setting for orchestra, in Paris. See 8 November 1920.
Violin Sonata no.2 by Arthur Honegger (27) is performed publicly for the first time, Salle du Conservatoire, Paris by the composer and his future wife, Andrée Vaurabourg. See 8 January 1920.
Carl Ruggles (43) conducts the first performance of the Rand School Symphony Orchestra in the auditorium of the school in New York.
1 March 1920 With members of the counterrevolutionary army occupying the building, the new Hungarian Parliament convenes in Budapest and creates the conservative Miklós Horthy Regent of Hungary, making him head of state. Before the election, socialist leaders were arrested and communists were not allowed to vote, ensuring a conservative parliament.
Railroads in the United States are returned to private ownership by the government.
2 March 1920 An armistice is concluded between Russia and Romania.
3 March 1920 Willem Pijper (25) writes that he has wanted to play his music for Alfons Diepenbrock (57) but put it off for fear Diepenbrock would think it too conservative.
4 March 1920 Sándor Simonyi Semadam replaces Károly Huszár as Prime Minister of Hungary.
Sept pièces brève, for piano by Arthur Honegger (27), is performed for the first time, in the Salle Gaveau, Paris.
5 March 1920 The Red Army marches unmolested into Irkutsk.
Polish troops capture Mozyr (Mazyr, Belarus).
Norway is admitted to the League of Nations.
6 March 1920 Karl Hjalmar Branting replaces Nils Edén as Prime Minister of Sweden.
7 March 1920 Today begins five days of fighting between Poland and Czechoslovakia over Teschen (Cieszyn).
8 March 1920 Emir Feisal occupies the throne of Syria.
Salih Pasha replaces Ali Riza Pasha as Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire.
Denmark is admitted to the League of Nations.
During an intermission of a play by Max Jacob in the Galéries Barbezanges, Paris, the audience is informed that “furnishing music” (musique d’ameublement) will be played and that they should act as if it does not exist. The music is a collection of well-known symphonic and operatic tunes played by piano, three clarinets, and trombone under the supervision of Erik Satie (53) and Darius Milhaud (27). As the audience takes their seats to listen to the music, Satie goes through the hall encouraging everyone to go on talking, keep moving and not listen to the music.
9 March 1920 António Maria Baptista replaces Domingos Leite Pereira as Prime Minister of Portugal.
10 March 1920 The Netherlands is admitted to the League of Nations.
The British Parliament passes a Home Rule bill which divides Ireland into two parts.
The Hymn of Jesus op.37 for chorus and orchestra by Gustav Holst (45) to words from the Apocryphal Acts of St. John, is performed for the first time, privately, at the Royal College of Music, London. See 25 March 1920.
11 March 1920 Machines agricoles op.56, a cycle for voice and chamber ensemble by Darius Milhaud (27), is performed for the first time, in Paris.
12 March 1920 Lead by reactionaries General Walther von Lüttwitz and Wolfgang Kapp, 5,000 German marines march through the Brandenburg Gate and occupy Berlin. Most of the government, including President Friedrich Ebert and Chancellor Gustav Bauer, flee to Stuttgart.
At the meeting of the Rand School for Social Science council in New York, Carl Ruggles (44), already the director of its symphony orchestra, is made director of the school’s chorus.
13 March 1920 Red forces take Murmansk.
France returns Scutari (Shkodër) to Albania.
14 March 1920 A plebiscite in the second zone of Schleswig votes 80% for union with Germany.
Rafael Waldemar Erich replaces Juho Vennola as Prime Minister of Finland.
15 March 1920 Incidental music to Barrie’s play, The Truth about the Russian Dancers by Arnold Bax (36) is performed for the first time, in the London Coliseum. It is a great success.
16 March 1920 After five days of a near complete general strike, the leaders of the conservative military putsch in Berlin are forced to give up. Their commander, Walter von Lüttwitz flees to Hungary where he is welcomed by the extreme conservative government.
17 March 1920 Retreating Whites abandon Yekaterinodar.
France creates the colony of Chad as part of French Equatorial Africa.
18 March 1920 Edward Elgar (62) becomes a member of the French Académie des Beaux Arts.
The first of the five Nocturnes for piano by Erik Satie (53) is performed for the first time, in Salle Pleyel, Paris. See 7 June 1920.
19 March 1920 The United States Senate votes not to ratify the Treaty of Versailles for a second time.
20 March 1920 Suite de Ballet for flute and piano by Ralph Vaughan Williams (47) is performed for the first time, privately, at the home of Mrs. Hammersley, London. See 9 April 1962.
Charles T. Griffes (35) is transferred from Loomis Sanitorium to New York Hospital to undergo surgery.
A general election in the Union of South Africa results in the National Party and the South Africa Party as the two largest groups in the House of Assembly. Jan Smuts of the South Africa Party continues at the head of a minority government.
21 March 1920 The Ballad of Blanik, a symphonic poem by Leos Janácek (65), is performed for the first time, in Brno. The response is mixed.
22 March 1920 The Brno Conservatory becomes the responsibility of the state.
23 March 1920 Admiral Horthy proclaims Hungary a monarchy with a vacant throne.
Alexandru Averescu replaces Alexandru Vaida-Voevod as Prime Minister of Romania.
24 March 1920 Pablo Picasso makes a three-quarter drawing of a seated Igor Stravinsky (37).
25 March 1920 Japanese soldiers and civilians are murdered by Red partisans at Nikolayevsk. The Japanese use the incident to justify their intervention.
The first elements of the so called Black and Tans arrive in Ireland. These are mostly unemployed war veterans recruited by the British to swell the ranks of the Royal Irish Constabulary. They will become notorious for brutality against civilians in retaliation for IRA actions.
The Hymn of Jesus op.37 for chorus and orchestra by Gustav Holst (45) to words from the Apocryphal Acts of St. John, is performed publicly for the first time, in Queen’s Hall, London, the composer conducting. See 10 March 1920.
26 March 1920 This Side of Paradise, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s first novel, appears and sells 20,000 copies within a week. At 23, the author is the youngest novelist ever published by Scribner’s.
27 March 1920 Hermann Müller replaces Gustav Bauer as Chancellor of Germany.
37 elected deputies meet in Tirana as Albania’s first true parliament.
28 March 1920 The Red Army captures Novorossisk, on the Black Sea, virtually ending White resistance in the south.
29 March 1920 King Christian X of Denmark, desiring the return of Schleswig regardless of the results of the plebiscite, sacks the government of Prime Minister Carl Theodor Zahle.
30 March 1920 Otto Liebe replaces Carl Theodor Zahle as Prime Minister of Denmark.
1 April 1920 The last US troops depart Vladivostok.
The far-right German Workers’ Party changes its name to the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP)
2 April 1920 The nomination of Maurice Ravel (45) to be Chevalier of the Legion of Honor is formally revoked.
4 April 1920 Hymn of the Earth op.95, a cantata by Jean Sibelius (54) to words of Leino, for chorus and orchestra, is performed for the first time, in Helsinki.
Mass in Eight Voices by Charles Villiers Stanford (67) is performed for the first time, in Westminster Cathedral.
5 April 1920 As a compromise between King Christian and the Folketing, Aage Friis replaces Otto Liebe as Prime Minister of Denmark in a caretaker government until new elections can be held.
Damad Adil Ferid Pasha replaces Salih Pasha as Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire.
An operation on Charles T. Griffes (35) takes place in New York Hospital. His chest is drained and a medical instrument, lost during a previous operation, is removed. The operation has no effect on his condition.
Oo, how I love to be loved by you, a song by George Gershwin (21) to words of Ira Gershwin, is performed for the first time as part of the revue Ed Wynn’s Carnival in the New Amsterdam Theatre, New York.
6 April 1920 The Bolshevik-controlled Far Eastern Republic is founded from territory east of Lake Baikal, with a capital at Chita.
French troops occupy Frankfurt, Darmstadt, and Hanau until the Germans evacuate the Ruhr.
7 April 1920 African units of the French occupation force fire on a jeering crowd in Frankfurt. Seven people are killed.
18:10 Alice Elgar, the wife of Edward Elgar (62), dies of cancer in her husband’s arms at their London home. “With her died a part of Elgar’s creativity.”
In a recital of the piano students of William Hatton Green in West Chester, Pennsylvania, Samuel Barber (10) performs two of his own compositions: At Twighlight and Lullaby.
8 April 1920 Early Morning. Charles Tomlinson Griffes dies in New York Hospital on West 16th St. of empyema caused by influenza, aged 35 years, six months, and 22 days.
The Allies declare Batum (Batumi, Georgia) a free port and Adjaria (Adjara, Georgia) is made a protectorate of the League of Nations.
Serenade op.12 for two violins and viola by Zoltán Kodály (37) is performed for the first time, in Budapest.
10 April 1920 The Violin Sonata op.11/2 by Paul Hindemith (24) is performed for the first time, in Frankfurt-am-Main.
Suite en ut for piano by Francis Poulenc (21) is performed for the first time, by the Société National de Musique.
A funeral for the memory of Charles Tomlinson Griffes takes place at Community Chapel of the Church of the Messiah at 34th and Park Streets, New York. His earthly remains are laid to rest in Bloomfield Cemetery, Bloomfield, New Jersey.
11 April 1920 Ballata delle Gnomidi, a symphonic poem by Ottorino Respighi (40), is performed for the first time, in the Teatro Augusteo, Rome.
16 April 1920 Sonatina for piano by Béla Bartók (39) is performed for the first time, in Bratislava.
Sonata for Solo Cello by Zoltán Kodály (37) is performed by the Society for Private Performances, Vienna.
17 April 1920 The leader of the March coup in Berlin, Wolfgang von Kapp, is arrested in Stockholm.
Deux mélodies hébraïques for voice and orchestra by Maurice Ravel (45) is performed for the first time, in Paris. See 3 June 1914.
18 April 1920 Today and yesterday elections take place for a constituent assembly in Latvia.
20 April 1920 The Games of the Seventh Olympiad of the Modern Era open in Antwerp, Belgium.
21 April 1920 Sergey Rakhmaninov (47) signs a five-year exclusive contract with the Victor Talking Machine Company to record 25 pieces. He is guaranteed at least $15,000 a year and will remain with Victor through 1942.
In Butte, Montana, 14 members of the Industrial Workers of the World are shot by police during a riot.
Bruno Maderna is born in Venice, the son of Umberto Grossato and Caroline Maderna.
22 April 1920 The original version of An Irish Concertino for violin, cello, and orchestra by Charles Villiers Stanford (67) is performed for the first time, in Bournemouth. See 4 December 1918.
23 April 1920 Mustafa Kemal is elected the President of the Grand National Assembly in Ankara. He declares the assembly to be the highest authority in Turkey.
After months of pleas and petitions from American citizens, the United States government recognizes the Armenian Republic.
The Excursions of Mr. Broucek, an opera in two parts (Mr. Broucek’s Excursion to the Moon and Mr. Broucek’s Excursion to the Fifteenth Century) by Leos Janácek (65) to words of Gellner, Dyk, Prochazka, and the composer after Cech, is performed for the first time, in the National Theatre, Prague. It is not a success.
25 April 1920 War begins between Poland and Russia as Polish forces begin an offensive against the Red Army west of Kiev.
France is granted a League of Nations mandate over Syria.
26 April 1920 Gabriel Fauré (74) is made a Grand Officier de la Légion d’honneur.
Allied governments meeting in San Remo, Italy, ask the United States to accept a mandate over Armenia.
In voting for the Danish Folketing, the Radical Left loses 15 seats while all other parties gain.
27 April 1920 Rag-Time for eleven instruments by Igor Stravinsky (37) is performed for the first time, in Aeolian Hall, London.
The Red Army enters Baku, thus ending the independence of Azerbaijan.
Sergey Prokofiev (29) sails from New York for France, his first time in western Europe since 1915.
28 April 1920 The Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic is founded.
30 April 1920 Conscription comes to an end in Great Britain.
1 May 1920 Chairman of the Latvian Peoples Council Janis Cakste becomes President of the Constitutional Assembly.
The People’s States of Reuss and Saxe-Meiningen, the Free People’s State of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and the Free States of Altenburg, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, and Gotha are joined to create the Free State of Thüringen.
A committee of the US House of Representatives votes to recommend censure of Assistant Secretary of Labor Louis Post. Post was responsible for dropping the charges on the vast majority of aliens rounded up last winter.
Martha Sanders composes a letter to Ernst Bloch (39) in New York, asking him if he would like to take up the directorship of what will become the Cleveland Institute of Music.
2 May 1920 The Dominion Steel Corporation, Canada Steamship Lines, Ltd., and Nova Scotia Steel and Coal, Ltd. join together to form British Empire Steel Corporation, the second largest steel corporation in the world, behind United States Steel.
Sergey Prokofiev (29) arrives at the Hôtel Scribe in Paris where he is greeted by Sergey Diaghilev.
3 May 1920 Piano Sonata no.1 by Ernst Krenek (19) is performed for the first time, in Salzburg.
5 May 1920 Niels Thomasius Neergaard replaces Aage Friis as Prime Minister of Denmark.
Eduardo Dato y Iradier replaces Manuel Allendesalazar Muñoz de Salazar as Prime Minister of Spain.
6 May 1920 Prime Minister Étienne Alexandre Millerand of France presents the terms of peace to delegates from Hungary, in Paris.
Ernst Bloch (39) responds affirmatively to the letter of 1 May, accepting the post of director of the Cleveland Institute of Music, if certain requirements of his are met.
7 May 1920 General Pilsudski enters Kiev at the head of a Polish army.
Russia recognizes the independence of Georgia.
Assistant US Secretary of Labor Louis Post testifies before the House committee that censured him on 1 May. He brings detailed evidence to show that the Red Scare of last winter was manufactured by conservatives, newspapers, and elements of the Justice Department. Among the thousands arrested, only three guns were found. The committee suspends all action against him.
8 May 1920 Dmitri Shostakovich (13) plays his music in public for the first time, at an exhibition of the paintings of Boris Kustodiyev, in Petrograd.
11 May 1920 The Turkish National Assembly meets in Angora (Ankara).
Silvestre Revueltas (20) is elected to the Chicago Federation of Musicians.
12 May 1920 Sir Herbert Louis Samuel becomes the first British Commissioner for Palestine, under a League of Nations mandate.
Quintet for piano and strings in g minor by Arnold Bax (36) is performed publicly for the first time, in Queen’s Hall, London. See 17 February 1917.
15 May 1920 Greek forces arrive at Izmir and occupy the town.
Maurice Ravel (45) signs a contract with the Aeolian Company of London to make piano rolls on their DUP-ART device.
Igor Stravinsky’s (37) ballet with song Pulcinella is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra. The choreography is by Massine and the sets by Picasso.
Doute, a piano work by Albert Roussel (51), is performed for the first time, by the Société National de Musique, Paris.
16 May 1920 Jeanne d’Arc is canonized by the Roman Catholic Church.
17 May 1920 Milenko Vesnic replaces Stojan Protic as Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes.
18 May 1920 Poles riot in Teschen (Cieszyn) against rule by Czechoslovakia.
19 May 1920 Private detectives hired by coal companies begin evicting miners and their families from company housing in Matewan, West Virginia. They are evicted for joining the United Mine Workers of America. Citizens of the town, armed and with the backing of the mayor and sheriff, confront the detectives and gunplay ensues. Ten people are killed, including the mayor and the head of the detectives.
String Quartet no.1 by Charles Koechlin (52) is performed for the first time, in Salle Gaveau, Paris.
20 May 1920 The first commercial radio broadcast in Canada takes place from the Marconi station, XWA, in Montreal.
21 May 1920 Mohammed Tawfiq Nasim Pasha replaces Yusof Wahba Pasha as Prime Minister of Egypt.
Fleeing a coup by General Alvaro Obregón, President Venustiano Carranza of Mexico is murdered in Tlaxcalatongo.
22 May 1920 Béla Bartók (39) and his family move into a new residence in the upper floor of a home owned by József Lukács in Buda.
23 May 1920 One of a series of anti-Bartók (39) articles appears in National Newspaper, this one written by Elemér Sereghy, accusing him of not being sufficiently Hungarian.
Short Festival Te Deum by Gustav Holst (45) for chorus and orchestra is performed for the first time, at The Old College, Dulwich, London.
24 May 1920 The British Music Society adopts a standard pitch of A=435.4 cps at 15° C.
Felipe Adolfo de la Huerta Marcor replaces Venustiano Carranza as president of Mexico.
26 May 1920 Four Hymns for tenor, viola, and strings by Ralph Vaughan Williams (47) to words of Taylor, Watts, Crashaw, and Bridges, are performed for the first time, in Cardiff.
Piano Concerto no.1 “La mort d’Arthur” by Colin McPhee (20) is performed for the first time, in Baltimore.
28 May 1920 An Arabesque for baritone, chorus, and orchestra by Frederick Delius (58) to words of Jacobsen is performed for the first time, in Central Hall, Newport, Monmouthshire.
1 June 1920 Felipe Adolfo de la Huerta Marcor, revolutionary leader of Mexico, is named interim President.
Aglavaine et Sélisette, an overture by Arthur Honegger (25), is performed publicly for the first time, in the Salle Gaveau, Paris. See 3 April 1917.
4 June 1920 Peace between the Allies and Hungary is concluded in the Treaty of Trianon. Hungary loses 70% of its territory and 60% of its population (including 28% of its Hungarian speakers). Czechoslovakia receives Slovakia and Ruthenia. The Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes receives Croatia and Slavonia and part of the Banat of Tameszvar. Austria receives a slice of Hungary. Romania receives part of the Banat of Tameszvar and Transylvania. Hungary agrees to pay reparations and to limit its army. Although Hungarian representatives sign the treaty, no Hungarian government will accept its terms.
Three Tone Pictures op.5 arranged for wind quintet, string quintet, and piano by Charles T. Griffes (†0) is performed for the first time, at Wildwood Farm, the home of Mrs. Alexander L. Dommerich in Greenwich, Connecticut. See 3 April 1914 and 19 December 1916.
5 June 1920 The Red Army breaks through the Polish front near Kiev.
Albanians begin an uprising against the Italian occupation of the Vlorë district.
Roger Sessions (23), a member of the Smith College faculty, marries Barbara Foster, a recent Smith graduate, in her parents’ home in Claremont, New Hampshire. Engaged for 18 months, her parents insisted that the wedding be put off until after her graduation.
6 June 1920 An offensive by the White Army breaks out of the Crimea.
In the first Reichstag elections under the new constitution, the Social Democratic Party loses over 60 seats but remains the biggest party. Gains are made by the Independent Social Democratic Party and the German Peoples Party.
José Ramos Preto replaces António Maria Baptista as Prime Minister of Portugal ad interim.
7 June 1920 The rival Turkish government in Ankara declares all treaties and agreements of the Sultan’s government invalid as of 16 March 1920.
Socrate, a symphonic drama by Erik Satie (54), is performed for the first time in its orchestral setting, in the Salle Erard, Paris. See 14 February 1920. Also premiered are the second and third of the five Nocturnes for piano by Erik Satie (54). See 18 March 1920.
George White’s Scandals of 1920, a musical revue with six new songs by George Gershwin (21) to words of Jackson, is performed for the first time, in the Globe Theatre, New York.
9 June 1920 Greek troops capture Brusa (Bursa) from Turkish nationalists.
Pablo Picasso completes his drawing of Manuel de Falla (43) in Paris.
William Walton (18) passes the second half of his Bachelor of Music degree. Among his examiners is Ralph Vaughan Williams (47).
La Légende de Saint Christophe op.67, a drame sacré by Vincent d’Indy (69) to his own words after de Voragine, is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra.
11 June 1920 Albanians besiege Italians in Vlorë.
12 June 1920 As the Red Army enters Kiev, the city changes hands for the 16th and last time during the Russian Civil War.
Piano Sonata by John Ireland (40) is performed for the first time, in London.
13 June 1920 The United States Senate votes against accepting a mandate over Armenia.
14 June 1920 Incidental music to Gide’s (after Shakespeare) play Antoine et Cléopatre by Florent Schmitt (49) is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra.
15 June 1920 Denmark takes control of North Slesvig following a plebiscite.
The first advertised radio program in Great Britain takes place, broadcast from the Chelmsford studios of the Marconi Company. It is a recital by Dame Nellie Melba.
Mandragora, a pantomime by Karol Szymanowski (37) to a scenario by Boguslawski and Schiller after Molière, is performed for the first time, in Warsaw. It is a great success and 30 performances will follow. The run is only ended by the appearance of the Red Army outside Warsaw in August.
Three works for piano by Arnold Bax (36) are performed for the first time, in Wigmore Hall, London: The Slave Girl, What the Minstrel Told Us and Lullaby.
16 June 1920 Giovanni Giolitti replaces Francesco Saverio Nitti as Prime Minister of Italy.
Puerto Rican brothers Sosthenes and Hernand Behn incorporate International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation to hold Puerto Rico Telephone Company, the Cuban Telephone Company, and one-half of the Cuban American Telephone and Telegraph Company.
19 June 1920 Aleksandras Stulginskis replaces Antanas Smetona as President of Lithuania.
Kazys Grinius replaces Ernestas Galvanauskas as Prime Minister of Lithuania.
20 June 1920 Otto Bahr Halvorsen replaces Gunnar Knudsen as Prime Minister of Norway.
22 June 1920 Sonatina for piano no.6 “super Carmen” by Ferruccio Busoni (54) is performed for the first time, in Wigmore Hall, London by the composer.
23 June 1920 Turkish nationalists massed between Akhisar and Alasehir, 250 km south of
Constantinople, are routed by Greek troops.
Federal Judge George W. Anderson rules in Boston that membership in the Communist Party alone is not grounds for deportation. In the case of Colyer et al v. Skeffington, Anderson lambastes the Bureau of Investigation and the Justice Department for wholesale violations of constitutional rights and a “hang first and try afterwards” approach. 300 communists are released from detention.
24 June 1920 Wladyslaw Grabski replaces Leopold Skulski as Prime Minister of Poland.
25 June 1920 After months of official investigation and hearings, Zoltán Kodály (37) is cleared of any charges of misconduct as deputy director of the National Academy of Music during the Republic of the Councils in Hungary. He is demoted to professor and given a leave of absence during the first term of the academic year 1920-1921.
Konstantin Fehrenbach replaces Hermann Müller as Chancellor of Germany.
26 June 1920 António Maria da Silva replaces José Ramos Preto as Prime Minister of Portugal.
1 July 1920 The Free State of Coburg is joined to Bavaria.
American Telephone and Telegraph, General Electric, and Radio Corporation of America sign a patent pooling agreement. This will result in the first commercial sale of triode tubes, furthering the development and dissemination of radio.
4 July 1920 Elements of the Red Army break through the Polish line and drive for Warsaw.
6 July 1920 British troops evacuate Batum (Batumi, Georgia) on the Black Sea, 250 km west of Tiflis (Tbilisi).
For the second time this year, Danes go to the polls to elect a new Folketing. The Left Party makes modest gains but the parties are virtually unchanged.
7 July 1920 Michael Mayr replaces Karl Renner as Chancellor of Austria.
8 July 1920 The United States lifts trade restrictions on Russia but refuses recognition.
10 July 1920 Arthur Meighen replaces Robert Laird Borden as Prime Minister of Canada.
Sette canzoni, seven “dramatic expressions” by Gian Francesco Malipiero (38) to his own words after several earlier Italian poets, is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra.
11 July 1920 The Red Army captures Minsk as Soviet rule is restored in Byelorussia.
A plebiscite in East and West Prussia votes 97% for Germany.
11 July 1920 The Sunday News-Leader of Cleveland announces that Ernest Bloch (39) will head the new conservatory to be opened in the city on 3 January.
12 July 1920 Russia and Lithuania conclude a treaty in Moscow recognizing the independence of Lithuania.
Great Britain’s foreign minister, Lord Curzon, proposes a truce line along an ethnic boundary as the international boundary between Poland and Russia.
The Canadian Grand Trunk Railway is nationalized.
15 July 1920 The Red Army captures Vilna (Vilnius).
16 July 1920 The terms of the Treaty of St. Germain-en-Laye signed last 10 September take effect.
17 July 1920 The Russian Politburo decides not to accept the Curzon Line and orders its armies to advance beyond it.
António Joaquim Granjo replaces António Maria da Silva as Prime Minister of Portugal.
18 July 1920 Two Psalms by Gustav Holst (45) for tenor, chorus, strings, and organ, are performed for the first time, by 800 singers and 130 players during halftime of a football match at the St. James’ Park Football Ground, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Leopold Stokowski writes to John Alden Carpenter (44) commissioning a work to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the arrival of the Mayflower. See 26 November 1920.
19 July 1920 The Red Army captures Grodno.
Pál, Count Teleki de Szék replaces Sándor Simonyi Semadam as Prime Minister of Hungary. The previous government fell on 27 June for signing the Treaty of Trianon.
20 July 1920 A concert suite from Igor Stravinsky’s (38) L’histoire du soldat, for seven players, is performed for the first time, at Wigmore Hall, London. See 28 September 1918.
Airmail service begins between New York and San Francisco.
21 July 1920 Opposing Sinn Fein and Unionist supporters riot in Belfast.
23 July 1920 Wincenty Witos replaces Wladyslaw Grabski as Prime Minister of Poland.
Great Britain transforms its East Africa Protectorate into the Colony of Kenya. A coastal strip, leased from the Sultan of Zanzibar, becomes the Kenya Protectorate.
24 July 1920 French troops battle their way into Damascus and assert power over Syria.
25 July 1920 Emir Feisal vacates the throne of Syria.
27 July 1920 The Red Army captures Pinsk and crosses into Poland.
The symphonic poem and ballet Naufragio de Kleônicos by Heitor Villa-Lobos (33) is performed for the first time, in the Teatro Municipal, Rio de Janeiro.
28 July 1920 An Allied ambassadorial conference divides Teschen (Cieszyn) between Poland and Czechoslovakia.
Aadu Birk replaces Jaan Tönisson as Prime Minister of Estonia.
30 July 1920 Jaan Tönisson replaces Aadu Birk as Prime Minister of Estonia.
The Bolsheviks create a rival Polish government at Bialystok called the Provisional Polish Revolutionary Committee.
Gabriel Fauré (75) informs Camille Saint-Saëns (84) that he intends to resign as director of the Paris Conservatoire.
1 August 1920 The Red Army takes Brest-Litovsk and constitutes a Bolshevik Polish government.
In a two-day meeting ending today, the Communist Party of Great Britain is founded in London.
2 August 1920 Italy signs the Protocol of Tirana, agreeing to withdraw from Albanian territory and respecting the independence of Albania.
10 August 1920 The Constantinople government signs the Treaty of Sèvres with the Allies. It provides for the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. France gains control over Syria and Lebanon. Great Britain receives Palestine, Mesopotamia, and domination over the independent Arab kingdoms. Italian sovereignty is recognized over the Dodecanese Islands. Greece receives the islands of Imbros and Tenedos, eastern Thrace except for Constantinople, and the Smyrna (Izmir) district of western Anatolia. Armenia is declared independent, with borders to be drawn by the President of the United States. Hejaz is declared independent. Kurdistan is to be autonomous. The Zone of the Straits is demilitarized and occupied by the Allies. The entire arrangement is rejected by the rival nationalist government of Mustafa Kemal.
11 August 1920 In a treaty between Russia and Latvia, Russia recognizes the independence of Latvia.
14 August 1920 Polish forces briefly counterattack at Radzymin but are pushed back.
16 August 1920 The Polish army launches a major counterattack across the Wieprz River smashing through the unprepared Russians.
18 August 1920 An agreement between British Lord Milner and Egyptian nationalist Saad Zaghlul foresees a treaty where Britain will recognize Egypt as an independent constitutional monarchy.
The 19th amendment to the United States Constitution, extending voting rights to women, is ratified.
19 August 1920 Poles in Silesia rise against German rule for a second time.
20 August 1920 The first commercial radio broadcast featuring music is heard over Detroit station 8MK (WWJ). It is also the first station to broadcast regular news reports.
22 August 1920 Italy recognizes the complete independence of Albania.
25 August 1920 After considerable negotiation and compromise, Ernst Bloch (40) signs a document to become the first director of the Cleveland Institute of Music.
26 August 1920 The Kirghiz (Kazakh) Autonomous SSR is set up in Orenberg (Russia).
Zoltán Kodály (37) signs a publishing contract with Universal Edition, Vienna.
27 August 1920 Regular radio broadcasts begin in Argentina.
28 August 1920 As the battle for Warsaw ends, Communists are eliminated from power in central Europe.
30 August 1920 The Symphony no. 1 “O Imprevisto” of Heitor Villa-Lobos (33) is given its first complete performance in the Teatro Municipal, Rio de Janeiro, under the baton of the composer. See 29 September 1919.
31 August 1920 Béla Bartók’s (39) music is heard in Britain for the first time in six years, at a Promenade concert conducted by Henry Wood.
Waiting for the Sun to Come Out, a song by George Gershwin (21) to words of Ira Gershwin, is performed for the first time as part of the musical comedy The Sweetheart Shop in the Knickerbocker Theatre, New York.
1 September 1920 Anton Webern (36) enters upon duties once again as a conductor of the Prague theatre. Once again, his tenure will be short, ending in October.
Alban Berg (35) enters his contract as editor of the house newspaper of Universal Edition, Musikblätter des Anbruch. Unfortunately, he is presently in a sanitarium for his lung ailment and nerves.
2 September 1920 The last Italian troops leave Albania.
Longshoremen in Brooklyn refuse to offload British ships until all British troops evacuate Ireland.
3 September 1920 Universal male suffrage over 21 is instituted in the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes.
6 September 1920 As leftist workers throughout Italy take over their factories, Pietro Mascagni (56) and members of his family make a tumultuous visit to the shipyard in Livorno, his birthplace. He tours the facility and is given gifts.
8 September 1920 The New Slovak Songs: 30 songs in two sets for voice and piano by Bohuslav Martinu (29) are performed for the first time, in Policka, the composer at the piano.
9 September 1920 Having spent the war years mostly in Zürich, Ferruccio Busoni (54) departs to return to Berlin. His family will soon follow. He flies to Stuttgart, then takes a train to Berlin.
11 September 1920 Ferruccio Busoni (54) returns to his Berlin home for the first time in almost six years.
Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, two Italian immigrants, are indicted for the 15 April murders of Frederick Parmenter and Alessandro Berardelli. The victims were employees of the Slater and Morrill Shoe Company in South Braintree, Massachusetts who were carrying the company payroll when they were robbed and killed. Vanzetti is already serving 12-15 years in prison for armed robbery.
Sinfonía sevillana op.23 for orchestra by Joaquín Turina (37) is performed for the first time, in the Gran Casino de San Sebastián under the title Sevilla.
12 September 1920 The Games of the Seventh Olympiad of the Modern Era close in Antwerp. 2,626 athletes from 29 nations took part in competition over four-and-a-half months. Germany, Austria, Hungary, Turkey, and Bulgaria, all losers in the Great War, are not allowed to participate.
14 September 1920 Romania is admitted to the League of Nations.
Walter Piston (26) marries Kathryn Nason, a classmate from the Massachusetts Normal School of Art.
15 September 1920 Jan Cerny replaces Vlastimil Tusar as Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia.
16 September 1920 A bomb goes off on Wall Street, New York, across the street from the offices of JP Morgan, killing over 30, injuring 300, and causing $2,000,000 damage. Communists, anarchists, and Italian terrorists are among the usual suspects, but no one will be brought to justice.
20 September 1920 Prince-Regent Aleksandar of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes gives consent to an agreement that suffrage in the upcoming constituent assembly elections shall be extended to all males over 21.
21 September 1920 Peace negotiations between Russia and Poland begin at Riga.
President Paul Eugène Louis Deschanel of France is forced to resign because of mental incapacity.
Danes go the polls for the third time this year to elect a new Folketing. The Social Democratic Party makes the biggest gains.
23 September 1920 Étienne Alexandre Millerand replaces Paul Deschanel as President of France.
24 September 1920 Georges Leygues replaces Étienne Alexandre Millerand as Prime Minister of France.
29 September 1920 Lied der Frauen op.68/6 for voice and piano by Richard Strauss (56) to words of Brentano, is performed for the first time, in Dresden. See 30 May 1919.
Three songs by George Gershwin (22) are performed for the first time, as part of the revue Broadway Brevities of 1920 in the Winter Garden Theatre, New York: Lu Lu and Snowflakes, to words of Jackson, and Spanish Love, to words of Caesar.
1 October 1920 The Landtag of Prussia unites 67 districts (eight urban, 59 rural) into Greater Berlin and separates it from Brandenburg. It creates a city of over 3,000,000 people.
Gabriel Fauré (75) resigns as director of the Paris Conservatoire because he is going deaf.
6 October 1920 Two works for voice and orchestra or piano by Ferruccio Busoni (54) to words of Goethe are performed for the first time, in Zürich Tonhalle: Lied des Mephistopheles op.49/2 and Lied des Unmuts.
7 October 1920 HG Wells, on a trip to Russia, is invited to address the Petrograd Soviet.
9 October 1920 By League of Nations agreement, Poland occupies Vilna (Vilnius).
The first two of the Five Piano Pieces op.23 by Arnold Schoenberg (46) are performed for the first time, in Vienna.
10 October 1920 A plebiscite in Carinthia votes 57% for Austria.
12 October 1920 An armistice is reached between Polish, Ukrainian, and Red Army forces at Riga.
14 October 1920 Peace is concluded between Russia and Finland at Tartu, Estonia. Finland is granted an outlet on the Arctic Ocean in return for some of East Karelia.
15 October 1920 The Polish Army enters Minsk.
16 October 1920 1,000,000 miners go on strike in Britain for a two-shilling raise.
17 October 1920 Irish nationalist Michael Fitzgerald dies in Cork Jail after a hunger strike of 68 days.
18 October 1920 A peaceful march through London by 5,000 striking miners, led by mayors of 15 London boroughs, turns into a riot when police try to restrict their movement. Many people are hurt.
19 October 1920 Anatoly Lunacharsky, Peoples Commissar for Education of the RSFSR declares the continuation of the Petrograd Philharmonic to be of national importance.
John Reed dies in Moscow of typhus, one day before his 33rd birthday. He will be buried in the Kremlin.
A judge in New York rules that membership in the Communist Party is enough to warrant deportation.
21 October 1920 Ahmed Tevfik Pasha replaces Damad Adil Ferid Pasha as Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire.
22 October 1920 Forces of the Bolshevik-controlled Far Eastern Republic capture Chita.
23 October 1920 La Valse by Maurice Ravel (45) is performed for the first time, in a two-piano arrangement, at the Kleiner Konzerthaussaal, Vienna. Alfredo Casella (37) and the composer are at the keyboards.
The first of the Two Ballads op.12 for voice and piano by Arnold Schoenberg (46) is performed for the first time, in the Schubertsaal, Vienna.
24 October 1920 A four-man junta led by Sun Yat-sen (Sun Yixian) takes over power from Cen Chunxuan in the government of China.
Deuxième suite symphonique op.57 by Darius Milhaud (28) is performed for the first time, in Paris. A riot takes place between supporters and detractors as a result of the music. Police arrive and physically eject at least one critic while providing protection for the composer. Milhaud will remember, “this genuine, spontaneous, violent reaction filled me with boundless confidence...enthusiasm, or vehement protests, are a proof that your work is alive.”
25 October 1920 King Alexandros of Greece dies from infection following a bite by a pet monkey. He is succeeded as head of state ad interim by Eleftherios Venizelos.
The Romanian army intervenes in a general strike demanding the right to join trade unions. All unions are banned and strike leaders are arrested.
Terence MacSwiney, Lord Mayor of Cork, dies in prison after a hunger strike of 74 days. An Irish nationalist, MacSwiney was protesting his sentence for possessing seditious materials.
26 October 1920 Ants Piip replaces Jaan Tõnisson as Prime Minister of Estonia.
Vincent d’Indy (69) marries his second wife, Caroline Janson.
Deuxième suite symphonique op.57 by Darius Milhaud (28) is performed for the first time, in Paris. A riot ensues as a result of the music. Police arrive and physically eject at least one critic while providing physical protection for the composer.
27 October 1920 The headquarters of the League of Nations is moved to Geneva.
Gerhard Louis de Geer af Finspång replaces Karl Hjalmar Branting as Prime Minister of Sweden.
The United States Department of Commerce grants the first license for an AM radio station to Westinghouse Manufacturing Company.
28 October 1920 Pavlos Theodorou Koundouriotis becomes regent of Greece following the death of King Alexandros on 25 October.
The last battle of the Crimea campaign begins. The White Army will be forced to withdraw, eventually evacuating to Constaninople.
Three weeks of violence between Czechs and Germans begin in Bohemia.
29 October 1920 The Garden of Fand, a symphonic poem by Arnold Bax (36), is performed for the first time, in Orchestra Hall, Chicago.
30 October 1920 An Interlude for orchestra from the unperformed opera La Mort de Sainte Alméenne by Arthur Honegger (28) is performed for the first time, in the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris.
31 October 1920 Sergey Prokofiev (29) arrives in Chicago for the production of his opera The Love for Three Oranges only to find that it has been cancelled.
1 November 1920 In the first general election in Greece since the war, the Liberal Party of Eleftherios Venizelos loses power, despite the fact it received more than half the vote.
La Revue Musicale begins publication in Paris. In it, a review of the music of Heitor Villa-Lobos (33) appears, written by Darius Milhaud (28). It is the first notice of the music of Villa-Lobos in a European periodical.
2 November 1920 Voting in the United States ensures the election of Senator Warren G. Harding as President over James Cox, Governor of Ohio. Large gains by Harding’s Republicans give them over 300 of 435 seats in the House of Representatives. They also gain many seats and an increased majority in the Senate. The first regular commercial radio broadcast in the United States takes place from the studios of KDKA Pittsburgh. The station, owned by Westinghouse Manufacturing Company, broadcasts results from the presidential election. The returns are phoned in from the Pittsburgh Post.
4 November 1920 The Prelude to Charles Villiers Stanford’s (68) unperformed opera The Travelling Companion is performed for the first time, in Queen’s Hall, London. See 30 April 1925.
5 November 1920 A Suite for viola and orchestra by Ernest Bloch (40) is performed for the first time, in New York. It is not well received. In the audience is Roger Sessions (23) and his new wife.
6 November 1920 Several works by Henry Cowell (23) are performed for the first time, in Palo Alto, California: Sonate for cello and piano, Prelude specifique, Annunciation, Prelude dimplomatique, Sifting, and The Sea Ride for piano, and two songs for voice and piano to words of Stevenson, Rain and Looking Forward.
7 November 1920 The Reds begin a major attack on the Whites in Perekop.
8 November 1920 Alban Berg (35) is released from a sanitarium but never takes up his post as editor of the house newspaper of Universal Edition, Musikblätter des Anbruch. He will go back to work for Schoenberg’s (46) Society for Private Performances.
A ballet to Maurice Ravel’s (45) Le tombeau de Couperin is performed for the first time, in the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Paris. See 28 February 1920 and 11 April 1919.
10 November 1920 William Walton (18) receives £150 from Christchurch Cathedral to cover his debts.
Edward Elgar (63) conducts the first concert by the City of Birmingham Orchestra. The program is entirely his music.
11 November 1920 On the second anniversary of the armistice which ended the Great War, the body of an unknown soldier is laid to rest under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The inscription reads, “Ici repose un soldat français mort pour la Patrie. 1914-1918.” A similar ceremony takes place in London, where an unknown British soldier is buried in Westminster Abbey. “They buried him among the Kings because he had done good toward God and toward his House.”
12 November 1920 A treaty between Italy and The Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes is signed at Rapallo. Italy gains Zara and gives up Split, Dalmatia, and Sebenico. Fiume is declared independent.
14 November 1920 The Red Army takes Sevastopol. The last White troops are evacuated to Turkey.
Paul Hindemith’s (24) Sonata for unaccompanied viola op.11/5 is performed for the first time, in Friedburg, by the composer.
15 November 1920 The Red Army enters Sevastopol.
The Free City of Danzig is created under the League of Nations.
The Planets op. 32 for orchestra by Gustav Holst (46) is given its first complete performance, in Queen’s Hall, London, the composer conducting. It is an immediate success. See 29 September 1918.
16 November 1920 Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Ltd. (QANTAS) is founded in the Gresham Hotel, Brisbane by Arthur Baird, Hudson Fysh, Paul McGuiness, and Fergus McMaster.
The last of the White Army under Wrangell escapes from the Crimea by sea, ending armed resistance to the Bolshevik regime.
17 November 1920 Demetrios Rallis replaces Eleftherios Kiriakou Venizelos as Prime Minister of Greece.
18 November 1920 The Bolshevik government promulgates a Decree on Women’s Healthcare, making Russia the first country in the world to legalize abortion on demand in all circumstances.
Henri, Comte Carton de Wiart replaces Léon Delacroix as Prime Minister of Belgium.
Queen Olga replaces Pavlos Theodorou Koundouriotis as Regent of Greece.
Toccata for piano by Ferruccio Busoni (54) is performed for the first time, in Philharmonic Hall, Berlin by the composer.
November Woods for orchestra by Arnold Bax (37) is performed for the first time, in Free Trade Hall, Manchester.
19 November 1920 Ilias Vrioni replaces Suleyman Bey Delvina as Prime Minister of Albania.
20 November 1920 Alvaro Xavier de Castro replaces António Joaquim Granjo as Prime Minister of Portugal.
Three ballets arranged by Ottorino Respighi (41), to choreography of Leonidov, are performed for the first time, in Teatro Costanzi, Rome: La pentola magica, to Russian folk music, Fantasia Indiana, to music of Glinka and Rimsky-Korsakov, and Canzoni arabe, to music of Borodin (†33) and Rimsky-Korsakov.
21 November 1920 The IRA, led by Michael Collins, hatches a plan to kill 35 British espionage agents in Dublin. In all, 13 people are killed and six injured. One IRA man is captured but he will escape. However, British intelligence is seriously hurt as many agents and informants flee the city.
In the afternoon, British troops and police raid a football game in Croke Park. They open fire on men they think are IRA, which panics the crowd. They then fire at the fleeing crowd. 14 people are killed and dozens injured. A British court of inquiry will find the shootings “unjustified” but the findings are suppressed.
Two works for piano, Printemps (II) and Saudades do Brasil, by Darius Milhaud (28) are performed for the first time, in Gallerie Montainge, Paris.
John Alden Carpenter’s (44) orchestration of his song cycle Water Colors to words of Chinese poets (tr. Giles) is performed for the first time, in Minneapolis.
22 November 1920 In a treaty signed today, Great Britain recognizes the independence of Afghanistan.
Pursuant to the Treaty of Sèvres, US President Wilson presents the boundaries of independent Armenia. It is to be a significant country of about 42,000 sq. km. The act is increasingly irrelevant as the genocide of Armenians in the area continues by troops under Mustafa Kemal. In one week, Armenia will be divided between Kemal’s Turkey and the Bolsheviks’ Russia.
23 November 1920 Symphonic Variations for piano and orchestra by Arnold Bax (37) is performed for the first time, in Queen’s Hall, London. It is very successful with the audience.
Concertino for string quartet by Igor Stravinsky (38) is performed for the first time, in New York. See 11 November 1952.
24 November 1920 Two works for string quartet by Charles T. Griffes (†0) are performed for the first time, in New York: Allegro energico ma maestoso and Two Sketches Based on Indian Themes.
25 November 1920 Vérité? Mensonge?, a marionette ballet by Arthur Honegger (28) to a story by Hellé is performed for the first time, in Salon d’Automne, Paris.
26 November 1920 A Pilgrim Vision, a tone poem by John Alden Carpenter (44), composed in honor of the 300th anniversary of the landing of the Mayflower, is performed for the first time, in Philadelphia. Critics are mildly positive.
27 November 1920 Ottorino Respighi’s (41) choreographic comedy Scherzo veneziano, is performed for the first time, in Teatro Costanzi, Rome.
28 November 1920 Elections to a Constituent Assembly are held in the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. The liberal Democratic Party and the Serbian Peoples Radical Party win the most seats.
The IRA ambushes a detachment of British special policemen in County Cork. 17 policemen and three IRA men are killed.
Jennie Partch is killed when she is hit by a streetcar in Los Angeles on her way to meet with her son, Harry (19).
29 November 1920 The Red Army invades Armenia.
A choreography for The Slave-Girl for piano by Arnold Bax (37) is performed for the first time, in the London Coliseum. See 15 June 1920.
Three days of voting under the new Estonian constitution conclude. Seats are widely distributed but leftist parties do best.
1 December 1920 Liberato Damião Ribeiro Pinto replaces Alvaro Xavier de Castro as Prime Minister of Portugal.
Álvaro Obregón Salido replaces Felipe Adolfo de la Huerta Marcor as president of Mexico.
2 December 1920 Faced with the Red Army in its territory Armenia yields to a Bolshevik ultimatum to become a protectorate.
A Viola Sonata by Arthur Honegger (28) is performed for the first time, in Paris.
Sonatine for piano op.59/5 by Charles Koechlin (53) is performed for the first time, in Salle Pleyel, Paris.
3 December 1920 The Birthday of the Infanta Suite for orchestra by John Alden Carpenter (44) from his ballet of the same name, is performed for the first time, in Orchestra Hall, Chicago. See 23 December 1919.
4 December 1920 France creates the Territory of Niger.
5 December 1920 Voters in Greece strongly back the return of the monarchy.
7 December 1920 100,000 Croats rally in Zagreb against the Serbian monarchy and Serb domination.
8 December 1920 A bomb explodes in the upper house of the Romanian parliament. Two people are killed. No one claims responsibility.
Lullabies, a cycle for voice and piano by Bohuslav Martinu is performed for the first time, in Prague, on the composer’s 30th birthday. Also premiered is Martinu’s Three Songs for voice and piano.
The Cleveland Institute of Music opens headed by Ernest Bloch (40). Next year, Roger Sessions (23) will be hired for the faculty.
9 December 1920 Michael Hainisch replaces Karl Seitz as President of Austria.
10 December 1920 US President Woodrow Wilson is awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in Christiania (Oslo).
11 December 1920 Black and Tans, special police for Ireland, run amok in Cork, destroying the center of the city.
Enrico Caruso suffers a throat hemorrhage during a performance at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. He will die 2 August 1921.
12 December 1920 British authorities declare martial law in Cork.
La Valse, by Maurice Ravel (45), is performed for the first time in its orchestral setting, in Paris. See 23 October 1920, 12 January 1929 and 23 May 1929.
13 December 1920 Edipo Rè, a grand opera by Ruggero Leoncavallo (†1) to words of Forzano after Sophocles, is performed for the first time, at the Chicago Opera. The work was completed (or entirely composed) by Giovanni Pennacchio.
14 December 1920 Sérénade for orchestra op.62 by Darius Milhaud (28) is performed for the first time, in Winterthur conducted by Arthur Honegger (28).
15 December 1920 Austria joins the League of Nations.
The Lark Ascending by Ralph Vaughan Williams (48) is performed for the first time, in an arrangement for violin and piano made by the composer for this occasion, in Shirehampton Public Hall. See 14 June 1921.
16 December 1920 An earthquake devastates Gansu, China. Approximately 100,000 people are killed.
Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Finland, and Luxembourg are admitted to the League of Nations.
Piano Sonata op.17 by Paul Hindemith (25) is performed for the first time, in Berlin.
17 December 1920 Albania is admitted to the League of Nations.
The Council of the League of Nations grants South West Africa to the Union of South Africa, the German Samoan Islands to New Zealand, Nauru to the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, and all other former German Pacific colonies south of the equator to Australia, those north of the equator to Japan.
19 December 1920 After elections won by royalists, and a favorable referendum, King Konstantinos I returns to Greece to resume the throne.
The first of the Quatre Petites Mélodies for voice and piano by Erik Satie (54) to words of Lamartine, is performed for the first time, in Galerie La Boétie, Paris. See 12 April 1921.
20 December 1920 Prime Minister Ants Piip is named the first Riigivanem (Head of State) of Estonia.
23 December 1920 The British Parliament passes the Government of Ireland Act granting home rule to the island. Ironically, most Irish nationalists, who fought so long for home rule, now do not support it, opting for independence instead.
25 December 1920 At a congress in Tours, the French Section of the Workers’ International votes to join the Third International (Comintern). They will become the French Communist Party. A minority, led by Léon Blum, will become the French Socialist Party. One member casting his lot with the majority is a young man from Indochina, Nguyen Ai Quoc, later known as Ho Chi Minh.
27 December 1920 Italian troops bombard Fiume to force Gabriele D’Annunzio and his followers out. They oppose the treaty of 12 November making Fiume a sovereign independent city.
28 December 1920 Russia and Ukraine sign an alliance unifying their military and economy.
29 December 1920 Communist political activity is outlawed in the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes.
Emil Hertzka of Universal Edition writes to Leos Janácek (66) that they will not publish his book on harmony.
31 December 1920 Pablo Picasso makes a profile drawing of Igor Stravinsky (38).
©2004-2012 Paul Scharfenberger
17 June 2012
Last Updated (Sunday, 17 June 2012 04:48)