1980
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1 January 1980 The Internet is officially launched.
2 January 1980 Babrak Karmal appears in public for the first time since his coup in Afghanistan.
100,000 British steelworkers strike over wages.
3 January 1980 Jiri Lederer, leading Czechoslovak dissident and signer of Charter 77, is released from prison after three years.
Francsico Lubrales de Sá Carneiro of the conservative Democratic Alliance replaces Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo as Prime Minister of Portugal.
37 members of the Salvadoran government, including ten of eleven cabinet ministers, resign over the failure to institute reforms and quell leftist violence.
Nicaragua’s government announces the reinstatement of civil rights.
Epitaph for oboe and piano by Witold Lutoslawski (66) is performed for the first time, in Wigmore Hall, London.
4 January 1980 Sunni and Shia Moslems battle in Qom, Linegh, and Tabriz, Iran. 43 people are killed, 110 injured.
The United States institutes measures in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. It ends the sale of high technology equipment to the USSR, seriously curtails grain sales, severely cuts back on fishing privileges in US waters, delays opening of new consular facilities and postpones cultural exchanges. President Carter mentions the possibility of a boycott of the Moscow Olympics.
5 January 1980 Canada suspends all aid to Afghanistan until Soviet troops are withdrawn.
6 January 1980 National elections conclude in India. The Indian National Congress (I) returns to power, raising its total by 271 seats.
Saudi Arabia says it will not participate in the Moscow Olympics to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
7 January 1980 The European Community suspends all export subsidies and licenses for grain and dairy products to the USSR.
The United Nations Security Council votes to condemn the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan 13-2.
Czechoslovakian dissident Vaclav Havel is moved from a Prague jail to a prison camp at Hermanice, near Ostrava.
8 January 1980 The US orders its consular officials out of Kiev and orders 17 Soviet officials out of a proposed consulate in New York. The Coast Guard is ordered to track Soviet trawlers off Alaska to ensure they do not exceed their limit. The three round-trip flights per week permitted Aeroflot between the two countries is reduced to two. In addition, the International Longshoreman’s Union stops offloading Soviet ships between Maine and Texas.
The Amazing Flight, a “mechanical ballet” by Bohuslav Martinu (†20), is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of Czechoslovak Radio, 53 years after it was composed. See 25 June 1994.
9 January 1980 Australia announces suspension of cooperation with the Soviet Union in several areas. Soviet scientific vessels are banned from Australian ports. Mutual scientific and cultural exchanges are banned. Aeroflot is denied direct routes to Australia.
63 men are executed for their part in the takeover of the Grand Mosque in Mecca last Autumn. 41 are Saudis, the rest are from Egypt, South Yemen, Kuwait, Yemen, Sudan, and Iraq.
The US suspends all shipments of technology and machinery to the USSR.
10 January 1980 The Dutch government orders a wage freeze for up to two months until labor and management can work out wage policies in light of the current financial situation.
11 January 1980 Measures creating autonomous regions in Catalonia and the Basque country go into effect in Spain.
Canadian Prime Minister Joe Clark announces a suspension of trade credits to the USSR and an end to high technology exports. He calls for a boycott of the Moscow Olympics.
Tournaments: Overture for orchestra by John Corigliano (41) is performed for the first time, in Louisville, Kentucky.
12 January 1980 Iranian officials execute eleven Azerbaijani rebels in Tabriz. This incites more violence in the city.
About 1,000 people meet in Karlsruhe today and tomorrow and vote to organize a new environmental party to be called Die Grüne.
13 January 1980 Guerrilla leader Joshua Nkomo returns to Rhodesia under the London peace accord.
14 January 1980 Indira Gandhi returns to power in India after her party wins a sweeping victory in parliamentary elections.
All American journalists are forced to leave Iran for the crime of reporting on violence in Tabriz.
The United Nations General Assembly votes to condemn the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan 104-18-18. They demand the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country.
15 January 1980 A one-day general strike to protest government economic policies shuts down most of Italy.
16 January 1980 Cantares for guitars and string quartet by Peter Sculthorpe (50) is performed for the first time, at the Seymour Center, Sydney.
The Thatcher government restores diplomatic relations with the dictatorship in Chile.
17 January 1980 The Afghan government orders the expulsion of all US journalists from the country.
Silver, platinum, and copper all reach record prices on commodities markets.
A bomb explodes on a commuter train near Belfast killing three and injuring 14. Two other bombs on trains are removed before exploding.
Symphony no.9 by Roger Sessions (83) is performed for the first time, in Syracuse, New York.
18 January 1980 Two former high-ranking army officials are arrested in Tokyo and charged with spying for the USSR.
Gold reaches $835 an ounce on the London market.
Arvo Pärt (44), his wife and two sons, exit visas in hand, board a train in Tallinn making for Vienna.
20 January 1980 Arvo Pärt (44) and his family arrive in Vienna from Tallinn and are met at the train station by a representative of Universal Edition who, through the efforts of Alfred Schnittke (45), gave them assistance in finding residence in Vienna.
US President Carter calls for the Summer Olympics to be moved from Moscow, postponed, or cancelled unless the USSR withdraws from Afghanistan.
21 January 1980 The New York commodities exchange suspends trading in silver.
Fascist terrorists explode a bomb in a bar in Bilbao frequented by Basque separatists. Four people are killed, at least 19 injured.
22 January 1980 Soviet officials arrest leading dissident Andrey Sakharov, forcing him into internal exile in Gorky and stripping him of all awards.
An anti-government march in San Salvador dissolves into a gun battle between the National Guard and leftist guerrillas. At least 20 people are killed.
23 January 1980 Police surround and cut off the campus of the National University in San Salvador.
24 January 1980 Three Colloquies for horn and orchestra by William Schuman (69) is performed for the first time, in New York.
25 January 1980 Heavy fighting breaks out near the Thai border between Vietnamese forces and guerrillas of the former Cambodian government of Pol Pot.
Japan announces restrictions on sales of strategic materials to the USSR.
Presidential elections take place in Iran. They will be won by Finance Minister Abolhassan Bani-Sadr.
Israel completes the second stage of its withdrawal from the Sinai.
26 January 1980 The British government announces some measures against the USSR in reaction to the invasion of Afghanistan. Certain military and cultural contacts are cancelled and a credit agreement is allowed to lapse.
Over twelve targets in Rome are firebombed within 90 minutes, probably by radical leftists.
Crow’s Nest (The Tuning Meditation), installation with film and dance by Pauline Oliveros (47), is performed for the first time, in the Guggenheim Museum, New York.
27 January 1980 Guerrilla leader Robert Mugabe returns to Rhodesia under the London peace accord.
String Quartet no.7 with baritone by George Rochberg (61) is performed for the first time, at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.
28 January 1980 Japanese Army chief of staff Shigeto Nakana and ten senior military officials resign in the wake of the spy scandal reported 18 January.
Six American Embassy members are clandestinely flown out of Iran with Canadian help. They have been sheltered by Canadian diplomats since they escaped the embassy takeover on 4 November. The remaining four Canadian diplomats close the embassy and leave Teheran. Announcement of the escape will be made tomorrow.
Andrey Sakharov issues a statement from exile in Gorky demanding a public trial.
29 January 1980 The Conference of Islamic States, meeting in Islamabad, condemns the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the holding of US hostages by Iran.
A bomb explodes at the Syrian embassy in Paris shortly before the Syrian Foreign Minister arrives for an official visit. One person is killed, eight injured.
Novelette for orchestra by Witold Lutoslawski (67) is performed for the first time, in Washington.
30 January 1980 Opposed to state terrorism, moderate elements leave the new Salvadoran junta. It will be reconstituted along far more conservative lines, continuing repressive violence.
Round a Common Center for piano quartet or quintet, voice ad lib and narrator ad lib by Lukas Foss (57) is performed for the first time, in Lake Placid, New York. The composer, who is the narrator at the premiere, composed the work for the Winter Olympics. He reads The Runner by WH Auden and is accompanied by a quintet.
Common Tones in Simple Time for orchestra by John Adams (32) is performed for the first time, in Hellman Hall, San Francisco, conducted by the composer.
31 January 1980 Fire breaks out in the Spanish embassy in Guatemala City currently occupied by Indians demanding the release of their comrades. 39 people are killed. The fire occurs after police storm the building.
The multimedia version of Eclipse for quadraphonic tape and video images by Roger Reynolds (45) to words of various authors is performed for the first time, in the Guggenheim Museum, New York. See 18 February 1982.
1 February 1980 China, Japan, and Zaire say they will not participate in the Moscow Olympics unless the USSR withdraws from Afghanistan.
Six members of the Spanish Civil Guards are killed by Basque separatists on a road outside Bilbao.
Spain breaks diplomatic relations with Guatemala over the storming of the embassy yesterday.
The only Indian survivor of yesterday’s fire in Guatemala City is abducted from his hospital bed. His body will be found in a few days, shot to death.
2 February 1980 Details of an FBI operation to catch members of Congress in bribery becomes public. Several members and other officials are said to have taken bribes from agents posing as wealthy Arab businessmen. The affair becomes known as Abscam.
3 February 1980 Japanese Prime Minister Masayoshi Ohira sacks Enji Kobota as Director-General of the Defense Agency in the wake of the ongoing spy scandal.
Authorities regain control of the New Mexico State Penitentiary in Santa Fe after a 36-hour rampage by inmates. At least 33 inmates were killed by other inmates, 89 are injured. No shots are fired in the retaking of the prison.
4 February 1980 Abolhassan Bani-Sadr becomes President of Iran.
Libyan protesters sack the French embassy in Tripoli and the French consulate in Benghazi. They set the embassy alight. The demonstrations (charged by France to be government organized) are apparently against French support of Tunisia. France recalls its diplomatic staff and orders Libyan diplomats out of their country.
The USSR agrees to stop Aeroflot flights into Kennedy Airport in New York because baggage handlers and maintenance personnel refuse to service Soviet planes in protest to the invasion of Afghanistan.
5 February 1980 The Egyptian parliament ends the country’s participation in the Arab economic boycott of Israel.
Leftists take over the Spanish embassy in San Salvador and hold the ambassador and other diplomats hostage. They demand the release of 13 of their colleagues.
7 February 1980 New Zealand closes its embassy in Teheran following a break-in where diplomatic records and valuables were stolen.
8 February 1980 Vietnam’s delegate to peace talks in Beijing goes home without any settlement.
Gunnar Thorodsson replaces Benedikt Gröndal as Prime Minister of Iceland.
Die Erschöpfung der Welt, a szenische Illusion by Mauricio Kagel (48), is performed for the first time, in the Württemergische Staatstheater, Stuttgart.
10 February 1980 A UN official announces that the massive ongoing relief effort has temporarily prevented famine in Cambodia.
11 February 1980 The Salvadoran junta announces sweeping reforms in an attempt to address mounting leftist violence. All banks are nationalized, agrarian reform will be put into action and government control of trade instituted.
An Apotheosis for Archæopteryx for piccolo and berimbau by Lejaren Hiller (55) is performed for the first time, in Buffalo.
12 February 1980 The International Olympic Committee announces at Lake Placid that the Summer Olympic Games will proceed in Moscow as scheduled.
Police attack the headquarters of the Christian Democratic Party in San Salvador, currently held by leftist guerrillas. Seven people are killed, 23 injured. Leftists occupying the Education Ministry leave peacefully.
13 February 1980 The Thirteenth Winter Olympic Games open in Lake Placid, New York.
Leftist guerrillas take over the Panamanian embassy in San Salvador. They will leave tomorrow.
14 February 1980 Racal Electronics announces it has gained control of Decca, Ltd.
15 February 1980 The US government announces that it has begun sending arms to rebels in Afghanistan.
17 February 1980 Prime Minister Indira Gandhi dissolves nine state assemblies ruled by the opposition and announces new elections.
The US and Iran give approval to a five-member commission organized by UN Secretary General Kurt Waldheim to investigate claims against the former Shah.
After six days of artillery duels between Lebanese Christians and Syrians, 60 residents of the village of Qnat are dead.
18 February 1980 Israel opens an embassy in Cairo.
Edward Babiuch replaces Piotr Jaroszewicz as Prime Minister of Poland.
Leftists leave the Spanish embassy in San Salvador after eleven of their comrades are released.
Less than a year after they put him in office, voters in Canada remove the government of Progressive Conservative Joe Clark and elect former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau of the Liberal Party.
19 February 1980 Variations for winds, strings, and keyboards for chamber ensemble by Steve Reich (43) is performed for the first time, in Carnegie Hall, New York. See 14 May 1980.
21 February 1980 A general strike begins in Kabul to protest the Soviet occupation. Subsequent violence leads to hundreds of death.
22 February 1980 Soviet invaders impose martial law in Afghanistan to quell street demonstrations and a widespread general strike.
Oskar Kokoschka dies in Montreux at the age of 93.
23 February 1980 Soviet occupation forces close the Afghan-Pakistan border to traffic.
The UN Commission on the former Shah lands in Teheran to begin work. Ayatollah Khomeini announces that the hostages will not be released until the new parliament is seated, probably in April.
Attorney General of El Salvador Mario Zamora Rivas is shot to death by conservative gunmen unhappy with reformers.
In Memory of a Summer Day, part one of Child Alice for amplified soprano and orchestra by David Del Tredici (42), is performed for the first time, in Powell Symphony Hall, St. Louis. See 14 April 1980, 16 September 1980, 19 November 1981, and 27 April 1986.
24 February 1980 The Thirteenth Winter Olympic Games close in Lake Placid, New York. In twelve days of competition, 1,072 athletes from 37 countries took part. One miracle occurred.
25 February 1980 The Canadian Human Rights Commission rules that six female nurses from Nova Scotia should be paid the same amount as male coworkers doing essentially the same work.
26 February 1980 Egypt and Israel exchange ambassadors for the first time.
Improvisation III for four or more musicians with cassette recordings by John Cage (67) is performed for the first time, in the City Center, New York.
27 February 1980 Three days of balloting for a new democratic government begin in Zimbabwe.
Leftist guerrillas invade and occupy the Dominican embassy in Bogotá, taking hostage many diplomats gathered to celebrate Dominican independence day. They demand the release of 311 of their colleagues and $50,000,000 ransom.
28 February 1980 After the Conservative government refuses to raise license fees, the BBC announces significant austerity measures including the elimination of five orchestras and the shutdown of Radio 3.
A referendum for home rule in Andalusia shows 55.4% of voters in favor but fails because two provinces vote against it.
29 February 1980 The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party formally rehabilitates Liu Shaoqi.
Four days of battles between police and squatters begin in Amsterdam.
Shulamite’s Love for Solomon, the first of the Trilogy: Song of Songs for soprano, chamber ensemble, and tape by Ralph Shapey (58), is performed for the first time, at the University of Chicago the composer conducting. See 24 April 1981.
1 March 1980 Soviet forces launch a major offensive in Kunar province, routing the Afghan rebels.
French astronomers Pierre Laques and Jean Lecacheux discover Helene, a moon of Saturn, from Pic du Midi Observatory.
The UN Security Council votes to call on Israel to dismantle its West Bank settlements.
The Cry of Clytaemnestra, an opera by John C. Eaton (44) to words of Creagh after Aeschylus, is performed for the first time, in Bloomington, Indiana.
2 March 1980 Concerto for harpsichord and strings op.40 by Henryk Górecki (46) is performed for the first time, in Katowice.
3 March 1980 Prem Tinsulanond replaces Kriangsak Chomanan as the military Prime Minister of
Thailand.
Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau replaces Joseph Clark as Prime Minister of Canada.
US President Carter disavows the affirmative vote in the Security Council on 1 March. He says it resulted from a communication failure.
BO for percussion, harp, bass clarinet, and three female voices by Jacob Druckman (51) is performed for the first time, in the Juilliard Theatre, New York. It is dedicated to the boat people of Southeast Asia.
4 March 1980 Results of the first free and open elections in Rhodesia, held 27-29 February, are announced. The ZANU-PF of former guerrilla leader Robert Mugabe wins 62.9% of the vote and will form the new government.
Five fascists receive prison terms totaling 465 years for the 24 January 1977 of five communists in Madrid.
Beware!, a song for voice and piano by Benjamin Britten (†3) to words of Longfellow, is performed for the first time, at the University of East Anglia. The song was composed in the 1920s.
Fwyynghn, a theatre piece by Pauline Oliveros (47), in collaboration with others, is performed for the first time, at the California Institute for the Arts, Valencia.
6 March 1980 Pak Hung Ju is executed by firing squad for the murder of South Korean President Park Chung Hee.
Cornelius Cardew (43) is sentenced by a magistrate in London to one week in prison for his part in a fracas last June between police and leftist demonstrators.
Marguerite Yourcenar becomes the first female member of the Académie française.
The government of El Salvador institutes a state of siege in the country. A few hours later they announce the distribution of 240,000 hectares of land to the people working on it.
Guerrillas holding diplomats hostage in the Dominican embassy in Bogotá release the Austrian ambassador on humanitarian grounds.
7 March 1980 US journalists begin working in Iran for the first time since they were expelled in January.
Syrian troops begin their scheduled withdrawal from Beirut.
9 March 1980 Quartet for oboe, cello, percussion, and piano by Ross Lee Finney (73) is performed for the first time, in Brooklandville, Maryland.
10 March 1980 Ayatollah Khomenei announces support for those holding US hostages in Iran.
Opus 231 for violin and organ by Ernst Krenek (79) is performed for the first time, in Vienna.
11 March 1980 The UN commission investigating the hostage situation in Iran leaves the country. They have been unable to meet the hostages. Draconian restrictions placed on them by the Iranian government leads them to depart.
13 March 1980 Astronomers Pascu, Seidelmann, Baum, and Currie discover Calypso, a moon of Saturn.
Immediately upon his release from prison, Cornelius Cardew (43) is again before a magistrate in London, who fines him £200 plus £200 court costs for a previous offense of obstructing the police.
16 March 1980 Cuban poet Heberto Padilla Lorenzo arrives in New York after being allowed to emigrate by Fidel Castro.
17 March 1980 Ambassador Fernando Gomez Gyns of Uruguay escapes from the Dominican embassy in Bogotá where leftist guerrillas have been holding several diplomats since 27 February.
Gunfire erupts when leftists attempt to occupy a coffee plantation 48 km north of San Salvador which has recently been nationalized. 23 people are killed.
About 150 leftists take over the University of San Salvador. Troops are called in and a gun battle ensues.
22 March 1980 The first compact disc system is marketed by RCA.
23 March 1980 The former Shah of Iran departs Panama for permanent exile in Egypt.
Several world premieres take place in Alice Tully Hall, New York to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Da Capo Chamber Players, founded by Joan Tower (41): Joan’s for flute, clarinet in A, violin, cello, and piano by Charles Wuorinen (41), Private Game for clarinet and cello by Shulamit Ran (30), Scherzo by George Perle (64), Modern Love Waltz by Philip Glass (43), and Petroushskates by Joan Tower.
24 March 1980 Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez, Archbishop of San Salvador, is shot to death as he celebrates mass in the chapel of Divine Providence Hospital, San Salvador. The killers were sent by Roberto d’Aubuisson, commander of conservative death squads.
25 March 1980 Bulgaria allows foreign investments.
The British Olympic Association votes to defy Prime Minister Thatcher and attend the Moscow Olympic games.
Early morning. 30 bombs go off at banks and other institutions in San Salvador. No one is hurt. The US evacuates all dependents of diplomats at its embassy.
Leftist guerrillas release three Colombians from the Dominican embassy in Bogotá.
26 March 1980 Seven members of the Afghan soccer team ask for political asylum in Frankfurt.
Mt. St. Helens in Washington state erupts, sending ash and gas 4,600 meters into the air. No one is injured. It has been dormant since 1857.
String Quartet no.4 by Leslie Bassett (57) is performed for the first time, in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
27 March 1980 A floating oil platform in the North Sea capsizes in heavy weather. 123 people are killed.
28 March 1980 US President Carter orders a ban on exports to the USSR of anything associated with the Summer Olympic Games.
Celebration 1980 for electronic valve instrument, string orchestra, and tape by Vladimir Ussachevsky (68) is performed for the first time, in McMillin Theatre, Columbia University, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Columbia University Graduate School.
30 March 1980 Nguyen Huu Tho replaces Ton Duc Thang as acting President of Vietnam.
30,000 people jam the San Salvador Cathedral for the funeral of Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero. Panic breaks out after an explosion and sniper fire are heard. 26 people are killed, 200 injured.
Leftists occupying the Dominican embassy in Bogotá release two more Colombian hostages.
The Canadian Olympic Association votes to attend the Moscow Olympic games.
Quatre chansons françaises for voice and orchestra by Benjamin Britten (†3) to words of Hugo and Verlaine are performed publicly for the first time, over the airwaves of the BBC Radio 3 52 years after they were composed.
Two works by Pauline Oliveros (47) for any number of performers are performed for the first time, at the Cornish School, Seattle: Anarchy Waltz and Angels and Demons.
1 April 1980 Two unions agree to a wage increase, thus ending a 13-week strike against British Steel.
Six Cubans seeking asylum drive a bus through the gates of the Peruvian embassy in Havana.
Incidental music to Pushkin’s play Yevgeny Onegin op.71 by Sergey Prokofiev (†27) is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of the BBC originating in London.
2 April 1980 A broad center-left coalition called the Democratic Front is organized in El Salvador to combat the junta presently in power.
4 April 1980 Leftist guerrillas release two non-diplomats from the Dominican embassy in Bogotá.
Mercure--Poses Plastiques for 14 players by Harrison Birtwistle (45) after Satie (†54) is performed for the first time, in Queen Elizabeth Hall, London.
6 April 1980 Ihsan Sabri Çaglayangil replaces Fahri Sabri Korutürk as acting President of Turkey. The Parliament has failed to elect a successor to Korutürk and his term ends today.
Over the last week, 7,000 Cubans have entered the grounds of the Peruvian embassy in Havana seeking asylum.
Leftist guerrillas release three non-diplomats from the Dominican embassy in Bogotá.
3M begins marketing Post-It ® notes in the United States.
7 April 1980 Ayatollah Khomeini announces that the US hostages will remain under the control of the militants holding the embassy and not turned over to the Iranian government.
PLO terrorists take over a nursery at Kibbutz Misgau Am taking several children hostage. Israeli soldiers end the raid. All five terrorists, one child, one Israeli soldier and one civilian are killed.
US President Carter responds to Ayatollah Khomeini’s statement by breaking diplomatic relations with Iran and orders all Iranian diplomats out of the country by midnight tomorrow. He bans all exports to Iran. 250 Iranian military trainees are ordered out of the country by 11 April.
8 April 1980 Ayatollah Khomeini tells the Iraqi people to overthrow Saddam Hussein. Iranian Foreign Minister Sadegh Ghotbzadeh announces that his government intends to overthrow Sadam.
Astronomers Smith, Reitsema. Larson, and Fountain discover Telesto, a moon of Saturn.
De profundis for bayan by Sofia Gubaidulina (48) is performed for the first time, in Moscow.
10 April 1980 European Community foreign ministers meeting in Lisbon refuse to join the United States in concrete measures against Iran.
11 April 1980 Over 300 Israeli soldiers move into southern Lebanon and establish defensive positions following the attack of 7 April.
Check to the King, a jazz-ballet by Bohuslav Martinu (†20) to a story by Coeuroy, is performed for the first time, in Brno, 50 years after it was composed.
12 April 1980 Liberian President William Tolbert and 27 others are killed in a coup led by Master Sergeant Samuel Doe.
The House of Delegates of the US Olympic Committee votes to boycott the Moscow games.
Erik Satie’s (†54) earliest extant composition, a nine-bar allegro for piano, is performed for the first time, in Teatro di Porta Romana, Milan, 96 years after it was composed. See 9 September 1884.
Iubilum for orchestra by Alberto Ginastera (64) is performed for the first time, in Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires. The work was composed for the 400th anniversary of the city of Buenos Aires.
Three Dance Sketches for percussion quartet, and Pastoral for string orchestra by Karel Husa (58) are performed for the first time, in Miami Beach, Florida.
13 April 1980 Potawatomi Legends for chamber orchestra by Otto Luening (79) is performed for the first time, at the University of Wisconsin at Parkside, Kenosha.
14 April 1980 The West German government advises its Olympic committee to join the boycott of the Moscow games.
Israeli troops evacuate Lebanon after an occupation of five days.
David del Tredici (43) wins the Pulitzer Prize in Music for his In Memory of a Summer Day. See 23 February 1980.
The Idea of Order at Key West for soprano, flute, clarinet, trumpet, viola, and cello by Robert Erickson (63) to words of Stevens is performed for the first time, in San Diego.
15 April 1980 Three days of fighting between clients of Iran and Iraq begin in Beirut. 53 people will be killed.
Jean-Paul Sartre dies in Paris at the age of 74.
16 April 1980 The first group of over 7,000 Cubans seeking asylum in the Peruvian embassy are flown out of Havana to Costa Rica.
17 April 1980 90 years of colonial rule ends in Rhodesia as it becomes independent of Great Britain under the name Zimbabwe. Ceremonies in Salisbury are presided over by the Prince of Wales. The leaders of the new nation are President Canaan Banana and Prime Minister Robert Mugabe.
US President Carter announces new sanctions against Iran. All financial transfers between the two countries are ended. Travel by US citizens to Iran is banned, except for journalists. All imports from Iran are banned. All military equipment intended for Iran and impounded, will now be used by the US military or sold elsewhere.
18 April 1980 Lebanese Moslems kidnap three UN soldiers, a reporter, and a photographer. They execute two of the Irish soldiers and injure the third. The three survivors are released.
The Inter-American Commission for Human Rights of the OAS reports that at least 6,000 people have been kidnapped, tortured, and murdered by the government of Argentina over the last ten years.
Ländler for thirteen strings by Wolfgang Rihm (28) is performed for the first time, in Baden-Baden. Also premiered is Rihm’s Nature Morte--Still Alive for thirteen strings.
19 April 1980 The Norwegian Sports Federation votes to join the Olympic boycott.
20 April 1980 Two works by Hans Werner Henze (53) are performed for the first time, in Witten: El Rey de Harlem for voice and small ensemble to words of Lorca, and Sonata for viola and piano.
Piano Sonata no.2 by Lejaren Hiller (56) is performed for the first time, in Albany, New York, 33 years after it was composed.
21 April 1980 Boats crowded with refugees begin leaving Mariel, Cuba for Florida.
22 April 1980 Meeting in Luxembourg, the foreign ministers of the European Community vote to institute a gradual increase of diplomatic and economic sanctions against Iran.
The military junta in Liberia executes 13 high-ranking members of the previous government.
The United States Olympic Committee votes to boycott the Moscow games in protest to the invasion of Afghanistan.
The Canadian government announces support for an Olympic boycott.
Barcarola for orchestra by Hans Werner Henze (53) is performed for the first time, in Zürich. The audience requires the last movement to be repeated.
23 April 1980 Iran expels all US journalists for a second time.
Corsican terrorists explode seven bombs in Paris and two in Nice. There are some slight injuries.
The Canadian government bans all military sales and export credits to Iran. They ask all Canadian firms to refrain from new export contracts with Iran. They also expel one Iranian diplomat
Symphony no.2 “St. Florian” for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra by Alfred Schnittke (45) to words of the Mass, is performed for the first time, in Royal Festival Hall, London.
24 April 1980 The Japanese government asks large firms not to sign new contracts with Iran.
United States military forces attempt a rescue of the hostages in Teheran but fail. Eight people are accidentally killed at a desert base when the mission is called off.
MMM, A Lullaby for Daisy Pauline for audience by Pauline Oliveros (47) is performed for the first time, in Walker Art Center, Minneapolis.
25 April 1980 The new military junta in Liberia suspends the constitution.
Octet, A Grand Fantasia for flute, clarinet, horn, violin, viola, cello, double bass, and piano by George Rochberg (61) is performed for the first time, in Alice Tully Hall.
A Song of Hope for solo baritone, chorus, and orchestra by Gian Carlo Menotti (68) is performed for the first time, in Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
26 April 1980 The Canadian Olympic Association votes not to attend the Moscow games.
Sequenza IXa for clarinet by Luciano Berio (54) is performed for the first time, in Théâtre d’Orsay, Paris.
Four Studies for clarinet and electronic valve instrument by Vladimir Ussachevsky (68) is performed for the first time, at Bowling Green State University, Ohio.
Felix’s Girls, nine songs for vocal quartet or chorus by R. Murray Schafer (46) is performed for the first time, in Toronto.
27 April 1980 After a two-month siege, leftist guerrillas holding foreign diplomats hostage in the Dominican embassy in Bogotá fly to Havana where they release their hostages.
Méditation op.277 for piano by Darius Milhaud (†5) is performed for the first time, in San Francisco.
28 April 1980 The US consulate in Shanghai is reopened 30 years after its closure.
United States Secretary of State Cyrus Vance resigns over the military mission to Iran.
29 April 1980 Alfred Hitchcock dies in Los Angeles at the age of 80.
30 April 1980 Queen Juliana of the Netherlands abdicates her throne and is succeeded by her daughter Beatrix.
Arab Iranians take over the Iranian embassy in London, taking 20 hostages. They threaten to blow up the building unless 91 of their comrades in Iranian prisons are released.
1 May 1980 Symphony no.2: A Christmas Symphony for orchestra by Krzysztof Penderecki (46) is performed for the first time, in New York.
2 May 1980 PLO terrorists kill six Jews returning from Sabbath services in Hebron. They injure 16 others.
A conservative military coup attempt in El Salvador is crushed by troops loyal to the ruling junta.
3 May 1980 Singapore announces it will boycott the Moscow Olympic Games.
Messages, a Creole Fantasy for orchestra by TJ Anderson (51) is performed for the first time, in Atlanta.
4 May 1980 Josip Broz Tito, President of Yugoslavia since 1945, dies after a four-month illness. He is succeeded as President of the Presidium of the League of Yugoslav Communists by Stevan Doronjski who has been acting in that capacity since 23 October 1979. He is succeeded as President of Yugoslavia by Lazar Kolisevski.
Pope John Paul II bans priests from holding public office.
Five Settings of European Poets for tenor and piano by Arthur Berger (67) is performed for the first time, in Sanders Theatre, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
String Quartet by Morton Feldman (54) is performed for the first time, in New York.
5 May 1980 Six days after Iranian Arabs take control of the Iranian embassy in London, British commandos assault the embassy. The attack begins after a hostage is killed and his body thrown into the street. Five hostage-takers are killed, one captured. 19 hostages are freed.
8 May 1980 Farrokhrou Parsa, the first woman member of Iran’s Parliament and Education Minister in the former government, is executed by firing squad.
Argentina announces it will boycott the Moscow Olympic Games. The Olympic Committees of New Zealand and Peru vote to attend.
The World Health Assembly announces the eradication of smallpox and recommends the end of vaccination.
9 May 1980 Scenes from Cavafy for baritone, male chorus, harp, and Javanese gamelan by Lou Harrison (62) to words of Cavafy paraphrased by the composer, is performed for the first time, at San Jose State University.
10 May 1980 Georgios Ioannou Rallis replaces Konstantinos Karamanlis as Prime Minister of Greece. Karamanlis has been elected President.
The Swiss Olympic Committee narrowly votes to attend the Moscow games.
Cuban warplanes attack the Bahamanian patrol boat Flamingo sinking it and killing four people. The Flamingo was towing two Cuban fishing vessels impounded near Santo Domingo Cay, 55 km north of Cuba.
On the Sheer Threshold of the Night for four solo voices and chorus by Harrison Birtwistle (45) to words of Boethius (tr. Waddell) is performed for the first time, at the Hessischer Rundfunk, Frankfurt.
11 May 1980 Four Libyan diplomats are expelled from the US for threatening Libyan students.
12 May 1980 Four Libyan diplomats are expelled from Great Britain for “activities incompatible with their functions.”
Alfredo Albanese, head of the anti-terrorist police for Venice, is murdered by Red Brigades, in Mestre.
Study for Player Piano no.39 by Conlon Nancarrow (67) is performed for the first time, in Bremen.
Concerto for piano by John Harbison (41) is performed for the first time, in Alice Tully Hall, New York, conducted by Gunther Schuller (54).
13 May 1980 The French Olympic Committee votes to attend the Moscow games.
Furniture Music Etcetera for two pianos by John Cage (67) is performed for the first time, in Baird Hall of the State University of New York at Buffalo.
14 May 1980 Corsican separatists fire automatic weapons at the Iranian embassy in Paris, injuring four French policemen guarding the building.
US President Carter closes the open door to refugees from Cuba. In three weeks, 46,000 people have already arrived.
The orchestration of Steve Reich’s (43) Variations for winds, strings, and keyboards is performed for the first time, in War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco. See 19 February 1980.
15 May 1980 Konstantinos Georgiou Karamanlis replaces Konstantinos Dimitriou Tstasos as President of Greece.
Cvijetin Mijatovic replaces Lazar Kolisevski as President and head of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia.
16 May 1980 The West German Olympic Committee votes not to attend the Moscow games.
A study of 36 people living in the Love Canal area of Niagara Falls, New York shows eleven have “chromosomal aberrations” usually linked to cancer. All showed exposure to dangerous chemicals. The director of the Environmental Protection Agency calls it “one of the worst chemical problems we have discovered in modern society.”
17 May 1980 An agreement is signed in Athens by most countries on the Mediterranean to reduce pollution flowing into it.
The black section of Miami explodes into rioting after four white police officers are acquitted by an all-white jury of beating a black man to death. Over the next three days, 14 people are killed, 300 injured and 1,000 arrested.
18 May 1980 China announces that it has successfully tested an ICBM.
Complete martial law is imposed in South Korea to deal with mounting nationwide anti-government demonstrations. Hundreds of opposition figures are arrested.
Meeting in Naples, the Foreign Ministers of the European Community impose limited economic sanctions on Iran. All contracts signed since 4 November are cancelled.
The Italian Football Federation bans the President of AC Milan, Felice Colombo, for life, and demotes the team to the second division because of a betting scandal.
Mt. St. Helen’s in Washington state explodes. Ash is spewed 18,000 meters into the air and lands as far as 800 km away. 26 people are killed, 46 are missing. The elevation of the mountain is reduced from 2,949 meters to about 2,500 meters and a crater is created 1.6 km wide and 500 meters deep. Skies in eastern Washington are blackened.
19 May 1980 A California judge orders the Los Angeles Unified School District, second largest in the United States, to implement a busing program to achieve racial desegregation.
Time to the Old for voice and piano by William Schuman (69) to words of MacLeish is performed for the first time, in New York.
20 May 1980 The government of South Korean Prime Minister Shin Hyon Hwack resigns for its failure to maintain order in the country.
The Italian Olympic Committee votes, against the wishes of its government, to attend the Moscow games. Five other Olympic Committees decide to attend: Austria, Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Sweden.
Gunther Schuller (54) is inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Voters in Quebec decide overwhelmingly against separation from Canada.
Soft Morning, City! for soprano, double bass, and computer generated tape by Tod Machover (26) to words of Joyce is performed for the first time, in St. John’s Smith Square, London.
21 May 1980 Anti-government protesters take control of Kwangju, South Korea.
After a moratorium of several months, large-scale executions resume in Iran.
In the month since the beginning of the Mariel boatlift, 67,000 Cubans have made it to the United States. The tide is beginning to tail off.
US President Carter declares a state of emergency in the Love Canal area of Niagara Falls, New York. 710 families are scheduled to be moved due to chemical contamination. Houses were built over a dumping site used by Hooker Chemicals and Plastics Corp.
Prism for orchestra by Jacob Druckman (51) is performed for the first time, in Baltimore.
22 May 1980 Voters in Egypt approve changes to the constitution. They lift the two-term limit for presidents and abolish the Arab Socialist Union, thus creating a multi-party democracy.
The Israeli Olympic Committee votes to boycott the Moscow games.
23 May 1980 The Australian Olympic Federation votes narrowly to attend the Moscow games. The Spanish Olympic Committee votes to attend. The Turkish Olympic Committee votes to boycott the games.
An added Adagio for the first version of the Symphony no.3 by Anton Bruckner (†83) is performed for the first time, in Vienna, 104 years after it was composed.
The Shining, a film by Stanley Kubrick, opens in New York.
24 May 1980 Former head of the Korean CIA, Kim Jae Kyu, and four other KCIA members are hanged for the murder of President Park Chung Hee.
The Japanese Olympic Committee votes to boycott the Moscow games.
The International Court of Justice orders Iran to release all US hostages and return all US property. It orders Iran to make reparations to the US.
Far Calls, Coming, far! for violin and orchestra by Toru Takemitsu (49) is performed for the first time, in Tokyo.
27 May 1980 After a six-day rebellion, South Korean troops take control of Kwangju.
The International Olympic Committee reports that 85 nations have accepted invitations to participate in the Moscow games, 29 have refused and 27 have not responded.
28 May 1980 South Korean troops regain control of Kwangju. In a week of fighting, as many as 500 people have been killed.
The new Iranian Parliament meets for the first time, in Teheran.
Fighting breaks out in a suburb of Beirut between feuding Moslem factions. 30 people are killed.
The three United States military academies graduate women for the first time.
The National Archives opens the Watergate tapes to the public for the first time.
29 May 1980 Vernon Jordan, President of the National Urban League, is shot in the back in the parking lot of a motel in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He will survive.
30 May 1980 The Witness for virtuoso instrumentalists by Pauline Oliveros is performed for the first time, in The Kitchen, New York on the composer’s 48th birthday.
31 May 1980 Bann, Nachtschwärmerei--Spells and Night Dreams for organ by Wolfgang Rihm (28) is performed for the first time, in Ludwigsburg.
1 June 1980 The Cable News Network begins broadcasting.
The most important group in the PLO, al-Fatah, publishes a statement committing it to “liquidate the Zionist entity.” It says, “armed revolution is the only way to liberate Palestine.”
2 June 1980 Bombs explode in four West Bank cities, seriously injuring two mayors and several others.
The last 442 asylum seekers inside the Peruvian embassy in Havana are flown to Peru.
Night Fantasies for piano by Elliott Carter (71) is performed for the first time, in Bath, Great Britain.
Fragmente-Stille, an Diotima for string quartet by Luigi Nono (56) is performed for the first time, in Bonn.
3 June 1980 Computers at the North American Air Defense Command in Colorado Springs send out bogus messages that the USSR has launched nuclear missiles against the United States. Although retaliatory measures are set in motion, NORAD quickly concludes the warnings are false.
4 June 1980 Two anti-Saddam Iraqis enter the Iraqi embassy in Rome and begin firing, killing one person and seriously injuring another. They then leave a time bomb and attempt to leave. One of the attackers is subdued by embassy security, the other escapes.
Dikhthas for violin and piano by Iannis Xenakis (58) is performed for the first time, in Bonn.
5 June 1980 Noces chymiques, rituel féérique en sept journées, d'après le récit alchimique de Jehan Valentin Andrea, by Pierre Henry (52) in collaboration with Ionesco and Pick, is performed for the first time, in the Salle Favart, Paris.
6 June 1980 Computers at the North American Air Defense Command in Colorado Springs send out bogus messages for a second time that the USSR has launched nuclear missiles against the United States. The error is quickly discovered.
Trois études campanaires for keyboard carillon or piano by Betsy Jolas (53) is performed for the first time, in Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois (carillon).
8 June 1980 Over the past two days, native extremists kill 350 Bengalis in Tripura.
12 June 1980 Prime Minister Masayoshi Ohira of Japan dies of a heart attack during a general election campaign. He has been hospitalized for two weeks. Masayoshi Ito becomes acting Prime Minister.
A bomb set by leftist extremists explodes in a locker at Orly Airport in Paris. Seven people are injured.
George Crumb’s (50) complete Makrokosmos cycle is performed together for the first time, in Buffalo. See 8 February 1973, 30 March 1974, 12 November 1974, 18 November 1979.
13 June 1980 News reaches the west that 250,000 Soviet auto workers struck in May against food shortages.
The European Community urges that the PLO be associated with any Middle East settlement.
One day after Musa Kusa, head of the Libyan mission in London, publicly approves of the killing of anti-Khadaffi Libyans in Britain, the British government expels him.
A federal court in Chicago awards $1,800,000,000 to MCI Inc. in its anti-trust case against American Telephone & Telegraph.
14 June 1980 Liberian troops invade the French embassy in Monrovia and seize Adolphus Tolbert, son of the former President, who was given sanctuary.
“Festival”no.50 1/2, a scene from Karlheinz Stockhausen’s (51) Donnerstag aus Licht is performed for the first time, in Amsterdam.
16 June 1980 After 27 days in the country, a UN commission of inquiry abandons its efforts to end the Iranian hostage crisis.
An Israeli patrol boat sinks a vessel off the coast of Israel, killing the three terrorists aboard.
In the case of Diamond v. Chakrabarty, the US Supreme Court rules that life forms may be patented.
17 June 1980 Blacks in Miami riot for three days following the acquittal of four policemen charged with killing a black man. 16 people are killed, 300 injured, 1,000 arrested. $100,000,000 in damage is done. Miami is declared a disaster area.
18 June 1980 Over the past three days, riots between police and coloreds around Cape Town kill 30 people.
An explosion takes place at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk. Eight people are killed and 60 injured. Workers express concerns over conditions at the plant.
Song for trumpet and wind ensemble by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (†16) is performed for the first time, in Munich.
Pierre Boulez’ (55) orchestration of his piano pieces Notations I-IV is performed for the first time, in Paris. See 12 February 1945.
Six Abassid Songs for tenor, three flutes and percussion by John Tavener (36) is performed for the first time, in Snape Maltings. Driving back to his London home afterwards, the composer suffers a mild stroke and crashes into a parked car. The cause of the accident will not be correctly diagnosed for a week.
Celebrations of God in Nature for organ by Robert Ward (61) is performed for the first time, in the Cathedral of St. Paul, Minnesota.
Variazioni e Toccata sopra “Aurora lucis rutilat” op.52 for organ by Alberto Ginastera (64) is performed for the first time, in Minneapolis.
Dryden Liturgical Suite op.144 for organ by Vincent Persichetti (65) is performed for the first time, in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Three Toccatinas op.142 for piano by Vincent Persichetti (65) is performed for the first time, at the University of Maryland, College Park.
19 June 1980 Three terrorists using grenades and automatic weapons blast their way into the British embassy in Iraq. Iraqi forces then storm the building, killing the attackers. No one else is injured.
20 June 1980 Capriccio for tuba by Krzysztof Penderecki (46) is performed for the first time, in Kraków.
A Welcome to Orkney for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, two string quartets, and double bass by Peter Maxwell Davies (45) is performed for the first time, in St. Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, Orkney.
21 June 1980 Four new works by Peter Maxwell Davies (45) are performed for the first time, in Kirkwall, Orkney: The Yellow-Cake Revue, an anti-nuclear cabaret for singer/reciter and piano to words of the composer, Cinderella, a pantomime for children to words of the composer, Yesnaby Ground for piano, and Farewell to Stromness for piano. The composer is at the keyboard for all but Cinderella.
Intradas and Interludes for seven trumpets and percussion by Karel Husa (58) is performed for the first time, at Ohio State University in Columbus.
Mirror Etudes op.143 for piano by Vincent Persichetti (65) is performed for the first time, in Lawton, Oklahoma.
22 June 1980 Going to the polls seven months after the last general election, Japanese voters give the Liberal Democratic Party 36 more seats and a majority in the House of Representatives.
23 June 1980 Vietnamese troops cross the border into Thailand. Over 160 Thai and Vietnamese soldiers are killed.
Sanjay Gandhi, heir apparent to his mother, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, is killed in a plane crash in New Delhi.
24 June 1980 A two-day general strike to express support for leftists shuts down 90% of economic activity in San Salvador.
25 June 1980 Basque separatists explode bombs in resorts in Alicante Province. Warnings allowed the hotels to be evacuated and no one is injured.
A Madrigal Opera, by Philip Glass (43) is performed for the first time, in Amsterdam, under the title Attaca.
26 June 1980 500 government troops invade the National University in San Salvador and are resisted by leftists. About 50 people are killed
27 June 1980 A conscription registration act is signed by US President Carter in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
29 June 1980 Neue Alexanderlieder, a cycle for baritone and piano by Wolfgang Rihm (28) to words of Herbeck, is performed for the first time, in Hamburg.
Michael Tippett’s (75) Wolf Trap Fanfare for brass is performed for the first time, at Wolf Trap in Virginia.
30 June 1980 In the case of United States v. Sioux Nation, the US Supreme Court orders the federal government to pay the Sioux $122,500,000 in compensation and interest for the illegal seizure of the Black Hills in 1877.
Improvisation IV for three cassette players by John Cage (67) is performed for the first time, in Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London.
1 July 1980 The Polish government raises prices for meat to reflect actual costs. Strikes break out immediately and will continue for two months.
By royal proclamation, O Canada is named the official national anthem of Canada.
Vladimir Ussachevsky (68) retires from the faculty of Columbia University.
2 July 1980 A federal judge in Miami rules that the Immigration and Naturalization Service has denied the rights of Haitian refugees by not considering the political conditions in Haiti when forcing them to return to their country.
3 July 1980 Rumanian Aurel Popescu flies a crop duster carrying 19 of his relatives from Arad, 384 km to eastern Austria. They request political asylum.
6 July 1980 Concertino for piano and orchestra by David Diamond (64) is performed for the first time, in Washington in honor of the 65th year of the composer.
7 July 1980 Brass Quintet by William Bolcom (42) is performed for the first time, in Aspen.
9 July 1980 Manganinnie, a film with music by Peter Sculthorpe (51), is shown for the first time, in Hobart, Tasmania.
10 July 1980 The Visions of Captain Quiros for guitar and orchestra by Peter Sculthorpe (51) is performed for the first time, in the Sydney Opera House.
11 July 1980 One of the hostages held by Iran, Richard Queen, is released for medical reasons. He will be diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
13 July 1980 President Seretse Khama of Botswana, first and only president since independence in 1966, dies of cancer in Gaberone.
14 July 1980 26 people are put to death today in Iran as part of a wave of mass executions.
Descant-Nocturne for orchestra by John Harbison (41) is performed for the first time.
16 July 1980 Railroad workers in Lublin strike for higher wages to offset meat price increases. They are soon joined by bus and truck drivers.
17 July 1980 Zenko Suzuki is named Prime Minister of Japan, succeeding Masayoshi Ohira who died 12 June.
18 July 1980 For the first time, India launches an artificial satellite into orbit. Blast off is from Sriharikota, north of Madras.
The home of former Iranian Prime Minister Shapur Bakhtiar in Paris is invaded by three armed men. In the ensuing gun battle, two people are killed and four injured. Bakhtiar is unhurt. The attackers and two accomplices are arrested by French police.
Eine kleine Posaunenmusik for trombone and winds by Gunther Schuller (54) is performed for the first time, in Norwalk, Connecticut.
19 July 1980 The Games of the Twenty-second Olympiad of the Modern Era open in Moscow amidst an extensive boycott led by the United States in protest to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. In the opening ceremonies, 16 countries do not carry their flag, and many athletes, including whole teams, do not participate
Former Prime Minister of Turkey Nihat Erim is shot to death near Istanbul by four extreme leftist gunmen. His bodyguard is also killed.
Striking workers in Lublin end their strike and accept a compromise raise.
20 July 1980 String Quartet no.6 by Charles Villiers Stanford (†56) is performed for the first time, in Bracknell, 70 years after it was composed.
The Last Twilight for chorus, brass, and percussion by Thea Musgrave (52) to words of Lawrence is performed for the first time, in Paolo Soleri Theatre, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
22 July 1980 Former Iranian diplomat Ali Akbar Tabatabai is shot to death at his home in Bethesda, Maryland by a supporter of Ayatollah Khomeini.
25 July 1980 Suite for guitar by Ned Rorem (56) is performed for the first time, at the Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.
27 July 1980 The former Shah of Iran, Mohammed Riza Pahlevi, dies in an Egyptian hospital.
An Arab terrorist throws two hand grenades into a group of 40 Jewish young people in Antwerp. One boy is killed, 13 others are injured. The terrorist is captured by police.
The Santa Fe Songs, a cycle for baritone and piano quartet by Ned Rorem (56) to words of Bynner, is performed for the first time, in Greer Garson Theatre, College of Santa Fe, New Mexico, the composer at the piano.
28 July 1980 Twelve years of military rule end in Peru with the inauguration of elected President Fernando Belaúnde Terry.
30 July 1980 Vanuatu, under President Ati George Sokomanu and Prime Minister Walter Hadye Lini, gains independence from Great Britain and France.
Incidental music to Shakespeare’s play The Tempest by Roger Reynolds (46) is performed for the first time, at Tanglewood, Lenox, Massachusetts.
31 July 1980 Eleven people are shot by firing squad in Teheran, charged with plotting to overthrow the government.
In a Stuttgart court, Baader-Meinhof terrorist Knut Folkerts is sentenced to life in prison for the 1977 murder of chief federal prosecutor Siegfried Buback.
1 August 1980 Vigdis Finnbogadottir replaces Kristjan Eldjarn as President of Iceland.
Manuel de la Sierra Torres, Marques de Urquijo and his wife are found murdered in their home near Madrid. A member of one of the wealthiest families in Spain, he served on the board of the Bank of Urquijo. Basque separatists are suspected but the actual killer is his son-in-law, Rafael Escobedo.
3,500 government troops using helicopter gunships complete a three-day operation against leftist guerrillas in northeast El Salvador. An estimated 170 people are dead, mostly civilians.
2 August 1980 Saudi Arabia and Kuwait freeze $488,000,000 in loans to the World Bank after the bank refuses observer status for the PLO.
An explosion in the central train station of Bologna kills 76 people and injures 160. No group claims responsibility, but right-wing extremists are suspected.
Pollicino, an opera by Hans Werner Henze (54) to words of Leva after Collodi, Grimm, and Perrault, is performed for the first time, in Montepulciano.
3 August 1980 The Games of the Twenty-second Olympiad of the Modern Era close in Moscow. In sixteen days of competition, 5,179 athletes from 80 countries took part.
4 August 1980 The United Nations resumes food shipments to rebel-held areas of Cambodia after a break of six weeks.
Juan Antonio Samaranch of Spain replaces Michael Morris, Baron Killanin of Ireland as President of the International Olympic Committee.
Klavierstück Nr.7 by Wolfgang Rihm (28) is performed for the first time, in Darmstadt.
5 August 1980 The Belgian Parliament approves a plan for regional autonomy.
7 August 1980 13 people are executed by firing squad in Teheran, charged with attempting to overthrow the government.
8 August 1980 Autonomy is granted to the Flemish and Walloon regions and the French and Flemish communities of Belgium.
9 August 1980 Two bombs explode in Belfast and Forkhill, South Armagh killing four people on the ninth anniversary of internment without trial.
There is only one lie for chorus by Cornelius Cardew (44) is performed for the first time, in Hampstead Town Hall, London.
11 August 1980 The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party orders the removal of most public portraits of Mao Zedong.
12 August 1980 Mohammad Ali Rajai becomes Prime Minister of Iran, replacing the Islamic Revolutionary Council.
East of the Beach for orchestra by Robert Erickson (63) is performed for the first time.
13 August 1980 Rioting by Moslems begins in Maradabad, Uttar Pradesh, directed at police. It soon escalates to inter-communal fighting between Hindus and Moslems.
Symphonic Interlude no.3 for orchestra by Otto Luening (80) is performed for the first time, at Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts conducted by Gunther Schuller.
14 August 1980 16,000 workers take over the Lenin Shipyard, Gdansk, demanding independent unions.
15 August 1980 15 people are executed by firing squad in Teheran, charged with attempting to overthrow the government.
Strikes spread from Gdansk to Gdynia and Sopot. Gdansk bus drivers strike in sympathy with the shipyard workers. Prime Minister Edward Babiuch appears on television and asks workers to return to their jobs.
16 August 1980 President Choi Kyu Hah of South Korea abruptly resigns, presumably to make way for General Chun Doo Hwan.
A Short Symphony by George Perle (65) is performed for the first time, at Tanglewood, Lenox, Massachusetts.
17 August 1980 After five days of communal violence, 142 are dead in Uttar Pradesh.
Strikers in Poland form the Inter-factory Strike Committee and issue 16 demands, including the right to strike, freedom for political prisoners, and an end to censorship.
Fratres for violin and piano by Arvo Pärt (44) is performed for the first time, in the Festspielhaus, Salzburg.
18 August 1980 The Polish government begins negotiating with strikers, who raise their demands from 16 to 21. Communist Party leader Edward Gierek appears on television and promises a pay increase but rejects political changes.
A Child’s Diary, six pieces for children, for piano by Tan Dun is performed for the first time, in Beijing on the composer’s 23rd birthday.
19 August 1980 In the largest such operation in over two years, Israeli forces attack PLO staging areas in southern Lebanon. At least 40 guerrillas are killed in two hours.
Violinist Gidon Kremer and his pianist wife Elena apply for political asylum in West Germany.
20 August 1980 The US Defense Department reveals the existence of a new airplane designed to avoid radar detection. They call it the “stealthy aircraft.”
Cornelius Cardew (44) is sentenced to six weeks in prison by a London magistrate for his part in an anti-fascist demonstration last June.
21 August 1980 Yesterday and today, 24 political leaders of the Polish strikers are arrested.
Concerto for violin, viola, cello, and orchestra by Michael Tippett (75) is performed for the first time, in Royal Albert Hall, London.
22 August 1980 Reverend Doctor Bailey Smith, President of the Southern Baptist Convention, tells a conference in Dallas that ”God Almighty does not hear the prayer of a Jew…No one can pray unless he prays through the named of Jesus Christ.”
“Mission und Himmelfahrt” for trumpet and basset horn from Donnerstag aus Licht by Karlheinz Stockhausen is performed for the first time, in Schloss Georghausen, near Kürten, on the composer’s 52nd birthday.
23 August 1980 The Polish government agrees to hold direct talks with strike leaders. They also stop their anti-strike media campaign.
After 44 years conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy gives his last concert, in Saratoga Springs, New York.
24 August 1980 Józef Pinkowski replaces Edward Babiuch as Prime Minister of Poland. 14 other government and party officials are sacked.
Double Concerto for oboe, harp and chamber orchestra by Witold Lutoslawski (67) is performed for the first time, in Lucerne.
25 August 1980 Zimbabwe is admitted to the United Nations.
Stefan Cardinal Wyszynski speaks for 45 minutes on Polish television, appealing to his fellow citizens for calm and reason. The government edits his recorded remarks to make it appear that he opposes the strikes.
27 August 1980 Military strongman General Chun Doo Hwan is elected President of South Korea by an electoral college.
Strikes spread throughout Poland in sympathy with workers in the Baltic region.
The Ottawa Journal ceases publication after 95 years. The Winnipeg Tribune ceases publication after 90 years.
Three bombs go off in Rio de Janeiro killing one person and injuring six others. Conservative terrorists are suspected.
28 August 1980 US ambassador John Gunther Dean narrowly escapes injury when gunmen fire on his car as it drives through Beirut.
Polish strike leader Lech Walesa asks that the spread of strikes be halted for the good of the country.
29 August 1980 20,000 workers strike in Silesia, especially Katowice. Silesia produces most of the coal for Poland.
Leftist terrorist leader Abelardo Collazo Araujo is shot to death by police in a Madrid subway station. One of his comrades is injured.
30 August 1980 After two months of labor unrest, the Polish government grants workers at the Lenin Shipyard, Gdansk, the right to form an independent trade union. It also grants the right to strike, an easing of press censorship, an increase in the availability of basic commodities, and salary increases.
31 August 1980 An accord enshrining the agreement of 30 August is signed by government officials and strike leaders in Poland. The event is covered on state television.
In federal court in Brooklyn, New York, a US Congressman, a mayor, a city councilman, and a lawyer are the first to be convicted in the “Abscam” bribery and conspiracy scandal.
1 September 1980 Chun Doo Hwan replaces Park Choong Hoon as President of the Republic of Korea.
Striking workers begin returning to work in the Baltic region, Wroclaw, Poznan, and Lodz.
Apollo trionfante for winds, keyboards, percussion, and double bass by Hans Werner Henze (54) from his dance-drama Orpheus is performed for the first time, in Gelsenkirchen.
2 September 1980 Striking workers in Silesia, mostly coal miners, reach tentative agreement with the government.
Jiri Lederer, one of the founders of Charter 77, is expelled from Czechoslovakia. He arrives today in West Germany.
Leftist terrorists murder General Enrique Briz Armengol as he rides in his car in Barcelona. The act is apparently in revenge for the killing of 29 August.
The Lighthouse, a chamber opera by Peter Maxwell Davies (45) to his own words, is performed for the first time, at the Murray House Gymnasium, Edinburgh.
3 September 1980 Most of the strikers in Poland are back to work today. All but 15,000 coal miners in Silesia return to work. Those still out have local issues.
5 September 1980 The St. Gotthard Tunnel in Switzerland is opened to traffic. At 16.2 km, it is the longest tunnel for automobiles in the world.
A bomb explodes outside the National Palace in Guatemala City, 23 meters from the office of President Romeo Lucas García. Seven people are killed, at least 25 injured. The President is unharmed.
Satyagraha, an opera by Philip Glass (43) to words of De Jong and the composer after the Bhagavad-Gita, is performed for the first time, in Rotterdam. It was commissioned by the City of Rotterdam for the Netherlands Opera.
6 September 1980 Polish Communist Party leader Edward Gierek is replaced by Stanislaw Kania. Gierek is reportedly hospitalized with a serious heart condition.
8 September 1980 Amnesty International reports a dramatic increase in arbitrary arrest and torture in Chile since the killing of a high-ranking army officer on 15 July.
9 September 1980 Great Britain closes its embassy in Teheran but retains an interest section in the Swedish embassy.
10 September 1980 Zhao Ziyang replaces Hua Guofeng as Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of China. A 33% tax is levied on all foreign businesses in joint ventures with the Chinese government. The country’s first income tax is established but it affects mostly foreigners. The minimum marriage age is raised to 22 for men, 20 for women, in an attempt to control population.
11 September 1980 Anti-Castro terrorists shoot and kill Felix García Rodríguez, of the Cuban UN mission, as he drives through New York.
12 September 1980 The Turkish military seizes control of the government. Kenan Evren is named Chairman of the National Security Council. The Parliament is dissolved and the constitution suspended.
14 September 1980 Ouvertüre “Musik über eine verschollene Romanze” for orchestra by Werner Egk (79) is performed for the first time, in Recklinghausen.
Lustige Sinfonietta op.4 for orchestra by Paul Hindemith (†16) is performed for the first time, in Berlin, 64 years after it was composed.
16 September 1980 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is admitted to the United Nations.
Happy Voices from Child Alice part 2 by David Del Tredici (43) is performed for the first time, in San Francisco. See 23 February 1980, 19 November 1981 and 27 April 1986.
17 September 1980 South Korean opposition leader Kim Dae Jung is sentenced to death for sedition by a military court in Seoul.
Amidst cross-border clashes, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein cancels his country’s border agreement with Iran.
The independent trade union Solidarity is formed by the merger of 35 independent Polish unions.
The US and China sign major trade agreements in Washington, including direct commercial airline service and port access.
Leftist guerrillas take over the OAS offices in San Salvador, injuring five people and taking six hostage. They demand the release of political prisoners.
Anastasio Somoza Debayle, former dictator of Nicaragua, is ambushed by several men firing machine guns and a bazooka, in Asunción. Somoza, a business associate, and his driver are killed.
19 September 1980 The Belgian government votes to accept US nuclear missiles if arms reduction talks fail.
Cornelius Cardew (44) is released from Pentonville Prison after serving one month of a six weeks term.
20 September 1980 Saim Bülent Ulüsü replaces Süleyman Demirel as Prime Minister of Turkey in the new military government.
22 September 1980 Open warfare begins between Iraq and Iran as the Iraqi air force attacks ten Iranian airfields.
23 September 1980 Iraqi forces cross the Iranian border at several points as their planes attack the oil refineries at Abadan. Abadan and Khurramshahr are surrounded. Qasr-i-Shirin is captured. Iranian planes retaliate by hitting Baghdad and other major cities, as well as oil refineries and other economic and military targets.
24 September 1980 Iraqi forces seize a 15 km strip of Iranian territory. Both countries end oil shipments from the Persian Gulf.
The new independent trade unions register in Warsaw as a single entity called Solidarity, led by Lech Walesa.
25 September 1980 Popular music entertainer John Bonham dies near London at the age of 32. After consuming 40 shots of vodka, he suffocates on his own vomit.
Divertimento for orchestra by Leonard Bernstein (62) is performed for the first time, in Symphony Hall, Boston.
Sonic Structure for orchestra by Robert Ward (62) is performed for the first time, in Andrew Jackson Concert Hall, Nashville.
26 September 1980 A bomb explodes at the annual Oktoberfest in Munich. Twelve people are killed, over 200 injured. Police suspect neo-Nazis.
The government of Cuba closes the port of Mariel, thus ending the boatlift of refugees to the United States. Since 21 April, 125,000 Cubans were transported to Florida in small boats.
Music for a Celebration for chorus, audience, and orchestra by Gunther Schuller (54) is performed for the first time, in Springfield, Massachusetts.
27 September 1980 The Italian government of Francesco Cossiga resigns after losing a vote in Parliament.
Te Deum for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra by Krzysztof Penderecki (46) is performed for the first time, in Assisi. The work is dedicated to Pope John Paul II.
30 September 1980 The Peace Place for chorus and piano by Virgil Thomson (83) to words of Larson, is performed for the first time, in New York.
1 October 1980 Entrata for orchestra by Luciano Berio (54) is performed for the first time, in San Francisco.
2 October 1980 String Quartet no.2 by Brian Ferneyhough (37) is performed for the first time, in Venice.
3 October 1980 A bomb explodes outside a synagogue in Paris during holy day services, killing four people and injuring 12.
Solidarity stages a one-hour nationwide strike to protest the government’s failure to institute promised wage increases.
Gustav Franz Wagner kills himself outside his home in São Paulo. He was wanted by Austria, West Germany, and Israel for the murder of 250,000 Jews during World War II.
Music-Hall-Suite for eight players by Wolfgang Rihm (28) is performed for the first time, in Stuttgart.
5 October 1980 In elections to the West German Bundestag, the ruling Social Democrat/Free Democrat coalition of Chancellor Helmut Schmidt increases its majority.
Parliamentary elections in Portugal see slight gains for the ruling Democratic Alliance.
Zweite Abgesangsszene for voice and orchestra by Wolfgang Rihm (28) to words of Nietzsche and Novalis is performed for the first time, in Karlsruhe.
7 October 1980 Iranian forces in Khurramshahr begin shooting at foreign vessels in the port and in the Shatt al-Arab. They sink three and set fire to five others. At least 20 people are killed.
100,000 people demonstrate in Paris to protest recent violence against Jews in France.
María Magdalena Henríquez of El Salvador’s Human Rights Commission is found dead in La Libertad, 32 km south of San Salvador where she was abducted on 3 October by police officers in civilian clothes.
Rep. John Jenrette and another man are found guilty of bribery and conspiracy in the Abscam scandal.
9 October 1980 Before Breakfast, a dramatic monologue by Thomas Pasatieri (34) to words of Corsaro after O’Neill, is performed for the first time, in New York.
10 October 1980 Two earthquakes centered in Asnam, Algeria kill 4,500 people.
Iraq begins a major offensive towards Abadan.
US President Jimmy Carter signs the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act. The Penobscot, Passamaquoddy and Maliseet nations give up their claim to 5,000,000 hectares of Maine in return for $81,500,000, allowing the Indians to buy 120,000 hectares. $27,000,000 goes into a trust fund.
My Grandfather’s Waltz for piano four-hands by John Tavener (36) is performed for the first time, in Little Missenden Parish Church. The composer plays two of the hands.
11 October 1980 A Musical Toast for orchestra by Leonard Bernstein (62) is performed for the first time, in Avery Fisher Hall, New York.
12 October 1980 Sonata for cello by Peter Sculthorpe (51) is performed for the first time, in Cell Block Theatre, Sydney, 21 years after it was composed.
Annum per annum for organ by Arvo Pärt (45) is performed for the first time, in the Dom zu Speyer.
16 October 1980 Israeli forces strike 22 km into Lebanon to destroy terrorist staging areas.
18 October 1980 In Australian parliamentary elections, the Labor Party makes big gains, but not enough to defeat the ruling Liberal/National Country coalition of Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser.
Arnaldo Forlani replaces Francesco Cossiga as Prime Minister of Italy.
19 October 1980 Deutsche messgesänge zum 29. Sonntag im Jahreskreis for speaker, chorus, and organ by Ernst Krenek (80) is performed for the first time, in Graz Cathedral.
20 October 1980 Greece rejoins the integrated military structure of NATO which it left in 1974.
Lazar Mojsov replaces Stevan Doronjski as President of the Presidium of the League of Yugoslav Communists.
Liturgies for organ by Leslie Bassett (57) is performed for the first time, in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
22 October 1980 Official results show South Korean voters approve a new constitution today. Some powers of the president are reduced and human rights are guaranteed. However all political parties are dissolved and the legislature will be appointed by the President.
Israeli warplanes strike PLO bases south of Beirut.
23 October 1980 Nikolay Alyeksandrovich Tikhonov replaces Aleksey Nikolayevich Kosygin as Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR.
24 October 1980 Iraqi troops complete their takeover of Khurramshahr.
25 October 1980 Salvadoran troops begin a major drive against leftist guerrillas in the north of the country. They claim 150 guerrillas have been killed. 25,000 civilians have been made homeless.
26 October 1980 Arab terrorists explode a series of bombs in Israel injuring several people.
Ramon Valladares, administrator of El Salvador’s Human Rights Commission, is shot to death as he drives through San Salvador.
Im Tal der Zeit for orchestra by Ernst Krenek (80) is performed for the first time, in Graz.
27 October 1980 In Turkey, the Chairman of the National Security Council, Kenan Evren, is named Head of State.
Seven IRA inmates of Maze Prison near Belfast begin a hunger strike demanding to be treated as political prisoners.
29 October 1980 Felix Antonio Ulloa, rector of the University of El Salvador, is shot to death. 41 other people die today in political violence in El Salvador.
30 October 1980 Representatives of El Salvador and Honduras sign a peace treaty in Lima and agree to resume diplomatic relations after an eleven-year break.
31 October 1980 The right-wing Labour party wins parliamentary elections in Jamaica.
Iran’s Oil Minister and five of his assistants are captured by Iraqi troops near Abadan. They are transported to Baghdad.
2 November 1980 The Iranian Parliament approves four conditions for the release of the hostages, and allows for direct negotiations.
4 November 1980 Voting in the United States ensures the election of Ronald Reagan, former Governor of California, as President over incumbent Jimmy Carter. His Republican Party gains twelve seats and control of the Senate for the first time since 1954. They gain 34 seats in the House of Representatives but fail to win a majority.
5 November 1980 $4,900,000 in damages are awarded to the survivors of Orlando Letellier and Ronni Moffitt by a federal judge in Washington. The judgment is to be paid by the government of Chile, Juan Manuel Contrera, former head of the Chilean secret police (DINA), two DINA agents, two Cuban exiles and an American, who actually carried out the murders.
6 November 1980 Arab terrorists fire rockets into the Israeli town of Qiryat Shmona from Lebanon. Several civilians are injured.
Aufblick, the first of the Nocturnes for soprano and orchestra by Arnold Bax (†27) to words of Dehmel, is performed for the first time, in a setting for voice and piano at the University of Keele.
7 November 1980 Israeli planes strike PLO bases on the Litani River in southern Lebanon.
The French government brings charges against Le Monde for seeking to discredit the country’s legal system.
8 November 1980 Iraqi forces advance through Khuzistan Province, Iran, but attacks on Abadan are repulsed.
Some of “The Harmony of Maine” for organ and 3-6 assistants by John Cage (68) is performed for the first time, in Essen at the Lutheran Church of Essen-Rellinghausen.
9 November 1980 Samuel Barber (70) is admitted to University Hospital, New York after a stroke in Scotland about a month ago.
10 November 1980 The Polish Supreme Court rules that the charter of Solidarity does not have to include a clause about the supremacy of the Communist Party.
Assistant Secretary of State Warren Christopher travels to Algiers to convey to the Algerians, acting as intermediaries, the US response to the four demands of the Iranian Parliament.
Three Madrigals for soprano, violin, viola, bass, vibraphone, and harpsichord by Alfred Schnittke (45) to words of Tanzer are performed for the first time, in Moscow.
Salammbo, an opera by Modest Musorgsky (†99) to words after Flaubert, is performed for the first time, in a version orchestrated by Peskó, over the airwaves of RAI originating in Milan.
11 November 1980 The first five-year review of the Helsinki Accords opens with 35 countries meeting in Madrid.
12 November 1980 The South Korean government bans 811 people from holding public office for the next eight years.
Voyager I reaches to within 125,000 km of Saturn, sends back pictures, and identifies over 100 rings and 15 moons.
The Award of the City of Philadelphia is conferred upon John Cage (68).
13 November 1980 Soviet Jewish advocate Viktor Brailovsky is arrested and charged with slandering the state.
Double Fanfare for percussion by Lou Harrison (63) and Anthony Cirone is performed for the first time, in San Jose Civic Auditorium.
14 November 1980 Iraqi forces launch a major offensive towards Susangird, northwest of Ahwaz.
La Musique creuse le ciel for two pianos and orchestra by Wolfgang Rihm (28) is performed for the first time, in Cologne.
15 November 1980 The trial of the “Gang of Four” opens in Beijing. The former high ranking officials, including Mao’s widow Jiang Qing, are accused of the deaths of over 34,000 people during the Cultural Revolution, plotting to overthrow Mao, plotting to kill him, and persecuting loyal party officials.
16 November 1980 Arien des Orpheus for guitar, harp, harpsichord, and strings by Hans Werner Henze (54) is performed for the first time, in Chicago.
18 November 1980 Israeli troops fire on rioting Arabs in Ramallah and Bethlehem, injuring eleven of them.
19 November 1980 Three days of anti-Chinese rioting begins in Surakarta, spreading to Semarang, Pekalongan, and Kudus. The military restores order.
20 November 1980 Rioting and rock throwing by Arabs resumes in several places in the West Bank. In East Jerusalem, rioters attack Arab businesses which remain open during a general strike.
Liring Ballade for baritone and orchestra by Betsy Jolas (54) to words of Eugène Jolas is performed for the first time, in Metz.
Sinfonia op.42 for chamber orchestra by Alexander Goehr (48) is performed for the first time, in London.
Short Sonatas for piano nos.5, 6, and 7 by Otto Luening (80) is performed for the first time, in Carnegie Recital Hall, New York.
21 November 1980 Overture for organ by Peter Sculthorpe (51) is performed for the first time, in Albert Hall, Launceston, Tasmania.
23 November 1980 A series of earthquakes, centered at Eboli, kills 3,000 people, destroys numerous structures, and leaves 200,000 people homeless in southern Italy.
Vocalise for violin and harp by TJ Anderson (52) is performed for the first time, at Webster College, St. Louis, Missouri.
24 November 1980 16,000 workers at a tractor factory in Warsaw go on strike to demand the release of two Solidarity sympathizers arrested three days ago for stealing a government document.
Palin for piano by John Tavener (36) is performed for the first time, in Wigmore Hall, London.
Fantasy Variations for cello by Shulamit Ran (31) is performed for the first time, in Carnegie Recital Hall, New York.
25 November 1980 Royal Winter Music: “Second Sonata on Shakespeare Characters” for guitar by Hans Werner Henze (54) is performed for the first time, in Brussels.
27 November 1980 In the face of mounting strikes and threats, the Polish government releases the two Solidarity sympathizers it arrested on 21 November.
About 200 uniformed members of conservative death squads kidnap 29 leftists from a meeting in San Salvador. Six of the most prominent are found shot to death in various parts of the city.
28 November 1980 Apocalypsis for solo voices, choruses, winds, and percussion by R. Murray Schafer (47) is performed for the first time, in London, Ontario.
1 December 1980 Soviet troops mobilize on the Polish frontier.
Accusation Against the Unknown, an opera by Bohuslav Martinu (†21) to his own words after Neveux, is performed for the first time, in Brno, 27 years after it was composed.
2 December 1980 Sonatina for violin and piano by Hans Werner Henze (54) is performed for the first time, in London.
4 December 1980 Prime Minister Francisco Lubrales de Sá Carneiro of Portugal and Defense Minister Adelino Amaro da Costa die in a plane crash in Lisbon. Diogo Freitas do Amaral becomes interim Prime Minister.
The bodies of four American churchwomen are found 40 km southeast of San Salvador. They were shot and strangled. Conservative death squads are blamed.
5 December 1980 Leaders of the USSR and six eastern European satellites meet in Moscow over the Polish question. They express confidence in the Polish leadership to deal with the problem.
An Iraqi air strike destroys Iran’s main oil pipeline at Bandar Khomeini.
The United States suspends military aid to El Salvador.
Gunther Schuller (55) is elected to membership in the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Gogol-Suite for orchestra by Alfred Schnittke (46) is performed for the first time, in London.
7 December 1980 Trois élégies op.199 for two voices and strings by Darius Milhaud (†6) to words of Jammes, is performed for the first time, in Orleans.
Leonard Bernstein (62) receives the Kennedy Center Honor for Lifetime of Contributions to American Culture through the Performing Arts.
8 December 1980 Popular music entertainer John Lennon is shot to death by a deranged stalker in New York. Upon hearing the news, Lukas Foss (58) begins to compose Night Music for John Lennon. See 1 April 1981.
12 December 1980 Jaroslav Sabata, spokesman for Charter 77, is released after 23 months in prison and almost immediately rearrested in Prague.
Red Brigades kidnap Giovanni D’Urso, a magistrate in the Ministry of Justice, in Rome. They telephone newspapers with demands.
The US Congress amends the Copyright Act of 1980 to include computer programs.
13 December 1980 Iraq institutes gasoline rationing.
José Napoleon Duarte is named leader of a new junta in El Salvador, the first civilian to rule the country in 49 years.
14 December 1980 A Little Suite for Christmas, AD 1979 for piano by George Crumb (51) is performed for the first time, at the Smithsonian Institute, Washington.
15 December 1980 Libyan forces move south from the Aozou Strip into northern Chad.
23 more prisoners join the IRA hunger strike in Maze Prison near Belfast.
16 December 1980 A monument to the victims of Polish communism is dedicated in Gdansk. The ceremony is attended by thousands, including the Communist Party Central Committee, leaders of the Roman Catholic Church and the independent trade union Solidarity. Lacrimosa for soprano, chorus, and orchestra by Krzysztof Penderecki (47) is performed for the first time. The names of the dead of the uprisings of 1956, 1970, and 1976 are read out. Lech Walesa lights an eternal flame.
Chroniques berlinoises for piano quintet with baritone ad lib by Henri Pousseur (51) is performed for the first time, in New York.
17 December 1980 Armenians shoot and kill the Turkish Consul General in Sydney, Australia and his bodyguard.
The United States restores military aid to El Salvador.
18 December 1980 Poland announces the first meat rationing since World War II.
The original seven IRA hunger strikers in Maze Prison near Belfast end their hunger strike after 53 days. Those supporting them will end their hunger strike tomorrow.
19 December 1980 Iraq halts all pumping from its northern oil fields.
The Iranian government demands $24,000,000,000 for the return of the US hostages.
Anguilla is formally removed from union with St. Kitts and Nevis and becomes a separate dependency of Great Britain.
The Palace for baritone and tape by Roger Reynolds (46) is performed for the first time, in a “pre-performance” in La Jolla, California. See 28 February 1981.
21 December 1980 Voters in Galicia vote to make their area the third autonomous region in Spain.
US Secretary of State Edmund Muskie calls Iran’s demands unacceptable.
26 December 1980 Iraqi forces invade the Iranian province of Kurdistan.
31 December 1980 His condition slowly deteriorating, Samuel Barber (70) is brought from his room in University Hospital, New York to a conference room in the same building. There, a concert of mostly his music is given for him by several musicians, including pianists Robert de Gaetano and John Browning. His Adagio for Strings is among the works performed.
©2004-2012 Paul Scharfenberger
23 January 2012
Last Updated (Monday, 23 January 2012 07:47)