1984
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1 January 1984 Brunei Darussalam, under Sultan Mudah Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, is declared independent of Great Britain.
The British Defense Ministry announces that the first 16 cruise missiles at Greenham Common are operational.
Rebels in El Salvador begin a new offensive by blowing up the longest bridge in the country.
American Telephone and Telegraph divests the Bell System. The 22 Bell units become seven regional holding companies. AT&T is divided into AT&T Communications and AT&T Technologies, Inc.
2 January 1984 The French government announces it will reduce its peacekeeping presence in Lebanon.
3 January 1984 Syria releases the US airman it shot down and captured, to Rev. Jesse Jackson.
4 January 1984 The Reagan administration’s Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Thayer resigns when he learns that the Securities and Exchange Commission is about to charge him with supplying his friends with insider stock trading information.
6 January 1984 Dan White, convicted of killing Mayor George Moscone of San Francisco and Supervisor Harvey Milk, is released by the State of California after serving five years, one month, and nine days.
7 January 1984 Unbeknownst to the world and Congressional oversight committees, agents of the US military begin mining the harbors of Nicaragua.
Jacobo Timerman, publisher of La Opinion, returns to Argentina. The military government exiled him in 1979.
8 January 1984 South African troops begin to withdraw from southern Angola after a month-long offensive into the country.
Texaco Inc. reaches an agreement to buy Getty Oil Corp. for $9,980,000,000.
String Quartet no.3 by Alfred Schnittke (49) is performed for the first time, in Moscow.
Five Central American nations agree to the peace proposals of the Contadora Group (Mexico, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela).
Songs of Innocence and of Experience: A Musical Illumination of the William Blake Poems for soloists, chorus and orchestra by William Bolcom (45) is performed for the first time, in Stuttgart.
10 January 1984 The US and the Vatican establish full diplomatic relations for the first time in 116 years.
The Conservative Peoples Party of Prime Minister Poul Schlüter gains 16 seats in the Danish elections, but his coalition remains in the minority.
11 January 1984 Nicaraguan soldiers shoot down a United States helicopter operating in Nicaraguan airspace along the border with Honduras, killing the pilot.
In the case of Silkwood v. Kerr-Mcgee Corp. the US Supreme Court reinstates the original 1979 jury finding that Kerr McGee was liable in the death of Karen Silkwood.
12 January 1984 A ten-year study of almost 4,000 men made public today shows that lowering cholesterol in the blood reduces the risk of heart ailments.
Mann Duo for violin and viola by Ralph Shapey (62) is performed for the first time, in Kaufman Auditorium of the 92nd Street Y, New York.
13 January 1984 Part of Frederick Delius’ (†49) incomplete tone poem Hiawatha is performed for the first time, over Norwegian television as part of the film From the High Solitudes, 96 years after it was composed.
15 January 1984 The consul general of Saudi Arabia in Lebanon is kidnapped by persons unknown.
Mm 51, a film with music by Mauricio Kagel (52), is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of Schweizer Fernsehen.
17 January 1984 In the case of Sony v. Universal City Studios, the Supreme Court of the US rules that private home use of video cassette recorders does not violate the Copyright Act of 1976.
18 January 1984 Two Palestinian terrorists shoot Malcolm H. Kerr to death in Beirut. He was president of the American University Beirut.
Erster Doppelgesang for viola, cello, and orchestra by Wolfgang Rihm (31) is performed for the first time, in Baden-Baden.
19 January 1984 The Organization of the Islamic Conference votes to readmit Egypt.
The CIVIL warS: “A Tree is Best Measured When it is Down”, a music theatre piece by Philip Glass (46) and Robert Wilson to words of Niscemi from Seneca and others, is performed for the first time, in Cologne.
23 January 1984 Double Concerto for violin, cello, and orchestra by Ralph Shapey (62) is performed for the first time, at the Juilliard School, New York, the composer conducting.
24 January 1984 The Apple Macintosh personal computer is unveiled.
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera is published in France.
25 January 1984 Chadian rebels shoot down a French war plane north of Ndjamena. The pilot is killed.
200,000 people march in São Paulo to protest the military government and demand a return to democracy.
A study published in the Los Angeles Times shows that 50 Salvadorans were killed upon their return to El Salvador after their requests for asylum were denied by the Reagan administration.
28 January 1984 The Portuguese Parliament legalizes abortion under certain conditions.
Tenebrae super Gesualdo for soprano and seven players by Peter Maxwell Davies (49) is performed for the first time, in St. James’, Picadilly, London.
Préludes-Fanfares-Interludes-Sonneries for winds and percussion by Betsy Jolas (57) is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of Radio France.
30 January 1984 One US Marine is killed, three injured when their positions are shelled by Moslem militia in Beirut.
Zwei Balladen after Guillaume de Machaut (†607) for chorus and instruments by Mauricio Kagel (52) is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of SDR, Stuttgart directed by the composer.
The first public performance of Study for Player Piano no.45 by Conlon Nancarrow (71) takes place in Los Angeles.
1 February 1984 The US-backed military dictatorship of Chile refuses an Israeli request to extradite Walter Rauff. Rauff was convicted in West Germany in 1963 of killing 97,000 Jews.
Mirabai Songs in the version for chamber ensemble and piano by John Harbison (45) are performed for the first time, in Sanders Theatre, Cambridge conducted by Gunther Schuller (58). See 15 November 1983.
4 February 1984 The United Republic of Cameroon changes its name to the Republic of Cameroon.
3 February 1984 Chiffre IV for bass clarinet, cello, and piano by Wolfgang Rihm (31) is performed for the first time, in Hamburg.
4 February 1984 Four days of fighting in Beirut between the Lebanese army and Moslem militias reach a climax.
5 February 1984 Prime Minister Shafik al-Wazan of Lebanon resigns, along with the entire cabinet, in the face of severe criticism from Moslems.
Crippled Symmetry for flute/bass flute, percussion, and piano/celesta by Morton Feldman (58) is performed for the first time, in the Akademie der Künste, Berlin.
Symphony no.1 by Wolfgang Rihm (31) is performed for the first time, in Hannover.
Suite no.2 for violin by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (†20) is performed for the first time, in Spokane, Washington 57 years after it was composed.
6 February 1984 Shia and Druze forces begin shelling Lebanese Army units in West Beirut. United States warships and planes bombard the Moslem positions.
Michael Tippett’s (79) Festival Brass with Blues for brass instruments is performed for the first time, in Hong Kong.
7 February 1984 Moslem militia push the Lebanese army out of west Beirut.
After a week of saber rattling during which he called requests for withdrawal “surrender”, President Reagan orders the United States Marines out of Beirut.
American Bruce McCandless becomes the first human to travel in space untethered to a spaceship as he exits the space shuttle Challenger. He is closely followed by Robert Stewart.
8 February 1984 The Fourteenth Winter Olympic Games open in Sarajevo.
United States warships bombard Syrian positions near Beirut today and tomorrow. British forces withdraw from Lebanon. The Italian government announces its forces will be withdrawn from the country.
9 February 1984 Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and General-Secretary of the Communist Party of the USSR Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov dies in Moscow after a long illness.
Arab terrorists fire three rockets indiscriminately into northern Israel. No damage is done.
10 February 1984 Officials of the US and UK evacuate hundreds of their citizens from Beirut. Frank Regier, a professor at the American University at Beirut, is kidnapped.
Israel begins bombing missions against terrorist positions in Lebanon after the attack of yesterday.
11 February 1984 Iraqi missiles hit the city of Dizful, Iran. Iran begins a new offensive in Kurdistan.
12 February 1984 Iran retaliates for the events of yesterday by attacking several Iraqi civilian areas including Basra.
In the last three days, 2,400 foreign nationals have been removed from Beirut.
Dialogues and Contrasts for brass quintet and tape by Vladimir Ussachevsky (72) is performed for the first time, in Merkin Hall, New York.
Symphony no.3 by William Grant Still (†5) is performed for the first time, in Harrison, Arkansas 26 years after it was composed.
13 February 1984 Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko replaces Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov as General-Secretary of the Communist Party of the USSR
14 February 1984 After two days of fighting, Druze militia drive the Lebanese army from the mountains southeast of Beirut.
Thalleïn for 14 players by Iannis Xenakis (61) is performed for the first time, in London.
Picnic on the Marne for saxophone and piano by Ned Rorem (60) is performed for the first time, in Carnegie Recital Hall, New York.
15 February 1984 Druze militia push the Lebanese out of their positions south of Beirut, link up with Shia militia and thereby surround the US Marines at the Beirut airport. President Gemayel of Lebanon signs a Saudi Arabian peace plan which includes trashing the 17 May 1983 treaty with Israel.
Concerto for saxophone and orchestra by Robert Ward (66) is performed for the first time, in Ovens Auditorium, Charlotte, North Carolina.
16 February 1984 Iran begins a new offensive against Iraq around Mehran.
Truckers in France begin setting up blockades throughout the country in anger over a strike by customs officials.
Incidental music to the play The Devils after Dostoyevsky by Alfred Schnittke (49) is performed for the first time, in London.
18 February 1984 In a concordat signed in Rome between Italy and the Vatican, Roman Catholicism ceases to be the state religion of Italy.
Western Springs for two choruses, two jazz groups, and two orchestras by Henry Brant (70) to his own words is performed for the first time, at the University of California at San Diego.
19 February 1984 The Fourteenth Winter Olympic Games close in Sarajevo. In twelve days of competition, 1,272 athletes from 49 countries took part.
Concerto for saxophone and orchestra by Gunther Schuller (58) is performed for the first time, in Pittsburgh.
20 February 1984 Italy completes a two-day withdrawal of all its forces from Lebanon.
21 February 1984 US forces begin withdrawing from Lebanon.
22 February 1984 Taffytime for large ensemble by Robert Erickson (66) is performed for the first time, at the University of California at San Diego.
23 February 1984 A revised version of Improvisation sur Mallarmé III for soprano and orchestra by Pierre Boulez (58) is performed for the first time in London, directed by the composer. See 10 June 1959.
24 February 1984 A cease-fire brokered by Saudi Arabia begins in Lebanon. Fighting continues with some militia leaders saying they are unaware of any agreement.
French truckers begin dismantling the blockades they have set up throughout the country after the government agrees to discuss their demands.
26 February 1984 United States Marines, having accomplished nothing, complete their withdrawal from Beirut.
27 February 1984 Auroras for orchestra by Robert Erickson (66) is performed for the first time, in New York.
28 February 1984 Suite for violin and orchestra by Frederick Delius (†49) is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of the BBC, 96 years after it was composed.
29 February 1984 Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau of Canada announces he will resign.
3 March 1984 The New York Times quotes a high official of the Salvadoran security police saying Roberto D’Aubuisson is an “anarchic psychopath” who directs conservative death squads. Among his targets were Archbishop Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez and Attorney General Mario Zamora Rivas, both killed in 1980.
4 March 1984 Iran charges Iraq with use of chemical weapons.
Over the last week, about a thousand people have been killed in fighting between Moslem extremists, Moslem moderates, soldiers, and police in Yola, Nigeria.
Jubilate Deo in E flat for chorus and organ by Benjamin Britten (†7) is performed for the first time, in Winchester Cathedral, 50 years after it was composed.
5 March 1984 The Lebanese government annuls its troop withdrawal agreement with Israel.
Standard Oil of California announces that it will buy Gulf Corporation for $13,300,000,000.
6 March 1984 Ulysses’ Raft for orchestra by John Harbison (45) is performed for the first time, in New Haven, Connecticut.
7 March 1984 The Australian Parliament enacts legislation to outlaw discrimination based on sex, marital status or pregnancy.
Jeremy Levin, bureau chief for CNN in Beirut, is kidnapped.
A report by the ICRC identifies about 160 Iranians wounded in the war against Iraq who were affected by “substances prohibited by international law.”
Duo Sonata for two pianos by Samuel Adler (56) is performed for the first time, in Cardiff, Wales.
Jubilee Music for orchestra by Gunther Schuller (58) is performed for the first time, in Memorial Hall, Dayton, Ohio.
8 March 1984 Hundreds of thousands of government workers in France stage a one-day strike to back pay demands.
9 March 1984 “Luzifers Tanz” no.53 for bass and band, an excerpt from Karlheinz Stockhausen’s (55) opera Samstag aus Licht, is performed for the first time, at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. See 16 May 1984, 25 May 1984, 18 October 1985, and 27 September 1986.
10 March 1984 An Austrian physician treating wounded Iranians in Vienna says he can say “with certain proof” that they were exposed to mustard gas and mycotoxins.
Sarah was Ninety Years Old for three voices by Arvo Pärt (48) is performed for the first time, in New York. Also premiered is the first setting of Pärt’s Hymn to a Great City for two pianos.
The Black Theatre of Hermes Trismegistos for solo voices, chorus, actors, and dancers by R. Murray Schafer (50) is performed for the first time, in Valencia, California.
Antiphony VIII (Revolution) for percussion and tape by Kenneth Gaburo (57) is performed for the first time, in California.
11 March 1984 Mobil Corporation announces that it will buy Superior Oil Company for $5,700,000,000.
12 March 1984 Lebanese reconciliation talks begin in Lausanne.
In national elections in Jordan, women vote for the first time.
British coal miners begin to go on strike to protest layoffs and mine closures.
13 March 1984 A cease-fire is agreed to by the Lebanese reconciliation talks in Lausanne.
Festival Psalms for baritone and chorus by Ulysses Kay (67) is performed for the first time, in Holland Michigan.
16 March 1984 US diplomat William Buckley is kidnapped off the streets of Beirut.
South Africa and Mozambique sign a non-aggression pact.
Libyan warplanes attack Omdurman, apparently trying to knock out a Sudanese radio station. They miss and hit nearby buildings killing five people.
Liriche su Verlaine for voice and piano by Bruno Maderna (†10) is performed for the first time, in Bonn, 37 years after it was composed.
17 March 1984 The Desert Music for chorus and orchestra by Steve Reich (47) to words of Williams is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of WDR, originating in Cologne. See 10 January 1986.
The four Ragtime Dances for small orchestra by Charles Ives (†29) are given their first complete performance, in New York 80 years after they were composed. Also premiered is the original version of The Unanswered Question. See 11 May 1946.
18 March 1984 In response to the attack of two days ago, the Reagan administration sends two AWACS planes to Egypt.
20 March 1984 Lebanese reconciliation talks end in Lausanne without result.
Peter Maxwell Davies’ (49) music theatre work The No. 11 Bus, to his own words, is performed for the first time, in Queen Elizabeth Hall, London.
A Soviet oil tanker strikes a mine set by the CIA in Puerto Sandino, Nicaragua, injuring five crewmen.
Figures for nine instruments by Betsy Jolas (57) is performed for the first time, in Evreux, France.
Sonata for harpsichord by Samuel Adler (56) is performed for the first time, in Rochester, New York.
21 March 1984 The Reagan administration denies a Soviet charge that it mined Nicaraguan ports.
Concerto for violin and orchestra by Roy Harris (†4) is performed for the first time, in Asheville, North Carolina, 35 years after it was composed.
22 March 1984 Heavy fighting begins in west Beirut between Druze and Sunni militias.
Today and tomorrow are declared “Ned Rorem (60) Days” in Chicago by Mayor Harold Washington.
Symphony no.1 by John Harbison (45) is performed for the first time, in Boston.
23 March 1984 The dictatorship of Chile reimposes a state of emergency.
Trois duos for tuba and piano by Betsy Jolas (57) is performed for the first time, in Lugano.
24 March 1984 The French government announces it will withdraw its forces from Lebanon.
In the largest single theft in Italian history, robbers relieve a Rome security company of $21,800,000 in cash and securities.
Akhnaten, an opera by Philip Glass (47) to his own words, is performed for the first time, in the Stuttgart State Opera House.
25 March 1984 France begins to withdraw its troops from Beirut, the last foreign country to do so.
In Damascus, disputes between Druze and Sunni are temporarily resolved.
By this date, 80% of Britain’s coal miners have joined the strike begun 12 March.
Voters in El Salvador go to the polls to elect a president. Although leftist guerrillas do not attempt to disrupt the balloting, confusion reigns over voting regulations and a shortage of ballots and ballot boxes. No one wins a majority.
Duets for Storab for two flutes by Harrison Birtwistle (49) is performed for the first time, in Rosslyn Hill Chapel, London.
The “Rome section” of The CIVIL warS: “A Tree is Best Measured When it is Down”, a music theatre piece by Philip Glass (47) and Robert Wilson to words of Niscemi from Seneca and others, is performed for the first time, in Rome. It was commissioned by the Rome opera.
26 March 1984 The government of Bangladesh lifts a ban on political activity.
President Sékou Touré of Guinea, the longest serving head of state in Africa, dies following emergency heart surgery in Cleveland, Ohio.
United Nations scientists report that Iraq has used mustard gas and nerve gas in its war against Iran.
Requies for chamber orchestra by Luciano Berio (58) is performed for the first time, in Lausanne. See 13 August 1985.
27 March 1984 A national day of protests against the US-backed military dictatorship of Chile takes place. Thousands of troops are sent into population centers. Universities are closed and press censorship imposed. Police battle protesters and kill five of them.
28 March 1984 Christian and Moslem militias begin artillery duels across Beirut.
British diplomat Kenneth Whitty is shot and killed by an Arab terrorist in Athens.
A one-year truce is negotiated between the Colombian government and leftist rebels, to go into effect two months from today.
The Washington Post reveals that United States pilots fly reconnaissance missions for Salvadoran government troops.
30 March 1984 Ataur Rahman Khan becomes Prime Minister of Bangladesh. The post has been vacant for two years.
The US Sixth Fleet sails away from Lebanese waters.
The US announces a rescue of $500,000,000 for Argentina.
The first movement of the Concerto for violin and orchestra no.2 by Isang Yun (66) entitled “Festliches Präludium” is performed for the first time, in Siegen. See 8 July 1983 and 20 January 1987.
31 March 1984 The Indian government agrees to recognize Sikhism as a separate religion under the constitution.
The last French troops depart Lebanon.
Four Latin American countries and eleven banks lend $300,000,000 to Argentina on an emergency basis.
1 April 1984 The Big Turtle Fanfare from the South China Sea for solo trumpet by György Ligeti (60) is performed for the first time, in Stockholm.
2 April 1984 Three Arab terrorists attack a crowd of shoppers in Jerusalem with guns and grenades. 48 people are injured. One attacker is killed, two captured.
3 April 1984 Rakesh Sharma becomes the first Indian in space, visiting the Salyut 7 space station.
The Italian government announces that US cruise missiles in its territory are now operational.
Smetana fanfare for band by Karel Husa (62) is performed for the first time, in San Diego, California, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of Bedrich Smetana.
4 April 1984 The United States vetoes a Security Council resolution condemning the mining of Nicaraguan harbors.
US President Reagan blames Congress for the failure of his policy in Lebanon.
RCA Corporation announces it will discontinue manufacture of video disk players.
5 April 1984 Lansana Conte becomes President of Guinea.
The Mask of Time for vocal soloists, chorus, and orchestra by Michael Tippett (79) to his own and others’ words, is performed for the first time, in Symphony Hall, Boston. The work was commissioned to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
6 April 1984 Voters in the Cocos Islands vote to integrate with Australia.
Reports appear in the press that the CIA directed the mining of Nicaraguan waters.
Concerto Lirico for trombone and orchestra by Leslie Bassett (61) is performed for the first time, in Toledo, Ohio.
7 April 1984 Nine French soldiers are killed in an explosion at Oum Chalouba in central Chad.
8 April 1984 The Reagan administration announces that it will not accept the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice in disputes involving Latin America for two years.
9 April 1984 The Australian cabinet approves Advance Australia Fair, in a new non-sexist version, as the new national anthem.
Faction leaders in Lebanon announce an agreement to disengage their forces.
Nicaragua files suit against the United States at the International Court of Justice.
10 April 1984 The first baby produced from a frozen embryo is born in Melbourne, Australia.
At a funeral in Toulouse for the nine soldiers killed on 7 April, the brother of one of the fallen tries to kill French Defense Minister Charles Hernu with his car. Security officers fire at the car, wounding the man. No one else is hurt.
La Ville for tape by Pierre Henry (54) is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of WDR, Cologne.
Mass for six solo voices by Jonathan Lloyd (35) is performed for the first time, in Queen Elizabeth Hall, London.
Ernst Krenek (83) undergoes a four-and-a-half hour operation on his gallbladder in Los Angeles.
The United States Senate votes 84-12 to condemn President Reagan for mining Nicaraguan harbors.
Shearson, American Express agrees to pay $360,000,000 for one of Wall Street’s oldest and most powerful investment banking concerns: Lehman Brothers Kuhn Loeb, Inc.
Prologue and Variations for string orchestra by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (44) is performed for the first time, in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
11 April 1984 The Supreme Soviet of the USSR elects party General Secretary Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko as Chairman of its Presidium. He is nominated by Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev.
Self Portrait--from “Death and Fire” for strings by Tan Dun (26) is performed for the first time, in Beijing.
A letter from Senator Barry Goldwater to CIA director William Casey is made public wherein Senator Goldwater condemns the mining of Nicaragua, calling it an act of war.
Deputy Secretary of State Kenneth Dam attempts to justify the CIA mining of Nicaraguan waters by invoking “collective security.”
Songs of Innocence and Experience, a Musical Illumination of the Poems of William Blake, a stage work by William Bolcom (45), is performed for the first time, at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
12 April 1984 Four Arab terrorists seize a bus and force it to the Gaza Strip. Israeli troops storm the bus and kill all the gunmen. One woman dies, seven other passengers are injured.
The United States House of Representatives votes 281-111 to condemn President Reagan for mining Nicaraguan harbors.
Symphony no.4 by Alfred Schnittke (49) is performed for the first time, in Moscow.
Violin and Orchestra by Morton Feldman (58) is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of Hessischer Rundfunk, originating in Frankfurt.
13 April 1984 Israeli troops kill four Arab terrorists who commandeered a bus yesterday. One hostage is killed, but all the others are rescued.
US President Reagan uses emergency powers to send $32,000,000 in military aid to the government of El Salvador without approval of Congress.
14 April 1984 Vietnamese forces launch a new offensive against three Cambodian opposition groups.
The Texas Board of Education repeals its rule that severely limits the teaching of evolution in the state’s schools.
15 April 1984 Shia militiamen gain the release of two western hostages in West Beirut: Christian Joubert of France and American Frank Regier.
Trio for violin, cello, and piano by Morton Feldman (58) is performed for the first time, in Cologne.
16 April 1984 Lichens for orchestra by Iannis Xenakis (61) is performed for the first time, in Liège.
17 April 1984 Automatic weapons are fired from the Libyan embassy in London into a crowd protesting the regime of Muammar el-Ghadaffi. One policewoman is killed, ten protesters are injured. British security agents surround the building and demand the right to inspect it for weapons. Libyan officials surround the British embassy in Tripoli.
18 April 1984 Iraqi warplanes attack a Panamanian tanker near Kharg Island, Iraq.
19 April 1984 At the insistence of the CIA, the Reagan administration rejects Nicaraguan envoy Nora Astorga. She had a major role in the 1978 death of National Guard General Reynaldo Peréz Vega, a CIA operative.
A federal judge in Chicago rules that Standard Oil of Indiana and two subsidiaries are liable “to the full extent” for damages resulting from the Amoco Cadiz disaster off Brittany in 1978.
20 April 1984 Flower Songs op.157 for chorus and strings by Vincent Persichetti (68), to words of Cummings, is performed for the first time, at the Philadelphia Academy of Music.
22 April 1984 The United Kingdom breaks diplomatic relations with Libya and orders all of their diplomats out of the country.
Ansel Adams dies near Carmel, California at the age of 82.
23 April 1984 Riots break out in Santo Domingo over price rises. Over the next three days, some 60 people will be killed.
24 April 1984 Narrative in retrospect for piano by Ross Lee Finney (77) is performed for the first time, in Brasilia.
The Pulitzer Committee bestows a special citation on William Schuman (73) for more than half a century of contribution to American music as composer and educational leader.
26 April 1984 William James (Count) Basie dies of cancer in Hollywood, Florida at the age of 79.
27 April 1984 After an eleven-day siege by British police, 30 Libyans leave their embassy in London. Most British diplomats in Tripoli, including the ambassador, depart their embassy peacefully.
Bild for nine players by Wolfgang Rihm (32) is performed for the first time, in Witten.
28 April 1984 An den Wassern zu Babel sassen Wir und weintern for voices and instruments by Arvo Pärt (48) is performed for the first time, in Witten. Also premiered is Pärt’s Zwei Slawische Psalmen.
29 April 1984 Voters in the Swiss canton of Appenzell Ausser Rhoden decide 2-1 to continue to deny the right to vote to women.
Inventionen for two oboes by Isang Yun (66) is performed for the first time, in Witten.
30 April 1984 Colombian Justice Minister Rodrigo Lara Bonilla is shot to death in Bogotá.
1 May 1984 Street clashes take place in Gdansk, Warsaw, and other Polish cities.
Colombian President Belisario Betancur Cuartas declares a state of siege.
...Nach einer Lektüre von Orwell, a Hörspiel by Mauricio Kagel (52), is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of WDR 3, directed by the composer.
2 May 1984 Andrey Sakharov begins a hunger strike in Gorky to publicize his demand that his wife, Yelena Bonner, be granted medical treatment abroad.
Iannis Xenakis (61) is admitted to the French Académie, replacing Georges Auric.
3 May 1984 Three bombs explode at a memorial to the Armenian genocide in the Paris suburb of Alfortville. 13 people are injured.
The Mark Rothko Foundation donates 1,000 Rothko paintings to 19 museums.
Hymset for organ by Samuel Adler (56) is performed for the first time, in Rochester, New York.
4 May 1984 The conglomerate Esmark, Inc. agrees to a $2,400,000,000 takeover by Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts, and Co., a New York investment house.
Piano Concerto no.3 by Charles Wuorinen (45) is performed for the first time, in Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Troy, New York.
Lines from The First Book of Urizen and Vala, or a Dream of Nine Nights for solo voices and chorus by Otto Luening (83) to words of Blake is performed for the first time, in New York.
5 May 1984 The three-act opera Elisabeth by Gaetano Donizetti (†136) is found as a result of discoveries in London and Paris.
Dances for cello and piano by Ned Rorem (60) is performed for the first time, in Detroit.
6 May 1984 A runoff presidential election takes place in El Salvador between moderate José Napoleón Duarte and extreme right-wing Roberto d’Aubuisson.
Jonestown for children’s chorus and piano by TJ Anderson (55) to words of TJ Anderson III is performed for the first time, at Boston University.
The Way They Are for chorus by Samuel Adler (56) is performed for the first time, in Palmyra, New York.
7 May 1984 A Saudi tanker leaving Kharg Island, Iran is hit by an Iraqi missile.
The USSR announces it will not take part in the Summer Olympics of 1984 in Los Angeles.
Andrey Sakharov is removed from his apartment in Gorky by Soviet government agents to an unknown destination.
In an out-of-court settlement, seven chemical companies agree to pay $180,000,000 to Vietnam veterans for exposing them to dioxins, a byproduct of Agent Orange.
Six New Etudes for piano by George Perle (69) is performed for the first time, in Beijing.
Orion and Pleiades: Concerto for cello and orchestra by Toru Takemitsu (53) is performed for the first time, in Paris.
8 May 1984 Three people are killed and 13 injured as a lone gunman fires automatic weapons in the Quebec National Assembly. After about four hours, he surrenders to authorities.
9 May 1984 Bulgaria announces it will not take part in the Summer Olympics of 1984 in Los Angeles.
10 May 1984 King Juan Carlos lands in Moscow at the beginning of the first visit of a Spanish head of state to the Soviet Union. The trip marks the restoration of full diplomatic ties between the two countries.
The International Court of Justice rules unanimously that the United States must immediately desist in mining Nicaraguan waters. It issues a restraining order to protect Nicaraguan sovereignty.
East Germany announces it will not take part in the Summer Olympics of 1984 in Los Angeles.
The Danish Parliament votes to cut off funding for deployment of US nuclear missiles in the country.
A US federal judge rules that nine people contracted cancer because the United States government improperly conducted above ground nuclear tests in the 1950s.
President-for-Life Jean-Claude Duvalier of Haiti bans all political activity.
11 May 1984 Mongolia and Vietnam announce that they will not take part in the Summer Olympics of 1984 in Los Angeles.
José Napoleón Duarte is declared the winner of El Salvador’s presidential election. The CIA spent $960,000 to elect Duarte, because the Reagan administration feared that Congress would cut off military aid in the event of a D’Aubuisson victory.
...Nach einer Lektüre von Orwell, a Hörspiel by Mauricio Kagel (52), is staged for the first time, in Bremen directed by the composer.
Filtres I for two pianos by Jean-Claude Risset (46) is performed for the first time, at Radio-France.
String Quartet no.1 by Tod Machover (30) is performed for the first time, in Symphony Space, New York.
Ulysses’ Bow for orchestra by John Harbison (45) is performed for the first time, in Pittsburgh.
12 May 1984 Czechoslovakia and Laos announce that they will not take part in the Summer Olympics of 1984 in Los Angeles.
13 May 1984 Afghanistan announces it will not take part in the Summer Olympics of 1984 in Los Angeles.
Der Eid des Hippokrates for piano-three hands by Mauricio Kagel (52) is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of Radio Bremen.
Ned Rorem (60) receives a plaque from the Fund for Human Dignity for educating the public about the lives of lesbians and gay men.
14 May 1984 In National Assembly elections in the Philippines, opposition candidates fare better than expected.
Four days after President-for-Life Jean-Claude Duvalier banned all political activity, the Reagan administration certifies that Haiti is making sufficient progress on human rights to allow continued US aid.
Symphonic Fantasia no.4 by Otto Luening (83) is performed for the first time, in Alice Tully Hall, New York.
15 May 1984 Veselin Djuranovic replaces Mika Spiljak as President of Yugoslavia.
Symphony no.1 by Isang Yun (66) is performed for the first time, in Berlin.
16 May 1984 Hungary announces it will not take part in the Summer Olympics of 1984 in Los Angeles.
The Oberlippentanz version of “Luzifers Tanz”, an excerpt from Karlheinz Stockhausen’s (55) opera Samstag aus Licht transcribed for solo piccolo trumpet, is performed for the first time. See 9 March 1984.
17 May 1984 Rioting between Hindus and Moslems begins in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra and quickly spreads to Bombay. Over the next eleven days, 228 people will be killed.
Poland announces it will not take part in the Summer Olympics of 1984 in Los Angeles.
Worried about a brain drain, East Germany closes emigration to the west and arrests applicants.
Chant for guitar by John Tavener (40) is performed for the first time, in Wigmore Hall, London.
Serenade no.14 op.159 for oboe by Vincent Persichetti (68) is performed for the first time, in Christ and St. Stephen’s Church, New York.
18 May 1984 Iraqi warplanes attack a Greek cargo ship near Kharg Island, Iran. It will sink tomorrow.
Spectres Parisiens for flute, horn, cello, chamber orchestra, and computer electronics by Tod Machover (30) is performed for the first time, in Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris.
Sixteen Haiku of Seferis for soprano, tenor, percussion, and strings by John Tavener (40) is performed for the first time, in St. David’s Cathedral, Dyfed, Wales.
Dialogue for violin and piano by Gunther Schuller (58) is performed for the first time, at the Library of Congress, Washington.
19 May 1984 John Betjeman dies in Trebetherick, England at the age of 77.
Symphony no.7 “Spring” by Mikis Theodorakis (58) is performed for the first time, in Dresden.
20 May 1984 Soviet Defense Minister Dmitri Ustinov announces that his country has increased the number of nuclear-armed submarines off the coast of the US. He says it is in response to NATO deployment of intermediate-range missiles in Europe.
Swiss voters reject a constitutional amendment which would open bank records to investigators.
Naama for harpsichord by Iannis Xenakis (61) is performed for the first time, in Luxembourg.
On Light Wings for piano quartet by Gunther Schuller (58) is performed for the first time, in Atlanta. Also premiered is Variations for piano quartet by Karel Husa (62).
23 May 1984 Cuba announces it will not take part in the Summer Olympics of 1984 in Los Angeles.
A committee of the US House of Representatives reports that debate materials stolen from the 1980 Carter campaign and transported to the Reagan campaign were received by William Casey, currently CIA director.
24 May 1984 A Salvadoran court finds five former members of the US-backed National Guard guilty of killing three American nuns and a lay worker in 1980.
The US House of Representatives approves $61,000,000 more for the Salvadoran military.
25 May 1984 The Peoples Revolutionary Republic of Guinea changes its name to the Republic of Guinea.
Samstag aus Licht, an opera by Karlheinz Stockhausen (55) to his own words, is performed completely for the first time, in Palazzo dello Sport in Milan.
Works by Charles Koechlin (†33) are performed for the first time, in Kassel, 42 years after they were composed: Five of the 14 pièces pour hautbois et piano op.179, and Plainte. Nocturne, the third movement of the Suite pour cor anglais seul.
26 May 1984 South Yemen announces it will not take part in the Summer Olympics of 1984 in Los Angeles.
27 May 1984 Duo for cello and harp by Isang Yun (66) is performed for the first time, in Ingelheim.
29 May 1984 North Korea announces it will not take part in the Summer Olympics of 1984 in Los Angeles.
US President Reagan authorizes the immediate sale of 400 Stinger missiles and 200 launching systems to Saudi Arabia. He claims that the national security interests of the US are at stake.
30 May 1984 A bomb explodes during a press conference given by Nicaraguan contra leader Edén Pastora Gómez just inside Nicaragua’s southern border. Five people are killed, 27 injured, including Pastora who suffers severe wounds. Those injured are taken to Costa Rica for treatment.
Album Leaf for piano by Charles Wuorinen (45) is performed for the first time, in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, New York by the composer.
31 May 1984 As contra leader Edén Pastora Gómez arrives in Costa Rica for treatment of his injuries, he is placed under arrest by Costa Rican authorities.
1 June 1984 Eleven people are killed in a gun battle between police and Sikh militants inside the Golden Temple of Amritsar.
Ethiopia announces it will not take part in the Summer Olympics of 1984 in Los Angeles.
The Dutch cabinet votes to delay a decision on the deployment of US cruise missiles in the country.
José Napoleón Duarte replaces Álvaro Alfredo Magaña as President of El Salvador.
Unbroken Circle for alto flute, bass clarinet, piano, viola, and cello by Peter Maxwell Davies (49) is performed for the first time, privately, in Bath Assembly Rooms.
2 June 1984 The Indian government declares the State of Punjab a “restricted area” off limits to foreigners.
3 June 1984 100,000 people protest in Madrid against Spanish membership in NATO and US bases in the country.
Wavelength, a multimedia piece for two percussionists, two dancers, and video by Toru Takemitsu (53) is performed for the first time, in Seibu Theatre, Tokyo.
Concerto in D for violin and orchestra by William Bolcom (46) is performed for the first time.
4 June 1984 Bamboula Squared for orchestra and electronic sounds by Charles Wuorinen (45) is performed for the first time, in Avery Fisher Hall, New York, the composer conducting.
Transfigured Wind II for flute, orchestra and electronic sound generators by Roger Reynolds (49) is performed for the first time, in New York, conducted by Charles Wuorinen (45).
5 June 1984 Iran reports that 600 people were killed in an Iraqi air attack on Baneh.
Saudi Arabian warplanes shoot down two Iranian fighters over the Persian Gulf. The Saudis are aided by US surveillance aircraft.
6 June 1984 In an attempt to end a terrorist campaign by Sikh militants, the Indian army occupies the Golden Temple in Amritsar. 300 people are killed, about 240 are injured and 450 are taken prisoner.
Four Short Sonatas for piano by George Rochberg (65) are performed for the first time, in Rome.
Intermezzo for Solo Saxophone, Intermezzo for Solo Piano and Intermezzi by TJ Anderson (55) are performed for the first time, at Quartz Mountain, Oklahoma.
7 June 1984 27 people die in violence in several Indian cities protesting the takeover of the Golden Temple of Amritsar.
A Haunted Landscape for orchestra by George Crumb (54) is performed for the first time, in Avery Fisher Hall, New York.
8 June 1984 Fremde Szene II for violin, cello and piano by Wolfgang Rihm (32) is performed for the first time, in Düsseldorf.
Sonatine for violin and cimbalom by Peter Maxwell Davies (49) is performed for the first time, in Wigmore Hall, London.
Canon for 4, Homage to William for flute, bass clarinet, violin, and cello by Elliott Carter (75) is performed for the first time, in Bath, Great Britain.
9 June 1984 György Ligeti’s (61) choral work Songs from Mátraszentimre to traditional words is performed for the first time, in Saarbrücken, 29 years after it was composed.
10 June 1984 Over 500 Sikh members of the Indian army desert in northeast India.
Mary’s Mass for choir and congregation by Gian Carlo Menotti (72) is performed for the first time, in the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Baltimore. It was commissioned to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the founding of Maryland.
11 June 1984 Over 100 people are killed and 150 injured in battle between Christians and Moslems in Beirut.
12 June 1984 The Lebanese Parliament approves a national unity government under Rashid Karami. He is granted emergency powers for nine months.
15 June 1984 Riconoscenza per Goffredo Petrassi for solo violin by Elliott Carter (75) is performed for the first time, in the Abbey of Fossanova, Priverno, Italy.
16 June 1984 Bran(d)t aan de Amstel for three choruses, 100 flutes, three bands, four hurdy-gurdys, four drum sets, and four carillons by Henry Brant (70) is performed for the first time, on several barges plying the canals of Amsterdam.
21 June 1984 Transfigured Wind III for flute, chamber orchestra, and electronic sound generators by Roger Reynolds (49) is performed for the first time, in Los Angeles.
22 June 1984 Elegy for viola by Benjamin Britten (†7) is performed for the first time, at Snape Maltings, 54 years after it was composed.
23 June 1984 Agnus Dei for two sopranos, viola, and cello by Peter Maxwell Davies (49) is performed for the first time, at the Almeida Theatre, London.
24 June 1984 Solidarity leads a boycott of local elections in Poland.
Schattenstück for orchestra by Wolfgang Rihm (32) is performed for the first time, in Karlsruhe.
25 June 1984 At a secret White House meeting, the National Security Council (President Reagan, CIA Director William Casey, National Security Advisor Robert McFarlane, Attorney General Edwin Meese, Secretary of State George Shulz and Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger) discuss Casey’s third country aid to the Nicaraguan contras. Shulz calls it “an impeachable offense.” Simultaneously, McFarlane’s deputy, Oliver North, informs the Contras that money from Saudi Arabia will be arriving in 24 hours.
The Lord’s Prayer for chorus and organ by Thea Musgrave (56) is performed for the first time, in St. Mary’s Cathedral, San Francisco.
26 June 1984 Ali Sukrija replaces Dragoslav Markovic as President of the Presidium of the League of Yugoslav Communists.
Angola announces it will not take part in the Summer Olympics of 1984 in Los Angeles.
West German Economics Minister Otto Lambsdorff resigns after a court in Bonn indicts him in a political payoff scandal.
27 June 1984 Iraqi warplanes attack a Swiss-owned tanker south of Kharg Island, Iran. Eight crewmen are killed, three seriously injured.
Pastoral Drone for organ by George Crumb (54) is performed for the first time, in San Francisco.
28 June 1984 Adagissimo for string quartet by Brian Ferneyhough (41) is performed for the first time, in La Rochelle, France.
Ricercare for organ by Gian Carlo Menotti (72) is performed for the first time, in Grace Cathedral, San Francisco.
29 June 1984 France grants autonomy to French Polynesia.
Souvenir for organ by John Cage (71) is given its official premiere at St. Mary’s Cathedral, San Francisco.
30 June 1984 President Hernán Siles Zuazo of Bolivia is kidnapped in an abortive coup by conservative military and police officers. He is released after several hours of captivity.
John Napier Turner replaces Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau as Prime Minister of Canada.
Lillian Hellman dies of a heart attack on Martha’s Vineyard at the age of 74.
1 July 1984 Two main Moslem militias and the Christian militia agree on a peace plan and the demilitarization of Beirut.
Richard von Weizsäcker replaces Karl Carstens as President of West Germany.
Iraq announces the destruction of five Iranian ships and one plane in the Persian Gulf. Ground fighting resumes east of Basra.
4 July 1984 The Lebanese army begins taking over positions in Beirut formerly held by warring militias. They begin dismantling barricades and roadblocks.
President Raúl Alfonsín of Argentina sacks the army chief of staff and three other generals in an attempt to reassert civilian control over the military.
7 July 1984 Today sees the beginning of the first complete performance of The Great Learning for vocalists doing various things, by Cornelius Cardew (†2) to words of Confucius (tr. Pound), at the Union Chapel, Upper Street, Islington, London.
8 July 1984 Ikon of Light for chorus, violin, viola, and cello by John Tavener (40) is performed for the first time, in Tewkesbury Abbey, Cheltenham.
Today sees the conclusion of the first complete performance of The Great Learning for vocalists doing various things, by Cornelius Cardew (†2) to words of Confucius (tr. Pound), at the Union Chapel, Upper Street, Islington, London.
9 July 1984 Protesters demanding the release of kidnapped relatives bring the city of Beirut to a halt. Later in the day, Beirut airport opens after being closed for five months.
CBS Inc. announces it will discontinue manufacture of video disks.
10 July 1984 Leaders of the Bolivian coup attempt of 30 June turn out to be members of a new anti-narcotics unit financed, equipped, and trained by the Reagan administration.
12 July 1984 Terrorists order the evacuation of the Libyan embassy in Beirut and then detonate a bomb therein.
Former Vice-President Walter Mondale announces he has selected Rep. Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate in the upcoming presidential election. She is the first woman to hold a place on the national ticket of a major US party.
14 July 1984 Parliamentary elections in New Zealand result in victory for the Labor Party and the ousting of the National Party from office.
The third movement of a Concerto for choir by Alfred Schnittke (49) to words of Narekatzi (tr. Grebnev) is performed for the first time, in Istanbul. See 9 June 1986.
17 July 1984 Laurent Fabius replaces Pierre Mauroy as Prime Minister of France.
18 July 1984 In the largest mass murder in US history, a recently sacked security guard opens fire in a restaurant in San Ysidro, California killing 21 people. He is eventually killed by police.
19 July 1984 After meeting with the new Prime Minister, the French Communist Party decides to withdraw from the ruling coalition.
20 July 1984 Still Movement for 13 strings by Harrison Birtwistle (50) is performed for the first time, in London.
21 July 1984 Marking the 40th anniversary of communist rule in Poland, 35,000 criminals and 652 political prisoners are freed.
Jacques Santer replaces Pierre Werner as Prime Minister of Luxembourg.
23 July 1984 In parliamentary elections in Israel, the opposition Labor Party wins a plurality of seats, although both major parties lose ground.
Ten months into her reign, Vanessa Williams resigns as Miss America after Penthouse magazine announces it will be publishing nude photographs of her.
25 July 1984 Soviet cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya becomes the first woman to walk in space when she exits the Soyuz T-12 spacecraft.
26 July 1984 David Lange replaces Robert Muldoon as Prime Minister of New Zealand.
The Supreme Court of Canada strikes down provisions of Quebec’s Charter of the French Language as violations of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Processional for piano by George Crumb (54) is performed for the first time, at Tanglewood, Lennox, Massachusetts.
27 July 1984 Libya announces it will not take part in the Summer Olympics of 1984 in Los Angeles.
Thirty Pieces for String Quartet by John Cage (71) is performed for the first time, in Darmstadt.
28 July 1984 Lebanese army units begin dismantling the “Green Line” separating Moslem west Beirut from Christian east Beirut.
The Games of the 23rd Olympiad of the Modern Era open in Los Angeles.
The first movement of the Piano Sonata no.1 by Henryk Górecki (50) is performed for the first time, in Lerchenborg, Denmark. Also premiered is part of Górecki’s Recitatives and Ariosos--Lerchenmusik op.53 for clarinet, cello, and piano. See 17 March 1991 and 25 September 1985.
30 July 1984 The tanker Alvenus hits the side of a dredged channel 18 km off Cameron, Louisiana spilling 600,000 barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
31 July 1984 After four days of meeting in Beijing, Chinese and British officials agree on the future of Hong Kong.
1 August 1984 The new leftist government of New Zealand breaks diplomatic relations with South Africa.
2 August 1984 A bomb explodes at Madras International Airport shortly after an Air Lanka jet arrives. 31 people are killed, at least 24 injured.
The former President of Argentina, Jorge Rafael Videla, is indicted on charges related to thousands of killings and disappearances.
3 August 1984 The US lifts some sanctions against Poland in response to the 21 July amnesty.
4 August 1984 The Republic of Upper Volta changes its name to the Republic of Burkina Faso.
6 August 1984 At the request of Egypt, the US agrees to send minesweeping ships and helicopters to the Red Sea. At least 15 ships have been damaged by mines laid by Islamic Jihad over the last month.
7 August 1984 Un re in ascolto, an azione musicale by Luciano Berio (58) to words of the composer after Calvino, Auden, Einsiedel, and Gotter, is performed for the first time, in the Kleines Festspielhaus, Salzburg.
8 August 1984 The UK agrees to join with the US in minesweeping operations in the Red Sea.
The Reagan administration tells a global population conference in Mexico City that it will no longer fund NGOs which inform women about abortion, claiming the free market is “the natural mechanism for slowing population growth.”
9 August 1984 The French government announces it will participate in the minesweeping of the Red Sea.
11 August 1984 Act I of Monna Yanna, an opera by Sergey Rakhmaninov (†41) to words of Slonov, after Maeterlinck, is performed for the first time, in a concert setting in the Saratoga, New York Performing Arts Center 77 years after it was composed. The work exists only in piano score and was orchestrated by I. Buketov.
12 August 1984 Police attack a Sinn Fein rally in Belfast with rubber bullets in an attempt to arrest a US supporter of the IRA banned from the province. The man escapes, but one person is killed and at least 20 are injured.
The Games of the 23rd Olympiad of the Modern Era close in Los Angeles. In 16 days of competition 6,829 athletes from 140 countries took part.
15 August 1984 Music for... for instrumental ensemble by John Cage (71) is performed for the first time, in New Milford, Connecticut.
16 August 1984 New fighting breaks out between the Lebanese army and Druze militia.
Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet criticizes the Roman Catholic Church for its defense of human rights calling it “more communist than the Communists.”
19 August 1984 Soviet vessels join the effort to sweep mines from the Red Sea.
21 August 1984 AMDG for chorus by Benjamin Britten (†7) to words of Gerard Manley Hopkins is performed completely for the first time, in the Purcell Room, London 55 years after it was composed.
22 August 1984 Italian naval vessels leave port to join the minesweeping in the Red Sea.
Elections for the new tricameral parliament take place in South Africa. Elections to the Colored and Asian houses are overwhelmingly boycotted by those two groups.
23 August 1984 The leadership of Mongolia is changed as Jambyn Batmunkh becomes President and First Secretary of the Communist party and Dumaagiyn Sodnom is named Prime Minister.
24 August 1984 Quintet for clarinet and strings no.1 by Isang Yun (66) is performed for the first time, in Kusatsu, Japan.
25 August 1984 Vorgefühle for orchestra by Wolfgang Rihm (32) is performed for the first time, in Hamburg.
2 September 1984 A typhoon kills 1,363 people in the Philippines.
3 September 1984 Pieter Willem Botha replaces Marais Viljoen as acting State President of South Africa.
A bomb explodes in Montreal’s main railway station, killing three people and injuring over 30. It was set by American Thomas Brigham, who will be judged deranged.
4 September 1984 Police attack rioters in five black townships around Johannesburg. 29 people are killed.
The Swiss conglomerate Nestlé SA announces that it will buy the Carnation Company for $3,000,000,000.
The Provisional IRA explodes a car bomb in Newry injuring 71 people.
Two days of protests against the US-backed military dictatorship begin in Chile. Nine people will be killed when security forces attack the peaceful demonstrations.
In Canadian parliamentary elections, the Liberal Party is swept from power. The Progressive Conservatives win 211 of the 282 seats.
5 September 1984 Three Soviet cosmonauts equal the space endurance record of 211 days.
The leaders of the Likud and Labor Parties in Israel agree to a power sharing arrangement by which they will form a national unity government and alternate the Prime Minister’s position.
6 September 1984 Two works by Lejaren Hiller (60) are performed for the first time, in Buffalo: Tetrahedron for harpsichord and Staircase Tango for piano.
8 September 1984 The original version of Fate, an opera by Leos Janácek (†56) to words of Bartosová and the composer, is staged for the first time, in London 79 years after it was composed. See 18 September 1934.
9 September 1984 Pope John Paul II begins a twelve-day visit to Canada in Quebec city. He is the first reigning pope to visit Canada.
10 September 1984 Cadenza for viola by Krzysztof Penderecki (50) is performed for the first time, in Luslawice.
Hexachord for harpsichord by Ross Lee Finney (77) is performed for the first time, at the Hartt School of Music, Hartford, Connecticut.
11 September 1984 Officials of the Reagan administration assure the Senate Intelligence Committee that they have not encouraged private donations to aid conservative rebels in Nicaragua.
Concerto for violin and orchestra no.4 by Alfred Schnittke (49) is performed for the first time, in West Berlin.
12 September 1984 Officials of the Reagan administration assure the House Intelligence Committee that they have not encouraged private donations to aid conservative rebels in Nicaragua.
Umsungen for baritone and eight players by Wolfgang Rihm (32) is performed for the first time, in Berlin.
14 September 1984 Following inconclusive elections, a national unity government is sworn in in Israel, headed by Shimon Peres.
The manuscript of a late song by Richard Strauss (†35) is found in the estate of singer Maria Jeritza.
The office of Prime Minister is abolished in South Africa. Prime Minister Pieter Willem Botha becomes State President.
17 September 1984 Martin Brian Mulroney replaces John Turner as Prime Minister of Canada.
18 September 1984 The Reagan administration admits that it has made three airplanes available for use by the Nicaraguan contras.
19 September 1984 Milos Forman’s film of Peter Shaffer’s play Amadeus is released in the United States.
20 September 1984 A suicide bomber drives a station wagon equipped with 180 kg of TNT into the front door of the United States embassy annex in Aukar, East Beirut. As the explosive ignites, 23 people are killed, scores injured. Islamic Jihad claims responsibility.
A Song of the Night op.19/1 for violin and orchestra by Gustav Holst (†50) is performed for the first time, in London 79 years after it was composed.
21 September 1984 Brunei Darussalam is admitted to the United Nations.
Nicaragua unexpectedly agrees unconditionally to a draft peace proposed by the Contadora Group.
22 September 1984 The Reagan administration admits that their security arrangements at the Beirut embassy were inadequate.
A further extended version of Répons for six percussionists, small orchestra, and electronic sound generators by Pierre Boulez (59) is performed for the first time, in Turin. See 18 October 1981 and 6 September 1982.
25 September 1984 Jordan resumes diplomatic relations with Egypt.
By mutual agreement, France and Libya begin to withdraw their forces from Chad.
Great Britain issues a postage stamp honoring the British Council on the Arts. It depicts a young violin player against a score of The Midsummer Marriage by Michael Tippett (79).
Tango si for piano by Betsy Jolas (58) is performed for the first time, in Toronto.
Tango? for piano by Conlon Nancarrow (71) is performed for the first time, in Toronto.
26 September 1984 Representatives of China and Great Britain initial and make public an accord to revert Hong Kong to China on 1 July 1997.
The Council of State orders the extradition of three Basque separatists from France to Spain.
President Reagan declares that part of the blame for the successful bombing of the US embassy in Beirut lies with “the near destruction of our intelligence capability” by his predecessor, who left office almost four years ago.
IBM announces that it will acquire Rolm Corporation for $1,250,000,000.
Sonata for seven players by Hans Werner Henze (58) is performed for the first time, in London.
27 September 1984 Chaconne for viola and orchestra by Michael Colgrass (52) is performed for the first time, in Toronto.
28 September 1984 A court in London rules that the eight-month-old coal miners strike is illegal.
US President Reagan phones former President Jimmy Carter to explain that he had not meant that Carter was responsible for the bombing of the US embassy in Beirut.
President Reagan holds a three-hour meeting with Soviet Foreign Minister Andrey Gromyko. Three years and eight months into his term, it is Reagan’s first meeting with a member of the Soviet leadership.
Polish Requiem for four solo voices, chorus, and orchestra by Krzysztof Penderecki (50) is performed for the first time, in Stuttgart.
29 September 1984 Prometeo: Tragedia dell’ascolto, an opera by Luigi Nono (60) to words of Cacciari, is performed for the first time, in Venice. See 25 September 1985.
Music for Cello and Orchestra by Joan Tower (46) is performed for the first time, at the 92nd Street Y, New York.
30 September 1984 An Egyptian court sentences 107 Moslem extremists to terms at hard labor ranging from two to 25 years for their part in the uprising following the murder of President Anwar Sadat in 1981.
1 October 1984 Symphonic Suite for orchestra by Karel Husa (63) is performed for the first time, in Athens, Georgia conducted by the composer to celebrate the bicentennial of the University of Georgia.
2 October 1984 Leonid Kizim, Vladimir Solovyov, and Oleg Atkov return to Earth after spending 237 days in space--a new record.
Two Romances on Verses by Lermontov op.84 for voice and piano by Dmitri Shostakovich (†9) is performed for the first time, in Duisburg, 34 years after they were composed.
Vers, l’Arc-en-ciel, Palma for guitar, oboe d’amore, and orchestra by Toru Takemitsu (53) is performed for the first time, in Town Hall, Birmingham.
3 October 1984 The Contadora Group presents a draft peace treaty for Central America to the UN Security Council.
Two works are performed for the first time, in Milwaukee, conducted by Lukas Foss (62): Cosmic Cycle for orchestra by Dane Rudhyar (89) and Creations: Two Scenes from Genesis for narrator and chamber orchestra by John Corigliano (46) to words from Genesis.
4 October 1984 Two bombs go off in Jakarta, at Bank Central Asia and at a shopping center in the Chinese district. Two people are killed.
5 October 1984 Marc Garneau becomes the first Canadian in space as he rides aboard the space shuttle Challenger.
Three Essays on Thomas Wolf for piano by Ralph Shapey (63) is performed for the first time, privately at the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, New York 36 years after it was composed.
9 October 1984 Salvadoran rebels accept an offer to meet with President José Napoleón Duarte.
10 October 1984 Hidden Sparks for violin by Tod Machover (30) is performed for the first time, in Veterans’ Hall, San Francisco.
11 October 1984 Nicholas Ardito-Barletta Vallarina becomes President of Panama. He is the first elected president in Panama in 16 years.
Both houses of the US Congress ban aid to conservative rebels in Nicaragua.
12 October 1984 The provisional IRA detonates explosives in a Brighton hotel, scene of the annual conference of the Conservative Party. Two people are killed, 34 injured. Prime Minister Thatcher narrowly escapes injury.
Sinfonia for orchestra by Olly Wilson (47) is performed for the first time, in Boston.
Celebration for orchestra by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (45) is performed for the first time, in Indianapolis.
13 October 1984 Little Missenden Calm for oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and horn by John Tavener (40) is performed for the first time, in Little Missenden Church.
14 October 1984 2,000,000 people rally in Dhaka, demanding an end to martial law in Bangladesh.
Deutschlandsberger Mohrentanz I for recorders, guitars, percussion, string quartet, and string orchestra by Hans Werner Henze (58) is performed for the first time, in Deutschlandsberg, Austria.
15 October 1984 Salvadoran President José Napoleón Duarte meets with rebel leaders in a church in La Palma. They agree to form a joint commission to seek an end to the war.
The Associated Press reports on the existence of a secret CIA manual for the Nicaraguan rebels instructing them in techniques of guerrilla warfare and how left-leaning government officials can be murdered.
18 October 1984 The Salvadoran army begins a new offensive against the rebels.
Representatives of Argentina and Chile initial an agreement of their border dispute over the Beagle Channel, in Rome.
Secret Theatre for 14 players by Harrison Birtwistle (50) is performed for the first time, in Queen Elizabeth Hall, London. Also premiered is Birtwistle’s Songs by Myself for soprano, flute/alto flute, piano, vibraphone, violin, viola, cello, and double bass to his own words conducted by the composer.
Lento espressivo for string quartet by Aaron Copland (83) is performed for the first time, in New York 60 years after it was composed.
Quintet for woodwinds by Arthur Berger (72) is performed for the first time, in Boston.
19 October 1984 The Reagan administration admits that dependents and non-essential personnel are being pulled out of the embassy in Beirut.
Pro-Solidarity priest Jerzy Popieluszko is abducted in Poland.
Four CIA agents are killed while on a spy mission over El Salvador.
Deutschlandsberger Mohrentanz II for recorders, guitars, percussion, string quartet, and string orchestra by Hans Werner Henze (58) is performed for the first time, in Deutschlandsberg, Austria.
20 October 1984 The Chinese government announces major reforms in its economic structure, including the introduction of market forces and the reduction of government control.
Sun Song for orchestra by Peter Sculthorpe (55) is performed for the first time, in Winthrop Hall of the University of Western Australia in Perth.
Nicarguan Contra leader Edgar Chamorro admits carrying out murders as described in the CIA manual.
21 October 1984 François Truffaut dies of cancer in Paris at the age of 52.
The second of the 3 ASKO Stücke for winds, string, piano, and marimba by Gottfried Michael Koenig (58) is performed for the first time, in Paris. See 21 November 1982.
Double Quartet for strings by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (45) is performed for the first time, in Alice Tully Hall, New York.
23 October 1984 A committee investigating the murder of Philippine opposition leader Benigno Aquino implicates an air force general and six soldiers. Four of the five members find a much wider conspiracy led by Chief of Staff General Fabian Ver, a close friend of President Marcos.
24 October 1984 Minette Fontaine, a dramatic work by William Grant Still (†5) to words of his wife, Verna Arvey, is performed for the first time, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Rainer Barzel, speaker of the Bundestag, resigns after allegations of his involvement in the “Flick Affair”, a political payoff scandal. He is the second high-ranking Christian Democrat to resign.
25 October 1984 The largest hydroelectric project in the world, the Itaipú Dam on the Paraná River, built by Brazil and Paraguay, begins to generate electricity.
26 October 1984 Four Turks and three Bulgarians are indicted by an Italian magistrate for complicity in the plot to kill Pope John Paul II.
A newborn girl in Loma Linda, California receives the heart of a baboon replacing her own defective heart.
Voci for viola and two instrumental ensembles by Luciano Berio (59) is performed for the first time, in Basel.
29 October 1984 The UN Disaster Relief Agency reports that twelve of the 14 provinces in Ethiopia are in famine and that 43% of the population is undernourished. It further reports that 35,000,000 Africans are in danger of starvation because of drought. 27 countries are in urgent need of aid. Nine more are seeing food shortages. They call it “the worst human disaster in recent history.”
Two days of protests against the US-backed dictator Augusto Pinochet begin in Chile. Last night, twelve bombs explode in five cities damaging government and economic targets.
30 October 1984 The body of Father Jerzy Popieluszko is found in a reservoir in northern Poland.
31 October 1984 Two Sikh bodyguards shoot to death Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of India outside her home in New Delhi. Other security officials shoot one of the attackers to death. They shoot and critically injure the other, who is transported to hospital. Rajiv Gandhi is sworn in as Prime Minister. Violence erupts throughout the country directed at Sikhs.
Fantasia and Dance in memoriam Max Pollikoff for violin by Otto Luening (84) is performed for the first time, at Bennington College, Vermont.
1 November 1984 Indian troops enter nine cities to quell violence against Sikhs. Curfews are imposed in 30 cities. As many as 300,000 people crowd Teen Murti house in New Dehli where Prime Minister Gandhi’s body lies in state. The throng attempting to pay their respects breaks barriers and police are required to use tear gas to disperse them.
2 November 1984 The USSR announces that Svetlana Alliluyeva, the daughter of Joseph Stalin, has returned to the Soviet Union after 17 years in the west. She has also brought her 13-year-old daughter, born in the US.
Margie Velma Barfield becomes the first woman executed in the United States since 1962 when she is put to death in Raleigh by the State of North Carolina.
Roland Joffé’s film The Killing Fields is released in the United States.
3 November 1984 The body of Indira Gandhi is cremated on the banks of the Jumna River before tens of thousands of people including scores of foreign dignitaries.
4 November 1984 Violence subsides throughout India. Police estimate about 1,000 people were killed since the murder of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
An autopsy on the body of Jerzy Popieluszko reveals that he was gagged and tied before being thrown into a reservoir.
Canal Plus, the first subscription television channel in France, goes on the air.
In Nicaraguan elections, Daniel Ortega Saavedra wins 63% of the vote as his party wins a majority of National Assembly seats.
Chorale Prelude: O God Unseen op.160 for band by Vincent Persichetti (69) is performed for the first time, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
5 November 1984 Two days of strikes by black workers begin in Pretoria and Johannesburg opposing several government policies.
6 November 1984 After a week of civil unrest in Chile, US-backed dictator General Augusto Pinochet declares a state of siege and imposes a curfew.
The Reagan administration charges that a Soviet freighter now approaching Nicaraguan waters is carrying a cargo of MIG-21 fighter planes.
Voters in the United States elect Ronald Reagan to a second term as President over former Vice President Walter Mondale. Republicans gain 16 seats in the House of Representatives but Democrats retain control. Democrats gain two seats in the Senate but Republicans retain control.
7 November 1984 Chancellor Helmut Kohl of West Germany testifies before a Bundestag committee investigating political payoffs by Friedrich Flick Industrieverwaltung KGaG. He admits receiving DM155,000 from Flick but says he made no promises for the donation and turned the money over to his party’s treasurer.
Chile forbids the return of the head of the Roman Catholic Church’s human rights office.
The Soviet freighter Bakuriani docks at the Nicaraguan port of Corinto. Reporters observe the unloading of the cargo. No MIG-21s are observed.
Summer Island for oboe and electronic sound generators by Roger Reynolds (50) is performed for the first time, in Tokyo.
8 November 1984 US-backed conservative dictator General Augusto Pinochet suspends publication of six Chilean newspapers.
9 November 1984 Conservative Cuban terrorist Eduardo Arocena is sentenced to life imprisonment in New York for several acts of murder.
10 November 1984 As many as 2,000 people are arrested in a sweep by Chilean troops through one shanty town.
12 November 1984 On the first day of an OAU summit in Addis Ababa, Morocco withdraws from the organization after representatives of the Polisario guerrillas are seated.
The British government announces it will remove the £1 note and the halfpenny coin from circulation by 1986.
13 November 1984 Nine days of violence end in South Africa during and after a strike by black workers in Pretoria and Johannesburg. 31 people are reported killed.
Chilean university students boycott classes and rally to protest actions by the conservative dictatorship.
14 November 1984 198 plaintiffs reach agreement with AH Robbins Co., the maker of the Dalkon Shield intrauterine birth control device. Robbins will pay the plaintiffs $38,000,000 for injuries resulting from use of their device.
15 November 1984 A newborn girl dies in Loma Linda, California of complications of rejection of the baboon heart she received on 26 October.
Intrada for brass quintet by Karel Husa (63) is performed for the first time, in Baltimore.
16 November 1984 Pilgrim Strangers for six male voices by Ned Rorem (61) to words of Whitman is performed for the first time, in Avery Fisher Hall, New York.
17 November 1984 Es sang vor langen Jahren by Arvo Pärt (49) is performed for the first time, at the Hochschüle für Musik, Hannover.
18 November 1984 France grants autonomy to New Caledonia.
19 November 1984 A Salavadoran court acquits an army officer in the 1981 killing of the head of a land-redistribution program and two US labor advisors.
A storage area for liquefied petroleum gas in Mexico City explodes setting a nearby neighborhood afire. At least 334 people are killed and over 2,000 injured.
21 November 1984 Fremde Szene III for violin, cello, and piano by Wolfgang Rihm (32) is performed for the first time, in Gelsenkirchen as part of the first complete performance of all three Fremde Szenen.
Concerto Quarternio for violin, flute, oboe, trumpet, and orchestra with recorded voice by Gunther Schuller is performed for the first time, in New York, on the eve of the composer’s 59th birthday.
22 November 1984 The British government announces it will withdraw from UNESCO unless the organization modifies its spending policies.
26 November 1984 Troops of the Lebanese army begin deploying throughout Beirut in an attempt to remove all militia from the capital.
The United States restores diplomatic ties with Iraq, broken in 1967.
The International Court of Justice decides 16-0 in favor of a Nicaraguan suit against the United States campaign to overthrow their government.
27 November 1984 Great Britain and Spain announce an agreement in Brussels to open the border between Gibraltar and Spain, closed since 1969.
28 November 1984 The United Nations estimates that 295,000 metric tons of food have been pledged by western countries to Ethiopia.
29 November 1984 Chile and Argentina sign a treaty negotiated by the Vatican settling a hundred-year-old dispute over the Beagle Channel.
30 November 1984 Unbroken Circle for instrumental ensemble by Peter Maxwell Davies (50), is performed publicly for the first time, at the Cultural Center, Rennes conducted by the composer. See 1 June 1984.
1 December 1984 Parliamentary elections in Australia give a continued, if reduced, majority to the governing Labor Party of Prime Minister Bob Hawke. The size of the House of Representatives is raised from 125 to 148 seats. The Senate is raised from 64 to 76 seats.
Symphony no.7 by Hans Werner Henze (58) is performed for the first time, in Berlin.
3 December 1984 Methyl isocyanate is expelled from a Union Carbide insecticide plant in Bhopal, India killing over 2,000 people and injuring at least 50,000.
Chiffre V for orchestra by Wolfgang Rihm (32) is performed for the first time, in Paris.
4 December 1984 Four Arab gunmen commandeer a Kuwaiti airliner and order it flown to Teheran. At Teheran, they kill an American passenger and dump his body out of the plane.
Constitutional government returns to Grenada for the first time since the 1983 American invasion. Herbert Augustus Blaize becomes Prime Minister.
The Sleeper for soprano and piano by George Crumb (55) to words of Poe is performed for the first time, in Carnegie Hall, New York.
Incidental music to Beckett’s play Endgame by Philip Glass (47) is performed for the first time, in New York.
5 December 1984 Arab hijackers of a Kuwaiti airliner demand that Kuwait free 17 of their colleagues in prison. They threaten to blow up the plane. Kuwait refuses to negotiate.
6 December 1984 Five supervisory officials at Union Carbide in Bhopal are accused of criminal negligence by Madhya Pradesh.
Arab hijackers of a Kuwaiti airliner force an American hostage out the door of the plane, force him to plead their demands, then shoot him to death.
Fighting begins between Christian and Druze militias in the Shouf Mountains southeast of Beirut.
7 December 1984 Indian police arrest Union Carbide President Warren Anderson on charges of criminal conspiracy, shortly after his arrival in the country. Two officers of Union Carbide India Ltd. are also arrested. Anderson is released and forced to leave the country.
Arab hijackers of a Kuwaiti airliner beat hostages so that their screams can be heard over the cockpit radio.
For the Pleasure of Ovid’s Changes for Javanese gamelan by Lou Harrison (67) is performed for the first time, at Mills College, Oakland.
8 December 1984 The Harp of New Albion for piano in just intonation by Terry Riley (49) is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of WDR, Cologne.
9 December 1984 Union Carbide announces an $830,000 contribution to a special fund for disabled survivors of their negligence. This works out to about $5.50 per victim.
Iranian security forces take over a hijacked Kuwaiti plane at Teheran airport. The Arab hijackers are arrested.
Symphony no.2 by Isang Yun (67) is performed for the first time, in Berlin.
10 December 1984 Union Carbide reveals that a 1982 inspection of the Bhopal plant showed serious equipment and safety problems.
13 December 1984 George Rochberg’s (66) Oboe Concerto is performed for the first time, in Avery Fisher Hall, New York.
Movers and Shakers for orchestra by Charles Wuorinen (46) is performed for the first time, in Severance Hall, Cleveland.
12 December 1984 About 200,000 people begin fleeing Bhopal, India after it is announced that the Union Carbide plant will be restarted to neutralize the remaining poisonous gas.
14 December 1984 The Reagan administration announces it will stop opposing Polish membership in the International Monetary Fund. This was the last sanction on Poland still in effect since 1981.
15 December 1984 40 East Germans who sought refuge in the West German embassy in Prague start a hunger strike.
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev, a high-ranking official in the Soviet Communist Party, begins a week-long visit to Britain.
Wayang V for piano and orchestra by Anthony Davis (33) is performed for the first time, in San Francisco the composer at the keyboard and John Adams (37) conducting.
16 December 1984 Police in Gdansk use tear gas and smoke bombs to break up demonstrations in honor of the 1970 protests.
17 December 1984 After meeting with Mikhail Gorbachev yesterday in London, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher says, “I like Mr. Gorbachev—we can do business together.”
Concerto for viola and orchestra by Gunther Schuller (59) is performed for the first time, in New Orleans, the composer conducting.
18 December 1984 Previously unknown preludes for organ by Johann Sebastian Bach (†234) are discovered in the Yale University manuscript collection.
19 December 1984 Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and Zhao Ziyang sign the Hong Kong accord in Beijing. Hong Kong will be returned to China by 1 July 1997.
The number of injured in the Bhopal disaster is officially placed at 150,000.
Ted Hughes is named Poet Laureate of Great Britain.
The Reagan administration confirms that it will withdraw from UNESCO claiming anti-western bias in the organization.
Sextet for two amplified pianos or synthesizers and various percussion instruments by Steve Reich (48) is performed for the first time, in Centre Pompidou, Paris.
The US Food and Drug Administration authorizes the use of the lithotripter, a kidney stone smasher.
22 December 1984 Prime Minister Dominic Mintoff of Malta resigns and is immediately replaced by Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici.
24 December 1984 Peter Maxwell Davies’ (50) choral work One Star, At Last is performed for the first time, in King’s College Chapel, Cambridge for the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols.
26 December 1984 Twelve opposition leaders agree on a platform of unity on which to oppose Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos.
28 December 1984 Three days of voting ending today in India gives a sweeping victory to the Congress (I) Party of Rajiv Gandhi. They win over 400 of 543 seats.
29 December 1984 PLO Executive Committee member Fahad Kawasmeh is shot to death in Amman by rival Palestinians.
31 December 1984 A congress of 500 Chinese poets, novelists, and playwrights calls for greater artistic freedom.
©2004-2012 Paul Scharfenberger
24 January 2012
Last Updated (Tuesday, 24 January 2012 07:45)