1988
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2 January 1988 Israeli forces strike terrorist bases in southern Lebanon killing 21 and wounding 14.
The collapse of a storage tank sends over 3,500,000 liters of diesel fuel into the Monongahela River, 30 km upstream from Pittsburgh.
A free trade agreement is signed by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney of Canada and President Ronald Reagan of the United States in separate ceremonies.
6 January 1988 Soviet Foreign Minister Edvard Shevardnadze announces his country’s intention to remove all its troops from Afghanistan by the end of the year.
9 January 1988 Rioting intensifies in Gaza to its highest level over the next two days, urged on by broadcasts from minarets.
10 January 1988 Lowry-Lieder, a cycle for voice and orchestra by Wolfgang Rihm (35) to words of Wolf Wondratschek, is performed for the first time, in Munich.
11 January 1988 A US judge orders Amoco Corp. to pay $85,200,000 for the 1978 wreck of the Amoco Cadiz off France.
Niobe for oboe and tape by Thea Musgrave (59) is performed for the first time, in London.
12 January 1988 President Oscar Arías Sanchez of Costa Rica tells three contra leaders to either give up their armed struggle against Nicaragua or leave his country.
13 January 1988 President Jiang Jingguo of the Republic of China dies of a heart attack in Taipei and is succeeded by Li Denghui.
Israeli officials deport four leaders of recent unrest to Lebanon.
Two songs for voice and piano by Joaquín Rodrigo (86) to words of Calderón are performed for the first time, in Centro Cultural de la Villa, Madrid: Arbol and ¿Por qué te llamaré?
15 January 1988 In the midst of Arab unrest, Israeli troops enter Moslem shrines in Jerusalem, beating worshippers.
The US agrees to a Spanish request to remove 72 F-16s from an air base near Madrid.
Narcissus for flute with digital delay by Thea Musgrave (59) is performed for the first time, in Purcell Room, London.
16 January 1988 The Shia Amal militia decides to end its three-year blockade of refugee camps in Lebanon.
During a meeting of Central American presidents in San Jose, Costa Rica, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega agrees to talks with US backed Contras, to free political prisoners, to end the state of siege, and to hold municipal elections.
17 January 1988 A presidential election is held in Haiti, but few citizens participate and the process is widely criticized as fraudulent.
Zeitgeist (Six Tableaux for Two Amplified Pianos, Book I) by George Crumb (58) is performed for the first time, in Duisberg.
19 January 1988 The state of siege is lifted in Nicaragua.
23 January 1988 Small Town Music for band by Ross Lee Finney (81) is performed for the first time, in Grand Ledge, Michigan.
String Triptych for string orchestra by Ulysses Kay (71) is performed for the first time, in Osage Beach, Missouri.
24 January 1988 Bangladeshi police open fire on anti-government protesters in Chittagong, killing eight.
Leslie Manigat is declared the winner of the controversial presidential election held in Haiti on 17 January.
Four Songs of Autumn for soprano and string quartet by Harrison Birtwistle (53) to various Japanese poems is performed for the first time, in Royal Festival Hall, London.
Cinque piccoli concerti e ritornelli for orchestra by Hans Werner Henze (61) is performed for the first time, in London.
25 January 1988 British Attorney General Sir Patrick Mayhew says his government will not prosecute Northern Ireland policemen over an alleged “shoot to kill” policy in 1982, even though there is evidence of wrongdoing.
Drug traffickers kidnap and kill the Attorney General of Colombia Carlos Mauro Hoyos Jiménez in Medellin.
A revised version of Le visage nuptial for soprano, alto, female chorus, and orchestra by Pierre Boulez (62) to words of Char is performed, incompletely, for the first time, in London conducted by the composer. See 16 November 1989.
26 January 1988 Celebration take place throughout Australia to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the arrival of the first European settlers.
Child of Australia for speaker, soprano, chorus, and orchestra by Peter Sculthorpe (58) to words of Keneally, is performed for the first time, in the Sydney Opera House to celebrate the bicentennial of European settlement in Australia.
27 January 1988 Documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show that the FBI kept under surveillance American citizens who oppose Reagan administration policies in Central America. Those groups identified as enemies of the state include the Maryknoll Sisters, the United Auto Workers, the United Steelworkers, and the National Education Association.
28 January 1988 The Supreme Court of Canada rules that federal restrictions on abortion are unconstitutional. This effectively legalizes abortion on demand throughout the country.
The Reagan administration forbids any health provider who receives federal funds from talking about abortion with patients.
Atardecer for piano-four hands by Joaquín Rodrigo (86) is performed for the first time, in Aula de Cultura, Aranjuez.
Death of Moses for chorus and organ by Ned Rorem (64) to words from the Bible, is performed for the first time, in Alice Tully Hall, New York.
29 January 1988 UNITA rebels and South African forces score major gains over Angolan government troops and their Cuban allies at Cuito Cuanavale in the southeast of the country, but the defenders still hold the town.
Sinfonietta I for chamber orchestra by George Perle (72) is performed for the first time, in St. Paul, Minnesota.
30 January 1988 Andreas Papandreou and Turgut Ozal shake hands in Davos. It is the first meeting ever between prime ministers of Greece and Turkey.
31 January 1988 In Memory of Cats for piano by John Tavener (44) is performed for the first time, at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London.
Natural Fantasy for organ by Charles Wuorinen (49) is performed for the first time, in the Park Avenue Christian Church, New York.
1 February 1988 Rot und Weiss for voice, flute (or clarinet or violin), and cello by John Harbison (49) to words of Giraud (tr. Hartleben) is performed for the first time, in Los Angeles.
2 February 1988 A French intelligence agent is shot to death in East Beirut.
The Movement for a Yugoslav Democratic Initiative begins in Zagreb.
3 February 1988 The US House of Representatives votes down $36,250,000 in aid to the Contras.
In the case of Baby M, a court in Trenton, New Jersey denies parental rights to the surrogate mother, Mary Beth Whitehead, in favor of the child’s father, William Stern.
4 February 1988 Nikolay Ivanovich Bukharin and nine others convicted in the Stalin purges of the 1930s are formally rehabilitated by the Supreme Court of the USSR.
Der unterbrochene Gedanke for string quartet by Krzysztof Penderecki (54) is performed for the first time, in Frankfurt.
Bamboula Beach for orchestra by Charles Wuorinen (49) is performed for the first time, in the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts, Miami.
5 February 1988 Two Scandinavian aid workers are kidnapped in South Lebanon.
US federal indictments of drug trafficking and money laundering against General Manuel Noriega, chief of the Panamanian Defense Forces, are made public.
Philip Kaufman’s film The Unbearable Lightness of Being is released in the United States.
7 February 1988 Leslie Manigat is sworn in as President of Haiti.
Two works by Tan Dun (30) are performed for the first time, in Avery Fisher Hall, New York: Out of Peking Opera (Violin Concerto no.1) and Symphony no.3 “Chang cheng”. See 8 December 1994.
9 February 1988 An international panel of historians finds that President Kurt Waldheim of Austria committed no crimes during World War II but that he knew of crimes committed by his troops and that he misrepresented his service during the war.
10 February 1988 Over 100 people are killed and thousands injured in election-related violence in Bangladesh.
Italian Prime Minister Giovanni Goria resigns after losing several votes in Parliament.
11 February 1988 Lyn Nofziger, former political director of the Reagan White House, is found guilty in federal court in Washington of violating the 1978 Ethics in Government Act.
Concerto for trumpet and orchestra by Karel Husa (66) is performed for the first time, in Chicago.
12 February 1988 Arab terrorist Ibrahim Mohammed Khaled is sentenced to 30 years for his part in the 1985 attack on Rome airport.
Symphony no.2 by Jonathan Lloyd (39) is performed for the first time, in Baden-Baden.
Moments of Vision for soprano/handbells, tenor/handbells, and a consort of Renaissance instruments by John Harbison (49) to words of Hardy is performed for the first time, at Amherst College, Massachusetts.
13 February 1988 The Fifteenth Winter Olympic Games open in Calgary.
14 February 1988 Three PLO officers are killed by a car bomb in Limassol, Cyprus.
A fire at the main library of the Soviet Academy of Sciences in Leningrad destroys 400,000 books and damages 3,000,000 more. The library was founded by Peter the Great in 1714. The extent of the damage will not be known in the west until 30 March.
Charles Wuorinen’s (49) orchestral piece Another Happy Birthday is performed for the first time, in Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco.
15 February 1988 A ferry intended to be used by the PLO for a protest voyage to Israel is damaged by an underwater explosion in the port of Limassol, Cyprus.
An electoral college reelects President Mauno Koivisto of Finland to a second six-year term.
16 February 1988 Charles Wuorinen’s (49) Josquin: Ave Christe for piano is performed for the first time, in a private setting in New York.
17 February 1988 A US Marine officer working for the UN is kidnapped near Tyre, Lebanon.
18 February 1988 Lee Hyun Jae replaces Lho Shin Yong as Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea.
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union removes Boris Yeltsin from the Politburo.
Street protests begin in Yerevan calling for the unification of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.
Kammersinfonie I for two oboes, two horns, and strings by Isang Yun (70) is performed for the first time, in Gütersloh.
To Remember: to be remembered for chorus by Samuel Adler (59) is performed for the first time, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
19 February 1988 Rene Char dies in Paris at the age of 80.
20 February 1988 Concerto for string quartet and orchestra by Gunther Schuller (62) is performed for the first time, at the Oscar Mayer Theatre, Madison, Wisconsin.
21 February 1988 American Christian fundamentalist Jimmy Swaggart gives a tearful confession to his church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana saying, “I have sinned.” He does not give details of his sins. Swaggart has been charged with employing the services of a prostitute.
23 February 1988 The largest of the daily street protests takes place in Yerevan calling for the unification of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia. 50,000-100,000 people take part.
24 February 1988 South Africa enacts widespread actions curtailing the activites of 17 anti-apartheid groups and the country’s largest labor federation.
25 February 1988 Roh Tae Woo replaces Chun Doo Hwan as President of the Republic of Korea.
East Germany and Czechoslovakia begin the removal of Soviet shortrange nuclear missiles in accordance with the treaty of December 1987.
President Eric Arturo Delvalle of Panama tries to remove General Manuel Noriega from office.
26 February 1988 The National Assembly of Panama removes President Delvalle from office. Education minister Manuel Solís Palma is named as minister in charge of the Presidency. Delvalle goes into hiding. The main anti-Noriega newspaper is shut down.
27 February 1988 One for piano by John Cage (75) is performed for the first time, in Middletown, Connecticut.
28 February 1988 Iran attacks southern Iraq and bombs Basra.
31 people are killed in fighting between Moslems and Christians in Sumgait, Azerbaijan SSR. Soviet troops are dispatched and enforce a dusk-to-dawn curfew. Soviet journalists maintain the riots were pogroms against Armenians.
Georgios Vasou Vasiliou replaces Spyros Achilleos Kyprianou as President of Cyprus.
Sound Line, a sound work by Max Neuhaus (48), is inaugurated in CNAC Magasin, Grenoble. It will exist until 10 April.
The Fifteenth Winter Olympic Games close in Calgary. In 15 days of competition, 1,423 athletes from 57 countries took part.
A Summerfield Set for piano by Lou Harrison (70) is performed for the first time, at Mills College in Oakland.
29 February 1988 Iran and Iraq trade missiles aimed at each other’s capital. Hundreds of civilians are killed over the next two weeks in daily attacks.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu and 24 other church leaders are arrested in Cape Town, South Africa during a march to protest the banning of 17 anti-apartheid groups.
A multi-party election takes place in Bulgaria, but all candidates must be approved by the Communist party.
A general strike begins in Panama City.
All official United States aid to the Contras expires.
The complete version of György Ligeti’s (64) Piano Concerto (including the fourth and fifth movements) is performed for the first time, in the Mozart Room of the Konzerthaus Society, Vienna. See 23 October 1986.
1 March 1988 Two Scandinavian hostages are freed in Lebanon.
Manuel Solís Palma is sworn in a President of Panama.
2 March 1988 Iraqi missiles hit the holy city of Qom, Iran.
3 March 1988 The government of New Zealand announces the sale of its 70% stake in Petroleum Corp. of New Zealand.
Published results of the parliamentary elections in Bangladesh today show a major victory for the ruling Jatiya Party. Opposition groups boycotted the election.
In Great Britain, the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party formally merge.
Federal district courts in the US restrain four banks from sending money to Panama putting an instant strain on the country since it uses the American dollar for currency.
4 March 1988 The government of Czechoslovakia begins rounding up dissidents including Vaclav Havel.
In the face of a cash crisis, the Panamanian government is forced to close all banks in the country.
Te Deum, an oratorio for chorus and orchestra by Dominick Argento (60), is performed for the first time, in Kleinhans Music Hall, Buffalo.
5 March 1988 Thousands Tibetans battle Chinese troops in Lhasa. At least nine people are killed.
6 March 1988 A mob attacks the Soviet embassy in Teheran, angry at the use by Iraq of Soviet missiles.
British security forces gun down three suspected IRA members in Gibraltar. The three are unarmed.
7 March 1988 In southern Israel, three Arab terrorists seize a bus, killing one passenger. Israeli police storm the bus killing all the terrorists and two hostages.
8 March 1988 Twill by Twilight for orchestra by Toru Takemitsu (56) is performed for the first time, in Tokyo. The work is dedicated to the memory of Morton Feldman (†0).
10 March 1988 Vo Van Kiet replaces Pham Hung as acting Prime Minister of Vietnam.
11 March 1988 The United States puts $7,000,000 in payments to the Panama Canal Commission into escrow.
In federal court in Washington, former National Security Advisor Robert McFarlane pleads guilty to four counts of withholding information from Congress.
Capriccio for cello and piano by William Bolcom (49) is performed for the first time, at the Library of Congress, Washington.
13 March 1988 The Seikan Tunnel is opened connecting Honshu and Hokkaido. At 54 km, it is the longest undersea tunnel in the world.
Trois esquisses pour orgue by Jean-Claude Risset is performed for the first time, in Abbaye de Saint Victor, Marseille on the composer’s 50th birthday.
14 March 1988 Naval forces of China and Vietnam battle near the disputed Spratly Islands. The Chinese take six islands but the Vietnamese defend two.
15 March 1988 Iran announces it has captured Halabja, a Kurdish stronghold. During the attack, Iraqi planes drop bombs containing mustard gas and cyanide. Approximately 5,000 Kurds are killed.
300 protesters stage a march for freedom of expression and assembly in Leipzig.
After doctors and nurses in Panama demonstrate against General Noriega, troops storm the country’s largest hospital, firing tear gas and bird shot.
NASA announces a significant decline in the ozone layer over the Northern Hemisphere.
16 March 1988 When Iranian troops enter Halabja to accept its surrender, Iraqi forces kill thousands of their own citizens in chemical weapons attacks on the town.
At the Belfast funeral of those killed 6 March, a Protestant attacks the mourners with grenades and an automatic pistol. Three people are killed, dozens wounded.
The Reagan administration announces that 2,000 Nicaraguan troops have crossed into Honduras to attack rebel bases. The President orders 3,200 US troops to Honduras. President Ortega of Nicaragua denies the charge and invites observers from the UN and OAS to the area.
Two former Reagan administration officials, John Poindexter and Oliver North, and two others are indicted by a federal grand jury in Washington in a “conspiracy to defraud the United States.”
Pasiphae for piano and percussion by Samuel Adler (60) is performed for the first time, in Rochester, New York.
19 March 1988 Iraqi warplanes attack two supertankers at Kharg Island. 54 merchant seamen are missing and presumed dead.
At a West Belfast funeral for those killed 16 March, two armed British soldiers drive into the crowd. They are overpowered by the mourners, beaten, and shot to death.
20 March 1988 National elections in El Salvador result in a victory for the far-right ARENA party.
21 March 1988 A new but unsuccessful strike begins in Panama against General Noriega.
Preludio de añoranza for piano by Joaquín Rodrigo (86) is performed for the first time, in Escuela Superior de Canto, Madrid.
22 March 1988 The US Congress overrides a Reagan veto of a bill which would broaden the power of the federal government to prevent racial discrimination.
23 March 1988 Representatives of the warring sides in Nicaragua meet in Sapoa and announce a 60 day cease-fire.
24 March 1988 A Jerusalem court convicts Mordechai Vanunu of treason and espionage. He revealed details of Israel’s nuclear weapons program to the Sunday Times of London.
The West German government sells its last stake in Volkswagen AG.
Nicaraguan rebel leader Alfredo Cesar admits that lack of support from the US has forced them to seek peace.
25 March 1988 Czechoslovak riot police attack a peaceful religious freedom demonstration in Bratislava. Hundreds are arrested.
26 March 1988 A planned nationalist protest in Yerevan, Armenia is thwarted by large numbers of Soviet troops and the KGB.
Narcissus for clarinet with digital delay by Thea Musgrave (59) is performed for the first time, in Norfolk, Virginia.
Easter Day, an anthem for chorus by Dominick Argento (60) to words of Crashaw, is performed for the first time, in Plymouth Congregational Church, Minneapolis.
27 March 1988 Moudud Ahmed replaces Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury as Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
Three days after his conviction, Mordechai Vanunu is sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Nicaragua releases 100 rebel prisoners.
28 March 1988 The Reagan administration begins to withdraw its troops from Honduras.
Panamanian troops enter a hotel used as opposition headquarters beating and arresting opposition politicians and journalists.
29 March 1988 Israel seals off the occupied territories for three days.
30 March 1988 Iranian gunboats fire on Kuwaiti positions on Bubiyan Island. The Kuwaitis suffer two casualties.
31 March 1988 William Bolcom (49) is awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Music for his Twelve New Etudes for Piano. See 30 March 1987.
To the Young for chorus and orchestra by Vladimir Ussachevsky (76) to words of Levertov and Rilke is performed for the first time, at Pomona College, Claremont, California.
1 April 1988 The Polish government institutes price increases including doubling the cost of gas and electricity and quadrupling the cost of coal.
2 April 1988 Official results of the 20 March Salvadoran elections are published. The far-right ARENA party did not win an absolute majority in the Assembly. ARENA challenges the results.
3 April 1988 Ethiopia and Somalia sign a peace agreement in Mogadishu eleven years after they fought a war in the Ogaden.
5 April 1988 Arab terrorists hijack a Kuwaiti airliner and divert it to Mashhad, Iran. They demand that Kuwait release 17 Shia terrorists.
Rival Shia militias battle each other for four days in southern Lebanon. 51 people are killed, 130 injured.
1,300 US Marines begin arriving in Panama.
United States agents kidnap a suspected drug trafficker in Honduras and spirit him to the US, in direct violation of the Honduran constitution and international law.
6 April 1988 New works are performed for the first time at Pennsylvania State University: Dialogues for oboe and piano by Leslie Bassett (65), and Echoes for oboe and bassoon by TJ Anderson (59).
7 April 1988 Students in Tegucigalpa riot in protest to the events of 5 April. 2,000 people attack the US embassy annex and set it alight. Five students are killed.
Two excerpts from Karlheinz Stockhausen’s (59) unperformed opera Montag aus Licht to his own words, are performed for the first time, in Cologne: Evas Erstgeburt no.56 for three sopranos, three tenors, and bass, and Evas Zweigeburt no.57 for seven choirboys, basset-horn with three female players, piano, chorus, and orchestra,. See 7 May 1988.
8 April 1988 Yang Shangkun becomes President of the People’s Republic of China replacing Li Xiannian.
After freeing most of the passengers, Arab hijackers take off from Iran and attempt to land in Beirut. When they are refused permission, the plane lands in Cyprus.
President Reagan freezes all Panamanian assets in the United States.
9 April 1988 Li Peng is named Prime Minister of the Peoples Republic of China. He has been acting Prime Minister since last November.
Shia hijackers of a Kuwaiti airliner kill one of the passengers at Larnaca, Cyprus.
Young Caesar, an opera by Lou Harrison (70) to words of Gordon and the composer, is performed as a stage opera for the first time, at the Portland (Oregon) Center for the Performing Arts. See 5 November 1971.
10 April 1988 The Seto-Ohashi Bridge opens between Kurashiki, Honshu and Sakaide, Shikoku. At 13.1 km it is the longest two-tiered bridge system in the world.
Hundreds of people are killed when an ammunition dump blows up in Islamabad. The arms were stockpiled by the CIA for use by Afghan rebels.
Shia hijackers of a Kuwaiti airliner kill another of the passengers at Larnaca, Cyprus.
Ivesiana for violin, cello, and piano by TJ Anderson (59) is performed for the first time, in Weston, Massachusetts.
Clarinet Concerto by Joan Tower (49) is performed for the first time, in Carnegie Hall, New York.
11 April 1988 A major restructuring of Britain’s social security system goes into effect, including cuts in benefits, in an attempt to encourage the use of private pension plans.
Two works for high voice and orchestra by Arnold Bax (†34) are performed for the first time, in a recording session in All Saints’ Church, Tooting: Eternity to words of Herrick, and A Lyke-Wake to anonymous 15th century words. This is one of the Three Songs for high voice and orchestra.
12 April 1988 The Canadian government announces a plan to privatize 45% of Air Canada.
The US patent office issues a patent to Dr. Philip Leder and Dr. Timothy Stewart for a mouse with a genetically engineered susceptibility to cancer. It is the first patent for a form of animal life.
13 April 1988 China creates a new province, separating Hainan from Guangdong.
After negotiations, the Shia hijackers of a Kuwaiti airliner release twelve passengers in Larnaca, Cyprus and fly to Algiers.
Ciriaco De Mita replaces Giovanni Goria as Prime Minister of Italy at the head of the same five-party coalition.
14 April 1988 Pakistan and Afghanistan sign an agreement in Geneva. Soviet troops will be withdrawn, Afghanistan will resume neutrality, and Afghan refugees will be repatriated.
The USS Samuel B. Roberts strikes a mine in international waters in the Persian Gulf. Ten crew members are injured. The ship receives serious damage but manages to remain afloat.
Five people are killed in the bombing of a USO club in Naples.
15 April 1988 Trio for piano, violin, and cello by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (48) is performed for the first time.
16 April 1988 In a daring raid in Tunis, nine Israeli commandos kill Khalil al-Wazir (Abu Jihad), head of the PLO military, and three others.
Red Brigade terrorists shoot and kill Senator Roberto Ruffilli, an important advisor to Italian Prime Minister Ciraco De Mita, at his home in Forli.
18 April 1988 US naval forces attack two Iranian offshore oil platforms in reprisal for Iranian mines in the Persian Gulf. Iranians retaliate with several attacks on US naval vessels in the southern gulf. Six Iranian vessels are sunk or seriously damaged.
Iraq recaptures the port of al-Faw from Iran.
Ricorrenze for woodwind quintet by Luciano Berio (62) is performed for the first time, in Paris.
19 April 1988 A court in Düsseldorf convicts Abbas Ali Hamadei of complicity in the kidnapping of two West Germans in Beirut last year. He is sentenced to 13 years in prison.
20 April 1988 In an agreement with Algerian authorities, the Shia hijackers of a Kuwaiti airlines jet release their remaining 31 hostages in Algiers and are then allowed to leave the country. They held the airliner for over two weeks.
The US State Department issues a report on the conservative Renamo rebels in Mozambique. They cite a campaign of terror which has killed 100,000 civilians over the last two years. They also claim a marked improvement in the treatment of civilians by the Marxist government of Mozambique. Almost 900,000 people have been forced to flee the country. Senator Jesse Helms calls the report “one-sided” and urges his government to support the rebels.
Sequenza XI for guitar by Luciano Berio (62) is performed for the first time, in Rovereto.
21 April 1988 Missa brevis for countertenor, chorus, and percussion by Leonard Bernstein (69) is performed for the first time, in Atlanta.
23 April 1988 A car bomb explodes in a vegetable market in Tripoli, Lebanon. 60 people are killed, 125 injured.
The US government bans smoking on all domestic passenger flights of under two hours.
Chiffre VIII for eight players by Wolfgang Rihm (36) is performed for the first time, in Witten.
Schuyler Songs, a cycle for solo voice and orchestra by Ned Rorem (64), is performed for the first time, in Fargo, North Dakota.
24 April 1988 Five: Concerto for Amplified Cello and Orchestra by Charles Wuorinen (49) is performed for the first time, at the New York State Theatre, Lincoln Center, conducted by the composer.
25 April 1988 Transportation workers strike at Bydgoszcz, Poland demanding pay increases to offset price increases. Within 24 hours the government gives them a 63% increase.
Blick for orchestra by Wolfgang Rihm (36) is performed for the first time, in Freiburg.
Pastoral for english horn or alto saxophone, marimba, and strings by Elliott Carter (79) is performed for the first time, in Carnegie Hall, New York. See 12 November 1944.
26 April 1988 In elections for the National Assembly in South Korea, the ruling Democratic Justice Party fails to win a majority of seats. It is the first time in the history of the country that a ruling party did not win a majority.
15,000 workers strike at the Lenin Steel Mill near Krakow.
Saudi Arabia breaks diplomatic relations with Iran. They say it is because of the riot last year in Mecca, the attack on the Saudi embassy in Teheran, and Iranian attacks on merchant ships in the Persian Gulf.
27 April 1988 Panamanian authorities arrest twelve opposition leaders.
Nachtwach for eight solo voices, chorus, and four trombones by Wolfgang Rihm (36) to words of the Bible is performed for the first time, in Karlsruhe.
Tanzspiel, a ballet by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (48) to a choreography by Martins, is performed for the first time, in New York.
29 April 1988 Strathclyde Concerto no.1 for oboe and orchestra by Peter Maxwell Davies (53) is performed for the first time, in City Halls, Glasgow, the composer conducting.
Powaqqatsi, a film with music by Philip Glass (51), is released in the United States.
30 April 1988 Palestinian factions battle each other for three days south of Beirut. Ten people are killed.
1 May 1988 Three British soldiers are killed by the IRA in the Netherlands.
2 May 1988 7,000 workers strike at the Lenin Ship Yard in Gdansk.
3 May 1988 Police battle anti-government demonstrators in Warsaw, Krakow, Lublin, and Lodz.
Former White House Chief of Staff Donald Regan reveals in his memoir that Nancy Reagan relies on an astrologer to schedule appointments for her husband, US President Ronald Reagan.
Mishkenot for instrumental ensemble by Peter Maxwell Davies (53) is performed for the first time, in the BBC Concert Hall, London.
Ata for large orchestra by Iannis Xenakis (65) is performed for the first time, in Baden-Baden.
The Lodge of Shadows, a music drama by Samuel Adler (60) to words of Ramsey, is performed for the first time, in Fort Worth, Texas.
4 May 1988 Israeli troops and Christian militia fight Shia militiamen in southern Lebanon. 43 people are killed.
Three French hostages, Marcel Carton, Marcel Fontaine, and Jean-Paul Kauffmann, are freed in Beirut.
An die Musik for soprano and ten players by Harrison Birtwistle (53) to words of Rilke is performed for the first time, in Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, conducted by the composer.
5 May 1988 French commandos rescue 23 French hostages from Melanesian separatists on New Caledonia. 21 people are killed in the attack.
Police enter the Lenin Steel Mill in Krakow and end the strike started 26 April, beating workers and arresting their leaders. Police also surround and cut off the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk.
6 May 1988 Today begins seven days of fighting in Beirut suburbs between rival Shia militias.
Waarg for 13 instruments by Iannis Xenakis (65) is performed for the first time, in Queen Elizabeth Hall, London.
7 May 1988 Montag aus Licht, an opera by Karlheinz Stockhausen (59) to his own words, is performed completely for the first time, in Teatro alla Scala, Milan. See 20 November 1986, 3 August 1987, and 7 April 1988.
8 May 1988 French President François Mitterand is elected to a second seven-year term.
9 May 1988 The government of New Zealand deregulates the oil industry in the country.
Shots fired from within the Golden Temple of Amritsar injure a policeman on a nearby building. 3,000 troops are sent to surround the temple and a gun battle takes place.
After five months of negotiation, a new five-party center left government is sworn in in Belgium led by Prime Minister Wilfried Martens.
Arias and Barcarolles for four vocalists and piano four-hands by Leonard Bernstein (69), to words of Jennie Bernstein, Segal, and the composer, is performed for the first time, in the Equitable Center Auditorium, New York. The composer is one of the pianists. See 22 April 1989.
10 May 1988 Socialist Michel Rocard replaces Conservative Jacques Chirac as Prime Minister of France.
Workers at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk end their eight-day strike without agreement.
Only eight months after the last voting, parliamentary elections in Denmark leave the strength of the four-party ruling coalition unchanged.
11 May 1988 Prime Minister Poul Schlüter of Denmark resigns. Queen Margarethe asks Social Democratic leader Svend Auken to form a coalition.
My Twelve-tone Melody for voice and piano by Leonard Bernstein (69) to his own words is performed for the first time, by the composer in Carnegie Hall, New York on the occasion of the 100th birthday of Irving Berlin.
12 May 1988 A cease-fire between rival Shia militias goes into effect in Beirut after 172 people have been killed and 600 injured.
13 May 1988 The cease-fire in Beirut breaks down and rival Shia militias begin battling again.
14 May 1988 7,000 Syrian troops move into the suburbs of Beirut to try to quell fighting between Shia militias.
Iraqi warplanes hit the Larak Island oil terminal, seriously damaging five supertankers. 22 seamen are dead or missing.
The Democratic Trade Union of Scientific Employees is founded in Budapest by about 1,000 academics and researchers. It is the first independent trade union in eastern Europe since Solidarity in 1980.
15 May 1988 Soviet troops begin to withdraw from Afghanistan.
Raif Dizdarevic replaces Lazar Mojsov as President of Yugoslavia.
Terrorists armed with automatic weapons, hand grenades, and tear gas attack a hotel and nightclub in Khartoum, both frequented by foreigners. Seven people are killed, 21 injured.
16 May 1988 Soviet television airs a documentary called The Trial about the 1938 show trial of Nikolay I. Bukharin and others. It is part of an anti-Stalin effort by the new leadership.
US Surgeon General C. Everett Koop announces that tobacco is addictive.
Enchanted Preludes for flute and cello by Elliott Carter (79) are performed for the first time, in Merkin Concert Hall, New York.
18 May 1988 The nine-day siege of the Golden Temple of Amritsar ends when the remaining Sikh militants inside surrender. 50 people died during the siege.
The Fall of the House of Usher, a chamber opera by Philip Glass (51) to words of Yorinks after Poe, is performed for the first time, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was commissioned by the American Repertory Theatre.
19 May 1988 Second Sonata for Strings by Peter Sculthorpe (59) is performed for the first time, in Brighton, Great Britain.
20 May 1988 Students attack the US embassy in Seoul, protesting the division of Korea.
Tree Line for chamber orchestra by Toru Takemitsu (57) is performed for the first time, in London.
Double Concerto for clarinet, saxophone, and two chamber orchestras op.68 by Robin Holloway (44) is performed for the first time, in Queen Elizabeth Hall, London.
21 May 1988 A new permanent home for the National Gallery of Canada opens in Ottawa.
A 15-year-old student kills two and wounds 22 in the cafeteria of his high school in Springfield, Oregon.
22 May 1988 Karoly Grosz replaces János Kádár as General Secretary of the Hungarian Communist Party. 40% of the Central Committee are replaced.
Through the efforts of Laurel Fay, John Cage (75) and Sofia Gubaidulina (56) meet in Leningrad. Although he is unable to hear her music on this trip, Cage will compose Two2 based on his conversation with Gubaidulina.
Piano Sonata no.1 by Alfred Schnittke (54) is performed for the first time, in New York.
23 May 1988 The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union calls for changes in the political system which will reduce the role of the Communist Party.
Arab elementary schools reopen in the West Bank. They have been closed for a month due to the Arab uprising.
24 May 1988 Horn Trio Continued for french horn, violin, and piano by Charles Wuorinen (49) is performed for the first time, in Los Angeles.
25 May 1988 For the first time, the Soviet Defense Ministry releases casualty figures for the fighting in Afghanistan. 13,310 Soviets were killed and 35,478 were wounded in over eight years of fighting.
Iraq begins an offensive east of Basra pushing back Iranian forces.
Libyan leader Muammar Khaddafi announces an end to his war with Chad.
Panamanian strongman General Manuel Noriega rejects an offer from the Reagan administration to drop drug trafficking charges against him if he would give up power and temporarily leave the country.
Concerto for flute and orchestra by Peter Mennin (†4) is performed for the first time, in New York.
26 May 1988 A revised version of Hour of the Soul for percussion, mezzo-soprano, and orchestra by Sofia Gubaidulina (47) to words of Tsvyetayeva is performed for the first time, in Leningrad. See 22 October 1979.
27 May 1988 The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union legalizes private cooperatives.
A new agreement in Beirut ends the fighting between rival Shia militias. Syrian troops move in to the southern suburbs to enforce it. In three weeks of fighting, over 300 people have been killed, over 1,000 injured and tens of thousands fled their homes.
The United States Senate ratifies the Intermediate Nuclear Forces treaty.
28 May 1988 The USSR ratifies the Intermediate Nuclear Forces treaty.
Wachsfigurenkabinett, five chamber operas by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (†24) to words of Bormann, are performed completely for the first time, in Munich, 58 years after they were composed. The five are Leben und Sterben des heiligen Teufels, Der Mann, der vom Tode auferstand, Chaplin-Ford-Trott, Fürwahr, and Die Witwe von Ephesus. The first opera was performed in 1930.
For Cello Solo by Leon Kirchner (69) is performed for the first time, in Charleston, South Carolina.
29 May 1988 Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev sees US President Ronald Reagan at the beginning of five days of meetings in Moscow.
President Muhammad Zia ul-Haq of Pakistan sacks Prime Minister Muhammad Khan Junejo and dissolves the National Assembly.
A Solitary Road for string quartet by Toru Takemitsu (57) is performed for the first time, in Malyi Hall, Leningrad.
Concerto for two violins and chamber orchestra by TJ Anderson (59) is performed for the first time, in Chicago.
30 May 1988 A car bomb in east Beirut kills at least 20 people and injures 75.
31 May 1988 Joaquín Rodrigo (86) is awarded an honorary doctorate by the Polytechnic University of Valencia.
1 June 1988 Symbolon for orchestra by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (49) is performed for the first time, in St. Petersburg.
2 June 1988 Phases for orchestra by Jean-Claude Risset (50) is performed for the first time, at Radio-France, Paris.
3 June 1988 Danish Prime Minister Poul Schlüter returns to power at the head of a three-party center-right minority government.
5 June 1988 The Russian Orthodox Church begins a year-long celebration to commemorate its 1,000th anniversary. The Soviet government endorses it.
6 June 1988 About 2,000,000 South Africans strike against new labor laws curbing political activity.
Five for any combinations of five voices or instruments by John Cage (75) is performed for the first time, in Witten by the composer and the Kronos Quartet.
7 June 1988 The Parliament of Bangladesh approves a constitutional amendment making Islam the state religion.
10 June 1988 A British journalist is expelled from China for filming demonstrations in Shanghai.
Der Sonnengesang des Franz von Assisi for chorus and six instruments by Alfred Schnittke (53) is performed for the first time, in London.
11 June 1988 Two Chinese diplomats in San Francisco ask the US for political asylum.
12 June 1988 A month after the reelection of President François Mitterand, the second round of voting for the French National Assembly results in a return to power of the Socialists and their leftist allies.
Over the last few weeks, Arabs set hundreds of fires which destroy hundreds of hectares of woodlands in the West Bank.
Federico’s Little Songs for Children, a cycle for soprano, flutes, and harp by George Crumb (58) to words of Garcia Lorca, is performed for the first time, in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia.
13 June 1988 The Soviet government announces the rehabilitation of four victims of the Stalin purges of the 1930s: Grigory Yevseyevich Zinoviev, Lev Borisovich Kamenev, Karl Berngardovich Radek and Georgy Leonidovich Pyatakov.
Iran attacks southern Iraq east of Basra but after initial gains they are beaten back.
A federal court in Newark, New Jersey finds Liggett Group, Inc., a tobacco company, partially responsible for the death of a smoker. They are ordered to pay her survivors $400,000.
Eight Colors for String Quartet by Tan Dun (30) is performed for the first time, in Wellington, New Zealand.
14 June 1988 FBI and Naval Intelligence Service agents conduct searches in twelve states seeking information about bribes paid by defense contractors to Pentagon officials to gain contracts.
15 June 1988 The Armenian Supreme Soviet officially requests unification with Nagorno-Karabakh.
Six British soldiers are blown up in their car in Lisburn, Northern Ireland by the Provisional IRA
Water Out of Sunlight, Michael Tippett’s (83) String Quartet no.4 arranged for string orchestra by Meirion Bowen, is performed for the first time, in Royal Festival Hall, London.
The revised version of the String Quartet no.1 op.5 by Alexander Goehr (55) is performed for the first time, in London. The work was originally performed in 1959.
16 June 1988 France and Iran restore diplomatic relations after a break of almost one year.
Concerto for horn and orchestra op.46 by Robin Holloway (44) is performed for the first time, in London.
Five Stone for three performers by John Cage (75) is performed for the first time in Berlin. It is the first part of Five Stone Wind. See 30 July 1988.
17 June 1988 Afghan rebels capture Qalat, the first provincial capital to fall since the beginning of the Soviet withdrawal.
The Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan votes to retain control over Nagorno-Karabakh. Two days of violence begins between Armenians and Azeris at Masis, south of Yerevan.
Police in Prague break up an international human rights seminar organized by Charter 77. All Czech participants are arrested. 32 foreigners are expelled.
Elliott Carter’s (79) Oboe Concerto is performed for the first time, in the Grosser Tonhallesaal, Zürich.
Orait for dancers and vocal ensemble by Gordon Mumma (53) is performed for the first time, in Santa Cruz, California.
18 June 1988 Kartal Demirag, a member of a conservative terrorist group and an escaped prisoner, fires two shots at Prime Minister Turgut Ozal of Turkey as he addresses a party convention in Ankara. Ozal suffers an injury to his hand. Demirag is shot and captured.
Inventionen for two flutes by Isang Yun (70) is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of NCRV-Radio, originating in Hilversum.
Three Irish Folksong Settings for voice and flute by John Corigliano (50) is performed for the first time, in Town Hall, New York.
19 June 1988 String Quartet no.3 by Mauricio Kagel (56) is performed for the first time, in Oslo.
Mitternachtsstük, a film with music by Mauricio Kagel (56), is shown for the first time, over the airwaves of Schweizer Fernsehen.
20 June 1988 The nationalist Peoples Front of Estonia is given official recognition by the Estonian SSR.
Lt. Gen. Henri Namphy overthrows President Leslie Manigat of Haiti and assumes power. Manigat goes into exile.
21 June 1988 String Quartet no.5 by William Schuman (77) is performed for the first time, at the 92nd Street Y, New York.
22 June 1988 Do Muoi replaces Vo Van Kiet as Prime Minister of Vietnam.
The Canadian Parliament gives final approval to the Meech Lake Accord.
At the request of two sons of Béla Bartók (†42), the composer’s mortal remains are exhumed from a cemetery in Hartsdale, New York, for transport to Hungary.
Two Songs on German Folk Poems for mezzo-soprano, flute, harpsichord and cello by Sofia Gubaidulina (56) are performed for the first time, in Heidelberg.
Two Lullabies for two pianos by Benjamin Britten (†11) are performed publicly for the first time, at Snape Maltings, Aldeburgh 52 years after they were composed. See 19 March 1936.
23 June 1988 The prosecutor heading the Pentagon procurement scandal investigation tells Congress that billions of dollars are involved.
NASA scientist James Hansen tells a committee of the US Senate that the Greenhouse Effect is happening now and that the Earth is warmer than at any time in the last century.
An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge, a radio opera by Thea Musgrave (60) to her own words after Bierce, is staged for the first time, in Wilde Theatre, Bracknell. See 14 September 1982.
24 June 1988 Stroll for piano flute, cello, marimba, and tape by Paul Lansky (44) is performed for the first time, in Sydney, Australia.
String Quartet 1987 by Gottfried Michael Koenig (61) is performed for the first time, in Sermoneta.
25 June 1988 Iraqi forces retake the Majnoon oil fields north of Basra.
26 June 1988 Festina Lente for strings and harp by Arvo Pärt (53) is performed for the first time, in Helsinki.
27 June 1988 As many as 50,000 Hungarians march to the Romanian embassy in Budapest to protest a Romanian plan to dismantle 7,000 villages largely populated by ethnic Hungarians.
28 June 1988 The 19th All-Union Conference of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union opens in Moscow, the first such meeting since 1941. General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev announces Perestroika. He calls for a more democratic legislature, a Congress of Peoples Deputies. They would elect the Supreme Soviet of 450. No alternative parties would be permitted.
The Romanian government orders the closing of the Hungarian consulate in Cluj-Napoca.
Leftist terrorists explode a bomb and kill a US military attaché near Athens.
Mitternachtsstük IV for voices and instruments by Mauricio Kagel (56) to words of Robert Schumann (†131) is performed for the first time, in Union Chapel, London.
29 June 1988 In Hungary, Brunó Ferenc Straub replaces Károly Németh as Chairman of the Presidential Council while Miklos Nemeth becomes Prime Minister.
29 June 1988 Four Solos for Voice by John Cage (75) is performed for the first time, in Merkin Concert Hall, New York.
30 June 1988 Stipe Suvar replaces Bosko Krunic as President of the Presidium of the League of Yugoslav Communists.
Hymn to the Holy Spirit for three trebles and chorus by John Tavener (44) is performed for the first time, in the Greek Cathedral of St. Sophia, London.
1 July 1988 The 19th All-Union Conference of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union declares its support for Perestroika and Glasnost.
Rebonds A for percussion by Iannis Xenakis (66) is performed for the first time, in Rome.
3 July 1988 The USS Vincennes shoots down an Iranian commercial airliner over the Persian Gulf. 290 people are killed. The plane was ascending and in its normal flight corridor. No one will ever be held responsible for the deaths.
4 July 1988 A general strike begins in Armenia in support of unification with Nagorno-Karabakh.
5 July 1988 Soviet troops attack strikers who have closed the Yerevan airport since yesterday. Amidst much violence, the troops gain control of the airport.
US Attorney General Edwin Meese resigns amidst allegations of conflict of interest.
Brass Quintet (Divertimento no.5) op.67 by Robin Holloway (44) is performed for the first time, in Warwick, Great Britain.
The Fixed Desire of the Human Heart for orchestra by Samuel Adler (60) is performed for the first time, in Geneva.
6 July 1988 Asahi Shimbun reports that several high ranking Japanese officials received huge profits from trading stock in a real estate firm. The scandal reaches into the Prime Minister’s office.
Five Arabs are convicted of eleven counts of murder in the hijacking of a Pan American airliner in 1986. They are sentenced to death.
Brahmsliebewalzer for orchestra by Wolfgang Rihm (36) is performed for the first time, in Flensburg. Also premiered is Rihm’s 3 Walzer for orchestra.
7 July 1988 After a journey through six countries from New York, the earthly remains of Béla Bartók (†42) are reinterred in Budapest in a state ceremony.
8 July 1988 A month of fighting between rival PLO factions results in the removal of Arafat loyalists from destroyed refugee camps south of Beirut. At least 174 people were killed in the fighting.
Concerto for piano and orchestra by Joseph Schwantner (45) is performed for the first time, in Avery Fisher Hall, New York.
Philip Glass’ (51) opera The Making of the Representative for Planet 8 to words of Lessing, is performed for the first time, in Houston. It was commissioned by the Houston Grand Opera.
9 July 1988 Six victims of the Stalinist purges of the 1930s are posthumously readmitted to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union: Aleksey Ivanovich Rykov, Khristian Gyorgyevich Rakovsky, Nikolay Ivanovich Bukharin and three others.
10 July 1988 Pezzo fantasioso for two instruments and bass ad lib by Isang Yun (70) is performed for the first time, in Teatro Comunale, Chiusi.
11 July 1988 Arab terrorists using automatic weapons and hand grenades attack a ferry carrying tourists from the island of Aegina to Athens. Nine people are killed, over 80 injured.
US President Ronald Reagan says that his government will pay compensation to the survivors of the 290 people killed when a US Navy ship shot down an Iranian airliner on 3 July.
Nicaragua expels the US ambassador and seven other US diplomats for fomenting rebellion.
12 July 1988 The legislature of Nagorno-Karabakh votes to secede from Azerbaijan and unite with Armenia.
The Reagan administration retaliates for the actions of yesterday by expelling the Nicaraguan ambassador and seven other Nicaraguan diplomats.
13 July 1988 The Federal Election Commission in Mexico awards the 6 July presidential election to the ruling PRI candidate Carlos Salinas de Gortari. 260 of 500 seats in the Chamber of Deputies are awarded to the PRI. The delay of a week in announcing the returns causes charges of fraud from opposition candidates.
After a third round of negotiations in New York, Angola, Cuba, South Africa, and the United States agree on principles for a cessation of hostilities in Angola.
Taurhiphanie for computer generated stereo tape by Iannis Xenakis (66) is performed for the first time, in Arles.
15 July 1988 1000 Airplanes on the Roof, a music theatre by Philip Glass (51) to words of Hwang, Serlin, and the composer, is performed for the first time, at the International Airport Hangar no.3, Vienna.
Piano Sonata no.1 by John Harbison (49) is performed for the first time, in Amherst, Massachusetts. It is dedicated to the memory of Roger Sessions (†3).
16 July 1988 La Nouvelle Atlantide for speaker, chorus and synthesized sounds by Jean-Claude Risset (50) is performed for the first time, at Saint Paul de Vence, France.
17 July 1988 Canada and Iran agree to restore normal relations.
18 July 1988 Iran accepts a UN Security Plan to end the war with Iraq.
The Canadian and Newfoundland governments sign a preliminary agreement with an energy consortium to develop the Hibernia oil fields off Newfoundland.
19 July 1988 Four top communists in Bulgaria are purged from the Central Committee. They are all reformers.
Ofanim for two instrumental groups, two children’s choirs, female chorus, and electronic sound generators by Luciano Berio (62) to words of the Bible is performed for the first time, in St. Paul de Vence, conducted by the composer.
20 July 1988 Four top members of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party are sacked.
22 July 1988 Iraq launches a new offensive against Iran.
Twenty-Three for strings by John Cage (75) is performed for the first time, in Putney, Vermont.
23 July 1988 Iraqi forces reach 60 km inside Iran making for Ahwaz.
Demonstrations in Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius protest the Soviet annexation of the Baltic States in 1940.
24 July 1988 Kakadu for orchestra by Peter Sculthorpe (59) is performed for the first time, in Aspen, Colorado.
25 July 1988 Representatives of Vietnam, the Cambodian government, and three Cambodian rebel groups meet for the first time, in Bogor, Indonesia.
Armenians end a two-month general strike after a crackdown from Moscow.
Iraqi forces withdraw from their recent gains in Iran.
26 July 1988 Rejoice! for violin and cello by Sophia Gubaidulina (56) is performed for the first time, in Kuhmo, Finland.
Symphony no.4 by Jonathan Lloyd (39) is performed for the first time, in Royal Albert Hall, London.
27 July 1988 UN Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar suspends his peace efforts after Iraq continues to demand direct talks with Iran.
Symeon der Stylit, an oratorio by Ernst Krenek (87) to words of Bell and the Book of Psalms, is performed for the first time, at the Universitätskirche, Salzburg. Krenek began the composition in 1935 but completed it only last year.
28 July 1988 Protests begin in Rangoon against the new Burmese government of Sein Lwin.
A diplomatic delegation from Israel arrives in Moscow, the first visit by Israeli officials to Moscow since 1967.
Grand Duo for violin and piano by Lou Harrison (71) is performed for the first time, in Aptos, California.
29 July 1988 Piano Quartet by Alfred Schnittke (53) is performed for the first time, in Kuhmo.
30 July 1988 Five Stone Wind for three performers by John Cage (75) is performed for the first time, in the Palais de Papes, Avignon. There was a preview of this work in New York on 9 July. See 16 June 1988.
31 July 1988 King Hussein of Jordan renounces all claims to the West Bank.
And the Butterflies Begin to Sing for chamber ensemble and computer by Morton Subotnick (55) is performed for the first time, in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
1 August 1988 A Provisional IRA bomb kills one British soldier and injures 10 at a North London barracks.
2 August 1988 Flash floods on China’s east coast kill thousands of people.
4 August 1988 Chatichai Choonhavan replaces Prem Tinsulanond as Prime Minister of Thailand.
5 August 1988 Torrential rains in Sudan leave over 1,000,000 people homeless.
6 August 1988 Police fire on anti-government demonstrators in three Burmese cities. Six people are killed.
Zorba the Greek, a ballet with music arranged by Mikis Theodorakis (63) from his music for the film, is performed for the first time, in Verona.
Two for flute and piano by John Cage (75) is performed for the first time, in Gibellina, Sicily.
Bright Music for flute, two violins, cello and pano by Ned Rorem (64) is performed for the first time, in the Presbyterian Church in Bridgehampton, New York.
Green Mountain Evening for flute, oboe, clarinet, two cellos, and piano by Otto Luening (88) is performed for the first time, at Bennington College, Vermont.
7 August 1988 Ikon of St. Seraphim for counter tenor, baritone, chorus, and orchestra by John Tavener (44) to words of Mother Thekla is performed for the first time, in the church of St. Endellion.
8 August 1988 After three weeks of negotiations, UN Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar announces Iran and Iraq have agreed to a cease-fire, to take effect 20 August.
After talks in Geneva, Angola, Cuba, and South Africa announce a truce in Angola and Namibia.
The original version of Ballata and Ballabile by Charles Villiers Stanford (†65) is performed for the first time, in Belfast 72 years after it was composed. See 3 May 1919.
10 August 1988 South Africa begins to withdraw its troops from Angola.
US President Reagan signs into law a formal apology and offer of reparations to Americans of Japanese descent interned during World War II.
Remembrance for orchestra by Elliott Carter (79) is performed for the first time, at Tanglewood, Lenox, Massachusetts. See 5 October 1989.
12 August 1988 Martin Scorsese’s film The Last Temptation of Christ is released in the United States to a storm of protest by people who have not seen the film.
13 August 1988 On the 27th anniversary of the Berlin Wall, West Germans throw eggs and tomatoes at the wall while police arrest East German protesters.
14 August 1988 The Soviet military announces that half of their troops stationed in Afghanistan have been withdrawn.
16 August 1988 Miners in Silesia strike for higher pay and a restoration of Solidarity. The strikes spread.
17 August 1988 President Zia ul-Haq of Pakistan and several high ranking officials die when their plane blows up over eastern Pakistan. 29 people die, including the US ambassador to Pakistan.
Gulam Ishaq Khan, chairman of the Senate, becomes interim President.
The Reagan administration orders the State Department and the CIA not to cooperate with a congressional investigation of Panamanian strong man General Manuel Noriega.
The US and USSR hold joint nuclear weapons tests in Nevada.
Triptych for violin and cello by Leon Kirchner (69) is performed for the first time, at Tanglewood, Lenox, Massachusetts.
19 August 1988 Concerto for piano and orchestra by Witold Lutoslawski (75) is performed for the first time, in the Kleines Festspielhaus, Salzburg conducted by the composer.
East Wind for flute by Shulamit Ran (38) is performed for the first time, by six semifinalists at the National Flute Association convention in San Diego.
20 August 1988 President Lazarus Salii of Palau is found shot to death in his living room. An intruder is suspected but suicide is not ruled out.
A cease-fire between Iran and Iraq goes into effect. UN truce observers take up positions along the front.
In the face of spreading coal mine strikes, the Polish government begins to conscript draft-age miners.
An IRA bomb explodes near Omagh, Northern Ireland killing eight British soldiers and injuring 28.
Passacaglia for orchestra by Krzysztof Penderecki (54) is performed for the first time, in Lucerne. The composer will make it part of the Symphony no.3. See 8 December 1995.
21 August 1988 10,000 demonstrators rally in Prague on the 20th anniversary of the Soviet invasion. They demand the withdrawal of Soviet troops and more freedom.
Suite in Old Style for chamber orchestra by Alfred Schnittke (53) is performed for the first time, in Kiel. See 27 March 1974.
22 August 1988 The government of Burundi announces thousands have been killed in battles between Hutus and Tutsis.
The Polish government invokes emergency powers in three regions hit by coal mine strikes. Polish security forces and transport workers battle in Szczecin. The authorities surround and seal off coal mines in Silesia and the Lenin shipyard in Gdansk.
23 August 1988 Workers begin to give up strikes in some Polish localities.
Demonstrations by tens of thousands of people take place in the Baltic states to mark the anniversary of the non-aggression pact between Hitler and Stalin which ensured their domination by the USSR.
24 August 1988 Polish police attack five striking coal mines in Silesia, breaking the strikes.
25 August 1988 Five more coal mines are attacked by Polish authorities, breaking the strikes. Transport workers in Szczecin enter into negotiations with the government.
The foreign ministers of Iran and Iraq begin formal negotiations in Geneva.
The Thin Blue Line, a film by Errol Morris with music by Philip Glass (51) is released in the United States.
26 August 1988 Three Chinese Love Songs for voice, viola, and piano by Bright Sheng (32) is performed for the first time, at Tanglewood, Lenox, Massachusetts in celebration of the 70th birthday of Leonard Bernstein. Also premiered is Lenny B. a song for voice, violin, and piano by David Del Tredici (51) to words of Conarroe. The composer plays piano.
28 August 1988 Let’s Hear It for Lenny! for orchestra, variations on New York, New York for the 70th birthday of Leonard Bernstein by William Schuman (78), is performed for the first time, in Boston.
30 August 1988 Turkey opens its borders to accept Kurdish refugees fleeing the Iraqi offensive against Kurds in northern Iraq. Over 100,000 cross the border within a week, bringing stories of Iraqi atrocities, including widespread use of poison gas.
Morocco and the Polisario Front accept a UN/OAU cease-fire in Western Sahara.
British SAS commandos kill three members of the Provisional IRA near Drumnakilly, County Tyrone.
31 August 1988 Lech Walesa calls for a dialogue with the Polish government and an end to the most recent round of strikes.
1 September 1988 President Augusto Pinochet of Chile allows the return of family and associates of President Salvador Allende. Allende was killed in the 1973 US-backed coup which brought Pinochet to power.
3 September 1988 La Lontananza Nostalgica-Futura for violin and eight tapes by Luigi Nono (64) is performed for the first time, in Berlin.
4 September 1988 Post-Prae-Ludium No.2: Baab-arr by Luigi Nono (64) arranged for piccolo is performed for the first time, in Berlin.
6 September 1988 Floodwaters inundating three-quarters of Bangladesh begin to recede leaving 1,154 dead and 25,000,000 homeless.
12 September 1988 Rudolf Cordes, the last West German held in Lebanon, is released by his Shia militia captors after being held for 20 months.
13 September 1988 Hungary and South Korea agree to establish diplomatic relations. It is the first recognition of South Korea by a communist country.
14 September 1988 Birthday Flourish for five trumpets or brass quintet by Elliott Carter (79) is performed for the first time, in Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco.
16 September 1988 The Wedding, an opera by Gian-Carlo Menotti (77) to his own words, is performed for the first time, at the Municipal Opera of Seoul as part of the festivities surrounding the Games of the 24th Olympiad of the Modern Era.
Echo d’Orphée for tape by Pierre Henry (59) is performed for the first time, in the Museum of Modern Art of the City of Paris.
17 September 1988 The Games of the 24th Olympiad of the Modern Era open in Seoul.
President Henri Namphy of Haiti is overthrown by Lt. Gen. Prosper Avril.
Voyage for flute and string quintet by John Corigliano (50) is performed for the first time, in Grand Canyon, Arizona.
18 September 1988 General Saw Maung overthrows President Maung Maung of Burma and seizes power.
The ruling Social Democratic Party of Swedish Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson is returned to power, with three less seats. The Green Party wins seats for the first time.
Tanz-Schul, a ballet d’action by Mauricio Kagel (56), is performed for the first time, in the Staatsoper, Vienna.
Four Aphorisms for chamber orchestra by Alfred Schnittke (53) is performed for the first time, in Berlin.
Resurrection, an opera by Peter Maxwell Davies (54) to his own words, is performed for the first time, in the Staatstheater, Darmstadt.
Music for Joan for vibraphone and piano by Betsy Jolas (62) is performed for the first time, in Buffalo.
19 September 1988 Prime Minister Zbigniew Messner of Poland and his entire cabinet resign because of a loss of confidence in their handling of the economy.
Israel successfully launches its first sattelite, Ofeq-1, from the Negev Desert.
20 September 1988 Speaker of the US House of Representatives Jim Wright charges that the CIA deliberately provoked the government of Nicaragua in an attempt to force it to take repressive measures. The White House does not deny the allegation.
21 September 1988 The Soviet government declares a state of emergency in Nagorno-Karabakh. A curfew is imposed in Stepanakert. Troops are deployed in Yerevan.
Incidental music to Erdman’s play The Mandate by Alfred Schnittke (53) is performed for the first time, in the Central Theatre of the Soviet Army, Moscow.
A Trumpet Concerto by Peter Maxwell Davies (54) is performed for the first time, in Yubin-Chokin Kaikan Hall, Hiroshima.
22 September 1988 On the last day of his term, Lebanese President Amin Gemayel appoints an interim government led by General Michel Aoun. This is not recognized by Moslems who continue with the old national unity government. No successor to Gemayel has been elected.
23 September 1988 The French government approves the marketing of RU486.
Masks, three pieces for piano by Karol Szymanowski (†51) orchestrated by Krenz, is performed for the first time, in Warsaw 72 years after it was composed.
The Call for chorus by John Tavener (44) to words of the Bible is performed for the first time, in St. Matthew’s Church, Northampton.
25 September 1988 The first four of the Nonsense Madrigals for six solo voices by György Ligeti (65) are performed for the first time, in Berlin. See 4 November 1989 and 27 November 1993.
26 September 1988 The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie is published by Viking Penguin.
27 September 1988 Mieczyslaw Rakowski replaces Zbigniew Messner as Prime Minister of Poland.
28 September 1988 Steingrimur Hermannsson replaces Thorsteinn Palsson as Prime Minister of Iceland.
The Soviet government allows the Voice of America to set up a bureau in Moscow.
29 September 1988 A Bright Shining Lie by Neil Sheehan is published in the United States.
Discovery, the first space shuttle mission since the Challenger explosion, lifts off successfully from Cape Canaveral.
A Violin Concerto by Leos Janácek (†60) is performed for the first time, in Brno 62 years after it was composed.
30 September 1988 The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union approves major changes in the leadership, retiring many older members and advancing supporters of perestroika.
A coroner’s jury in Gibraltar exonerates the SAS of wrongdoing in the deaths of three IRA members last March.
1 October 1988 Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is named Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR replacing Andrey Andreyevich Gromyko.
2 October 1988 A week of flooding in northern India leaves 1,000 people dead.
The Games of the 24th Olympiad of the Modern Era close in Seoul, Republic of Korea. In 16 days of competition, 8,391 athletes from 159 nations took part.
3 October 1988 Libya and Chad restore diplomatic relations.
Mithileshwar Singh, an Indian held hostage since January 1987, is released in Lebanon.
4 October 1988 Sogno d’un tramonto d’autunno, an opera by Gian Francesco Malipiero (†15) to words of D’Annunzio, is staged for the first time, in Mantua, 75 years after it was composed. See 4 October 1963.
5 October 1988 Serb nationalists stage a general strike in Novi Sad, demanding annexation of Vojvodina by Serbia. 100,000 people gather to demand the resignation of the government.
Voters in Chile reject the US backed dictator Augusto Pinochet in his quest for an eight-year term.
A new constitution goes into effect with ceremonies in Brasilia. It provides for a popular election of the president. Civil and labor rights are guaranteed. The federal territories of Amapá and Roraima become states.
6 October 1988 The Politburo of the ruling party in Vojvodina resigns in the face of protests by Serb nationalists.
Intermezzo for cello and accordion by Isang Yun (71) is performed for the first time, in Avignon.
7 October 1988 Ned Rorem’s (64) Quaker Reader, in the version for orchestra, is performed for the first time, in Tilles Center, New York City. See 2 February 1977.
8 October 1988 Attracteurs estranges for clarinet and synthesized sound by Jean-Claude Risset (50) is performed for the first time.
9 October 1988 The Popular Front of Latvia is founded in Riga. They favor self-determination for Latvia and religious freedom.
Rioting over the last six days by Algerians angry about austerity measures leave 200 dead and 900 injured.
Two works by Isang Yun (71) are performed for the first time, in Berlin: Distanzen for wind and string quintet, and Contemplation for two violas.
All in Twilight, four pieces for guitar by Toru Takemitsu (58), is performed for the first time, in Alice Tully Hall, New York.
Orchestra Variations by Marc Blitzstein (†24) is performed for the first time, in Carnegie Hall, New York, 54 years after it was composed.
10 October 1988 Lubomir Strougal resigns as Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia and is replaced by Ladislav Adamec. Strougal has been advocating Soviet style reforms.
11 October 1988 Seven Magnificat Antiphons by Arvo Pärt (53) are performed for the first time, in Berlin.
12 October 1988 President Gorbachev announces that all agriculture should move towards privately leased farms.
John Cage (76) gives the first of his Charles Eliot Norton Lectures at Harvard University. They are entitled I-VI.
13 October 1988 Anastasio Cardinal Ballestrero, Archbishop of Turin, announces that scientists in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland have determined that the Shroud of Turin dates from the 13th century.
The first movement and sketches to an adagio from a Symphony in E by Richard Wagner (†105) are performed for the first time, in Munich, orchestrated by Mottl.
Concerto for flute and orchestra by Gunther Schuller (62) is performed for the first time, in Chicago.
15 October 1988 String Quartet no.3 by Conlon Nancarrow (75) is performed for the first time, in Cologne, along with the premiere of Nancarrow’s Study for Player Piano no.29.
16 October 1988 A military board of inquiry finds that the August plane crash which killed Pakistani President Mohammad Zia ul-Haq was “a criminal act or sabotage.”
Praising Charles: Fanfare and Flourish for two trumpets, two trombones, and organ by Ned Rorem (64) is performed for the first time, in Alice Tully Hall, New York.
18 October 1988 The Canyon for orchestra by Philip Glass (51) is performed for the first time, in Rotterdam.
The first public performance of Study for Player Piano no.6 by Conlon Nancarrow (75) takes place in Hannover.
20 October 1988 Government employees in France stage a widespread strike for higher pay, crippling many public services.
The first public performance of Study for Player Piano no.31 by Conlon Nancarrow (75) takes place in the Kongresshalle, Berlin.
21 October 1988 A federal grand jury in New York indicts former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and his wife on six counts of racketeering, fraud, and corruption.
22 October 1988 Christian terrorists firebomb the Saint Michel Theatre in Paris during a showing of the film The Last Temptation of Christ. 13 people are injured, four severely.
23 October 1988 After two days of meeting in Vilnius, the Lithuanian Movement for the Support of Perestroika (Sajudis) is formally inaugurated. Vincentas Cardinal Sladkevicius celebrates the first mass held in Vilnius Cathedral in 40 years. 200,000 people take part in a peaceful nationalist rally in Vilnius.
24 October 1988 Several works in honor of the 50th birthday of Joan Tower are performed for the first time, in Merkin Concert Hall, New York, including For Joan on her 50th for five players by John Corigliano (50), Minuet from Short Suite for four players by John Harbison (49), and Tower Power for five players by Joseph Schwantner (45).
25 October 1988 The state publishing company of the USSR announces that the writings of Leon Trotsky will be published next year, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of his birth.
26 October 1988 Local elections are held in South Africa, for the first time open to all races. The vast majority of blacks boycott the voting.
Roussel Uclaf SA announces it will discontinue distribution of the abortion pill RU486 because of protests and threatened boycotts in France and the United States.
The European Court of Human Rights rules that Ireland must get rid of its laws against homosexuality.
Départ for chorus and 22 players by Wolfgang Rihm (36) to words of Rimbaud is performed for the first time, in Vienna.
28 October 1988 Independence Day is celebrated in Czechoslovakia for the first time since 1968. 5,000 people demonstrate in Wenceslas Square, Prague. Police use clubs and water cannon to break it up. 80 people are arrested.
The French government orders that RU486 be placed back on the market.
A revised version of Elegy for Young Lovers, an opera by Hans Werner Henze (62) to words of Auden and Kallman, is performed for the first time, in Teatro La Fenice, Venice. See 20 May 1961.
A suite from the ballet The Trojan Women by Karel Husa (67) is performed for the first time, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, conducted by the composer. See 28 March 1981.
29 October 1988 Kein Firmament for 14 players by Wolfgang Rihm (36) is performed for the first time, in Berlin.
Fearful Symmetries by John Adams (41) is performed for the first time, in Avery Fisher Hall, New York, conducted by the composer.
30 October 1988 An Israeli woman and her three children are killed in a firebombing by Arabs near Jericho.
Philip Morris buys Kraft for $13,100,000,000. It is the second largest corporate merger to date.
Chamber Concerto (Remembrances) by TJ Anderson (60) is performed for the first time, in Cleveland.
31 October 1988 Massive demonstrations occur when the Polish government announces the closure of the Lenin shipyards in Gdansk due to unprofitability.
1 November 1988 In national elections in Israel, the conservative Likud bloc wins a narrow victory over the center-left Labor Party. Religious parties do unexpectedly well. Likud will lead the next governing coalition.
The South African government bans the Weekly Mail for one month.
2 November 1988 Different Trains for string quartet and tape by Steve Reich (52) is performed for the first time, in Queen Elizabeth Hall, London.
3 November 1988 Concerto II “Echoing Curves” for piano and two instrumental groups by Luciano Berio (63) is performed for the first time, in Paris, conducted by Pierre Boulez (63).
4 November 1988 The Soviet government announces it is suspending its withdrawal from Afghanistan because of a worsening military situation in the country.
Dienstags-Gruß no.60 for soprano, 18 brass, two synthesizer players, chorus, and two conductors from Karlheinz Stockhausen’s (60) Dienstag aus Licht is performed for the first time, in Cologne.
7 November 1988 Sori for flute by Isang Yun (71) is performed for the first time, in New York.
New works to words of Giraud (tr. Hartleben) are performed for the first time, in Los Angeles County Museum of Art: the first of the three Pierrot Songs for voice, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano by Leslie Bassett (65), Not Only Night for soprano, flute/piccolo, clarinet in E flat/bass clarinet, piano, violin, cello, and electronic sound generators by Roger Reynolds (54), and Im Spiegel for voice, violin, and piano by John Harbison (49). See 25 January 1989.
8 November 1988 Voting today in the United States ensures the election of Vice President George Bush of the Republican Party as President over Michael Dukakis, Governor of Massachusetts. The Democratic Party makes slight increases in its majorities in both houses of Congress.
10 November 1988 Concerto Grosso No.4/Symphony No.5 by Alfred Schnittke (53) for violin, oboe, and orchestra is performed for the first time, in Amsterdam.
15 November 1988 Representatives of Angola, Cuba, South Africa, and the United States agree in Geneva to a timetable for withdrawal of Cuban troops and independence for Namibia.
In Algiers, the Palestine National Council declares the independence of Palestine. They accept UN Security Council resolutions 242 and 338 as the basis of a peace agreement. Yasir Arafat agrees to the 1948 partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states.
16 November 1988 In parliamentary elections in Pakistan, the Pakistan Peoples Party of Benazir Bhutto wins a strong plurality of seats.
Estonia’s Supreme Soviet asserts the right to veto national laws affecting Estonia.
18 November 1988 An orchestral suite from Tanz-Schul, ballet d’action by Mauricio Kagel (56), is performed for the first time, in Saarbrücken.
Seven for flute, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin, viola, and cello by John Cage (76) is performed for the first time, in Boston.
Mass for Saint Cecilia’s Day for chorus, harp, and optional organ by Lou Harrison (71) are performed completely for the first time, in Santa Cruz, California. See 15 November 1987.
19 November 1988 Slobodan Milosevic leads hundreds of thousands through the streets of Belgrade to protest alleged persecution of Serbs by ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.
Quodlibet for women’s voices and orchestra by Mauricio Kagel (56) to words from 15th century chansons is performed for the first time, in Théâtre Municipal, Metz, directed by the composer.
The Aspern Papers, an opera by Dominick Argento (61) to words of the composer after James, is performed for the first time, in Fair Park Music Hall, Dallas.
21 November 1988 The ruling Progressive Conservative Party of Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney wins a renewed mandate in parliamentary elections, although with a loss of 34 seats.
Akathist of Thanksgiving: Glory to God for Everything for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra by John Tavener (44) to words of Petrov (tr. Mother Thekla) is performed for the first time, in Westminster Abbey, London.
22 November 1988 An anti-Armenian pogrom in Baku leaves eight people dead. Violence against Armenians takes place in other Azerbaijani localities.
Birthday Song for Erwin by Benjamin Britten (†11) to words of Duncan is performed publicly for the first time, in London 43 years after it was composed on the 75th anniversary of the composer’s birth.
23 November 1988 Former President Chun Doo Hwan of South Korea formally apologizes to his people for corruption and human rights abuses committed during his administration.
24 November 1988 Miklós Németh replaces Károly Grósz as Prime Minister of Hungary.
25 November 1988 Belgian authorities release Father Patrick Ryan and fly him to Ireland. Great Britain has been seeking extradition of Ryan on terrorism charges.
Sonata for violin and piano by Charles Wuorinen (50) is performed for the first time, in Coolidge Auditorium at the Library of Congress in Washington.
26 November 1988 The Presidium of the USSR declares Estonia’s statement of 16 November unconstitutional.
The US government denies an entry visa to Yasir Arafat.
Un Vitrail et des oiseaux for piano, woodwinds, trumpet, and percussion by Olivier Messiaen (79) is performed for the first time, in Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Paris conducted by Pierre Boulez (63). It is part of a concert to celebrate the composer’s 80th birthday.
String Quartet no.3 “The Songlines” by Kevin Volans (39) is performed for the first time, in Lincoln Center, New York.
28 November 1988 String Quartet no.4 by Isang Yun (71) is performed for the first time, in Würzburg.
29 November 1988 The European Court of Human Rights rules that the British policy of detaining terrorism suspects without trial for seven days is a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights.
30 November 1988 Polish television airs a 45-minute debate between Lech Walesa and Alfred Miodowicz, leader of the government-sponsored trade unions. Independent observers give a solid victory to Walesa.
The management group Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co. buys RJR Nabisco for $25,070,000,000.
1 December 1988 Four criminals take over a school bus full of children in Ordzhonikidze, USSR. They drive to a nearby airport and begin negotiations with authorities.
Carlos Salinas de Gortari replaces Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado as President of Mexico.
A revised version of Valis, an opera by Tod Machover (35) to words of Ikam, Raymond, and the composer after Dick, is performed for the first time, at the Pompidou Center, Paris.
Serenade in G for string sextet op.64b by Robin Holloway (45) is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of the BBC, originating in London. See 14 May 1987.
Slides for chamber ensemble by Witold Lutoslawski (75) is performed for the first time, in Merkin Concert Hall, New York, composed in honor of Elliott Carter’s 80th birthday on 11 December.
2 December 1988 Benazir Bhutto is sworn in as Prime Minister of Pakistan, leading a democratically elected government.
The four criminals who took over a school bus yesterday release their hostages in return for a plane, drugs, and $2,000,000 in cash. They want to be taken to a non-communist country which does not have and extradition treaty with the USSR. While in the air they decide on Israel. Upon landing at Tel Aviv, they are taken into custody by Israeli officials.
Fantasy Duo for violin and piano by John Harbison (49) is performed for the first time, at the Library of Congress, Washington.
6 December 1988 An American diplomat meets with the PLO in Tunis after the PLO renounces violence and asserts Israel’s right to exist.
7 December 1988 In a speech to the General Assembly of the United Nations, President Gorbachev announces cuts in the Soviet military by 500,000 men and 10,000 tanks. He vows to remove half of his tanks from eastern Europe.
An earthquake centered near Spitak, Armenia leaves about 25,000 dead, 500,000 homeless.
8 December 1988 Israeli troops raid a terrorist base near Beirut. 21 people are killed.
A court in Pretoria sentences five anti-apartheid leaders to prison terms of from five to twelve years. None were convicted of acts of violence.
9 December 1988 Foreign Minister of Japan Kiichi Miyazawa resigns. He has been linked to a stock trading scandal.
During an official visit to Prague, French President François Mitterand meets with eight members of Charter 77.
10 December 1988 United Nations Peacekeeping Forces receive the Nobel Prize for Peace.
11 December 1988 Whispers Out of Time for strings by Roger Reynolds (54) is performed for the first time, at Amherst College, Massachusetts. It will win the Pulitzer Prize for music. See 30 March 1989.
13 December 1988 Acting President Ghulam Ishaq Khan of Pakistan is inaugurated for a full five-year term.
Representatives of Angola, Cuba, and South Africa sign an agreement in Brazzaville which provides for the independence of Namibia and the withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola.
The government of Ireland announces that it will not extradite terrorism suspect Father Patrick Ryan to Great Britain. It doesn’t think he will receive a fair trial there.
14 December 1988 At a news conference in Geneva, PLO chairman Yasir Arafat affirms “the right of all parties concerned in the Middle East conflict to exist in peace and security, including the state of Palestine, Israel, and their neighbors.” He says that the PLO “renounces” all forms of terrorism. The US government announces that Arafat has met their conditions and a “dialogue” may now be opened with the PLO.
About 8,000,000 Spanish workers stage a one-day general strike to protest the government’s economic policies.
The Seasons for orchestra by Thea Musgrave (60) is performed for the first time, in Royal Festival Hall, London.
18 December 1988 British conglomerate Grand Metropolitan PLC acquires Pillsbury Company for $5,750,000,000.
19 December 1988 The rival Likud and Labor Parties in Israel agree to a national government.
20 December 1988 The International Committee of the Red Cross stops operations in Lebanon and removes its staff after receiving death threats. It is the first time the Red Cross has had to leave a country to protect its workers.
21 December 1988 The Supreme Soviet of the USSR endorses Perestroika.
Moslem terrorists blow up a US commercial jet over Lockerbie, Scotland on a flight from Frankfurt to New York. 270 people are killed in the air and on the ground.
Cosmonauts Vladimir Titov and Musa Manarov return to earth in the USSR after setting an in-space record of 366 days.
Securities firm Drexel, Burnham, Lambert pleads guilty to six counts of securities fraud and is fined $650,000,000 in penalties.
22 December 1988 A formal signing of the 15 November agreement takes place at the United Nations in New York.
Ecologist Francisco “Chico” Mendes is shot and killed near his shack in Xapuri, Brazil by the son of rancher Darly Alves da Silva. Mendes opposed the destruction of the rain forest by cattle ranchers.
23 December 1988 The Polish Sejm lifts restrictions on private businesses.
24 December 1988 The Birthday of Thy King for chorus by Peter Sculthorpe (59), to words of Vaughan, is performed for the first time, during the Festival of Nine Lesson and Carols at King’s College, Cambridge.
26 December 1988 Twelve Penitential Psalms for chorus by Alfred Schnittke (54) to 16th century Russian poems are performed for the first time, in Moscow. It is dedicated to the 1,000th anniversary of baptism in Russia.
28 December 1988 Klingende Buchstaben for cello by Alfred Schnittke (54) is performed for the first time, in Moscow.
29 December 1988 Arab terrorists release two French girls they have been holding in Libya since November 1987.
The Soviet government orders that all public buildings and other sites named after Leonid Brezhnev be renamed.
30 December 1988 Prime Minister Branko Mikulic of Yugoslavia and his cabinet resign two days after Parliament rejected his plans for economic reform.
Isamu Noguchi dies in New York at the age of 84.
©2004-2012 Paul Scharfenberger
24 January 2012
Last Updated (Tuesday, 24 January 2012 07:50)