1989
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1 January 1989 Israel expels 13 leaders of the intifada to Lebanon.
The Brazilian state of Tocantins is created from part of Goiás.
2 January 1989 Ranasinghe Premadasa replaces Junius Jayawardene as President of Sri Lanka.
In a broadcast on Radio Monte Carlo, Yasir Arafat threatens to kill any Arab who proposes a truce in the intifada.
3 January 1989 Dingiri Banda Wijetunge replaces Ranasinghe Premadasa as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka.
The One Hundred-and-first Congress of the United States convenes in Washington. The opposition Democratic Party controls both houses.
4 January 1989 United States warplanes shoot down two Libyan fighters over the Mediterranean. The US claims that the Libyans had “hostile intent.”
Answer without a Question for three orchestras by Sofia Gubaidulina (57) is performed for the first time, in Moscow.
5 January 1989 The National Academy of Sciences urges incoming President George Bush to place climate change at the head of his agenda for “the future welfare of human society.”
6 January 1989 Satwant Singh and Kehar Singh are hanged in New Delhi for the murder of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984.
An oil slick caused by the collision of an oil barge with a tugboat reaches the shores of Washington state and British Columbia. Thousands of birds are killed.
Hazeltine Corp. pleads guilty to conspiracy, conversion of government property, and making false statements in the US military procurement scandal. They agree to pay $1,900,000.
7 January 1989 Hirohito, Emperor of Japan, dies in Tokyo after a reign of 62 years. He is succeeded by his son, Akihito.
8 January 1989 The USSR announces that it will destroy 300,000 tons of chemical weapons.
10 January 1989 Cuban troops begin departing from Angola.
11 January 1989 Representatives of 149 nations meeting in Geneva condemn the use of chemical weapons.
12 January 1989 In an attempt to halt ethnic and religious violence, the Soviet government places Nagorno-Karabakh under direct rule from Moscow.
Brussels is granted autonomy within Belgium.
The Struggle Between the Realistic and Formalistic Trends in Music, a “pedagogical cantata” for four basses, chorus, and piano by Dmitri Shostakovich (†13), is performed for the first time, in the Kennedy Center, Washington approximately 41 years after it was completed.
13 January 1989 Daniel Barenboim is sacked as artistic and musical director of the new Bastille Opera of Paris. The overseeing board claims his salary, negotiated by the previous government, is too high, his demands for control too great, and his performance schedule too small. Barenboim vows to stay on.
A US federal judge dismisses the main criminal conspiracy charges against Iran-Contra mastermind Oliver North since the Reagan Administration refuses to release incriminating documents to the prosecution.
Mazurca en do menor for piano by Manuel de Falla (†42) is performed for the first time, in Madrid 90 years after it was composed. Also premiered is Falla’s Serenata for piano composed in 1901.
15 January 1989 The 35 members of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe approve a human rights agreement in Vienna, for the first time specifying rights and freedoms and mechanisms to achieve them. Hours after the signing, Czechoslovak police attack citizens commemorating the 20th anniversary of the death of Jan Palach. This precipitates six days of protest and violent repression. 1,400 people are detained, including Vaclav Havel. East German police detain 80 protesters from a march in Leipzig demanding certain freedoms.
16 January 1989 Rioting begins in Miami after a black motorist is shot and killed by an hispanic policeman. Two days of rioting will leave one dead, seven injured, 250 arrested.
17 January 1989 A revised version of Livre pour cordes by Pierre Boulez (63) is performed for the first time, in London the composer conducting. See 1 December 1968.
String Quartet no.8 by Wolfgang Rihm (36) is performed for the first time, in Milan.
18 January 1989 UNICEF reports a severe food shortage in Kabul due to a rebel blockade.
The Supreme Soviet of Estonia proclaims Estonian the official language of the province.
President PW Botha of South Africa suffers a mild stroke. He will be unable to work for six weeks.
He Will Make It for cello by Jonathan Lloyd (40) is performed for the first time, in Huddersfield, Great Britain.
19 January 1989 Health Minister Chris Heunis is sworn in as acting President of South Africa while PW Botha recuperates from a stroke.
Symphony no.1 by Jonathan Lloyd (40) is performed for the first time, in Birmingham, Great Britain.
20 January 1989 George Herbert Walker Bush replaces Ronald Wilson Reagan as President of the United States.
Towards the Center for amplified flute, clarinet, violin, cello, electronic keyboard, and percussion with five hyperinstrument electronics by Tod Machover (35) is performed for the first time, in Symphony Space, New York.
Symphony no.1 by Richard Wernick (55) is performed for the first time, in the Masonic Temple, Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Charles Wuorinen’s (50) opera The W. of Babylon to words of Bruce is performed completely for the first time, in a concert setting in Herbst Theatre, San Francisco. See 14 March 1975.
21 January 1989 West Germany becomes the first of several western nations to close its mission in Kabul due to a worsening of the security situation as Soviet troops pull out.
Czechoslovak police stop trains in Vsetaty north of Prague. They arrest 400 people traveling to Prague to visit the grave of Jan Palach.
Already It is Dusk op.62 for string quartet by Henryk Górecki (55) is performed for the first time, in Minneapolis.
22 January 1989 Peer Gynt, a ballet by Alfred Schnittke (54) to a story by Neumeier after Ibsen, is performed for the first time, in Hamburg.
For Violin Solo II by Leon Kirchner (69) is performed for the first time, in Indianapolis.
23 January 1989 Salvador Dali dies in Figueras, Spain at the age of 84.
25 January 1989 The second and third of the three Pierrot Songs for voice, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano by Leslie Bassett (66) to words of Giraud (tr. Hartleben), are performed for the first time, in Los Angeles. See 7 November 1988.
Tenth String Quartet by William Bolcom (50) is performed for the first time, at Stanford University.
26 January 1989 The French Finance Ministry begins an investigation into insider trading by Socialist Party members in the purchase of Triangle Industries Inc. by the government.
The US closes its diplomatic mission in Kabul.
27 January 1989 France, Italy, Japan, and the UK close their diplomatic missions in Kabul.
30 January 1989 Amal and Hezbollah, both Shia militias, end their fighting in Lebanon, which has been happening, on and off, since last April. The agreement is signed in Damascus.
1 February 1989 Strathclyde Concerto no.2 for cello and orchestra by Peter Maxwell Davies (54) is performed for the first time, in City Halls, Glasgow, the composer conducting.
Corona for string orchestra by Robert Erickson (71) is performed for the first time, in Los Angeles.
2 February 1989 Concerto for trombone and orchestra by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (49) is performed for the first time, in Chicago.
3 February 1989 A military coup in Paraguay removes President Alfredo Stroessner after 35 years in power. He is replaced by General Andrés Rodríguez.
Duo-Inventions for two cellos by Leslie Bassett (66) is performed for the first time, in Gainesville, Georgia.
5 February 1989 The Soviet Union announces that their troops have withdrawn from Kabul, except for the airport.
20-year-old Chris Geoffroy is shot to death as he tries to flee from East Berlin to West Berlin. He is the last person killed at the Berlin Wall.
6 February 1989 Today begins two months of meetings between the Polish government, Solidarity and the Catholic Church.
7 February 1989 Itinerant for flute by Toru Takemitsu (58), composed in memory of Isamu Noguchi, is performed for the first time, in New York.
9 February 1989 Michael Manley replaces Edward Seaga as Prime Minister of Jamaica.
11 February 1989 The independent trade union “Support” applies to the Bulgarian government for official status.
The ruling Socialist Workers Party of Hungary approves of the formation of independent political parties.
Barbara Clementine Harris is consecrated in Boston as the first woman bishop in the World Anglican Communion.
13 February 1989 Schwebende Begegnung for orchestra by Wolfgang Rihm (36) is performed for the first time, in Ludwigshafen.
14 February 1989 The Supreme Court of India orders Union Carbide Corp. to pay $470,000,000 to victims of the Bhopal disaster. 3,329 people were killed, while 20,000 are still suffering the effects of methyl isocyanate released from the Union Carbide plant. All other civil and criminal charges are dropped.
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomenei sentences Salman Rushdie and his publishers to death for Rushdie’s book The Satanic Verses.
Five Central American presidents agree that Nicaraguan rebel bases will be closed in return for free elections in Nicaragua.
15 February 1989 The last Soviet troops leave Afghanistan. In over nine years of fighting, the Soviets lost 15,000 men while 37,000 were wounded.
An aide to Ayatollah Khomenei offers $1,000,000 to anyone who kills Salman Rushdie.
16 February 1989 About 1,000 people meet in Ljubljana to form the Social Democratic Union of Slovenia, the first opposition party in Yugoslavia since World War II.
19 February 1989 Bruchstück “Die Vorzeichen” for orchestra by Wolfgang Rihm (36) from his unperformed music theatre piece Die Eroberung von Mexico, is performed for the first time, in Hamburg. See 9 February 1992.
20 February 1989 Twelve European Community members recall ambassadors from Iran in protest to the death threat of 14 February.
21 February 1989 Soltan Ali Keshtmand becomes Prime Minister of Afghanistan.
A Czechoslovak court sentences Vaclav Havel to nine months in jail for his part in the January protests. Seven others are convicted and receive jail sentences.
23 February 1989 Algerian voters approve a new constitution which provides for a multiparty system.
24 February 1989 Missa brevis for chorus by Jonathan Lloyd (40) is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of the BBC.
The Wound Dresser for baritone and chamber orchestra by John Adams (42) to words of Whitman is performed for the first time, in St. Paul conducted by the composer.
25 February 1989 Abgewandt I for chamber orchestra by Wolfgang Rihm (36) is performed for the first time, in Karlsruhe.
27 February 1989 The Yugoslav army deploys in Kosovo.
Three days of riots and looting begin in Caracas over price increases. At least 300 people are killed.
Chamber music for voice and piano by Ross Lee Finney (82) to words of Joyce is performed for the first time, at Rice University, Houston.
28 February 1989 500,000 Serbs march in Belgrade demanding harsh measures against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.
The ultra-nationalist Croatian Democratic Union Party is formed in Zagreb.
Ethiopian government troops abandon Mekele, capital of Tigre, to the Tigrean Peoples Liberation Front. It is their last stronghold in the province.
President Carlos Andres Pérez of Venezuela declares martial law.
2 March 1989 Concerto for cello and orchestra by Karel Husa (67) is performed for the first time.
Environment ministers from the European Community nations agree to ban chlorofluorocarbons by 2000.
3 March 1989 Former National Security Advisor Robert McFarlane is fined $20,000 and sentenced to two years probation for withholding information from Congress about the Iran-Contra crimes.
The Venezuelan government announces that 300 people have been killed in recent rioting.
Ceremonies for band by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (49) is performed for the first time, at Florida State University.
4 March 1989 A merger is announced between Time, Inc. and Warner Communication creating Time, Warner, Inc. with a value of $15,200,000,000. It is the largest media entertainment conglomerate in the world.
Trio for violin, viola, and cello by Sofia Gubaidulina (57) is performed for the first time, in Paris.
Déclarations d’Orage for speaker, two solo voices, alto saxophone, tuba, synthesizer, and orchestra by Henri Pousseur (59) and Michel Butor to words of Blake, Neruda, Schiller, and Mai is performed for the first time, in Brussels.
5 March 1989 2,000 Tibetans march in Lhasa for independence. They are met by police gunfire. This action leads to widespread violence.
The Tyger for chorus by John Tavener (45) to words of Blake is performed for the first time, in Plymouth Congregational Church, Minneapolis.
6 March 1989 Afghan rebels begin a major offensive against Jalalabad.
Rockwell International Corp. is fined $5,500,000 by a federal court in Los Angeles for defrauding the US government.
Three Poems by Viktor Schnittke for baritone and piano by Alfred Schnittke (54) are performed for the first time, in Gorky.
7 March 1989 The Chinese government imposes martial law on Tibet to quell violence.
Iran breaks diplomatic relations with Great Britain over the Salman Rushdie issue.
The Polish government officially accuses the Soviet Union of the 1940 massacre of Polish soldiers in the Katyn Forest.
Iran breaks relations with the United Kingdom over the Salman Rushdie affair.
8 March 1989 Will You Marry Me?, an opera by Hugo Weisgall (76) to words of Kondek after Sutro, is performed for the first time, in New York.
9 March 1989 Negotiators from various Polish factions agree on a plan for political reform of the country.
Eastern Airlines files for bankruptcy protection.
Former Vice President of Unisys Corp., Charles Gardner, is convicted of bribery, tax evasion, and making false statements in the US military procurement scandal. He is sentenced to 32 months in prison and fined $40,000.
Robert Mapplethorpe dies in Boston at the age of 42 of AIDS.
11 March 1989 Songs of Joy for soprano and piano by Ralph Shapey is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of radio station WFMT, Chicago on the eve of the composer’s 68th birthday.
12 March 1989 200,000 Latvians demonstrate in Riga to make Latvian the official language.
14 March 1989 Eve Dreams of Paradise op.49 for mezzo-soprano, tenor, and orchestra by Alexander Goehr (56) to words of Milton is performed for the first time, in Town Hall, Birmingham.
15 March 1989 Up to 80,000 people march through Budapest, celebrating the 1848 revolt against Austria and calling for democracy and independence.
Valis Music for piano, keyboards, percussion, and tape by Tod Machover (35), based on the music of his opera Valis, is performed for the first time, in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
16 March 1989 The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union approves the new Gorbachev plan for agriculture. Private farmers may now lease land from collective farms and the Central Agricultural Agency is abolished.
Ante Markovic replaces Branko Mikulic as President of the Federal Executive Council of Yugoslavia.
17 March 1989 Pedal Sonata for organ by Lou Harrison (71) is performed for the first time, at the Central United Methodist Church in Stockton, California.
18 March 1989 Der heisse Ofen, a comic opera by Peter Maxwell Davies (54), Hans Werner Henze (62), and others, is performed for the first time, at the Kassel Staatstheater.
19 March 1989 Alfredo Cristiani of the right-wing ARENA party wins the Salvadoran presidential election amidst charges of widespread vote-rigging.
Sextet for piano and winds by George Perle (73) is performed for the first time, in New York.
23 March 1989 Ethnic Albanians begin a week of protests and rioting in the Yugoslavian province of Kosovo after the legislature of the province votes to give Serbia direct control. 23 people are reported killed.
Talkshow by Paul Lansky (44) is performed for the first time, in Troy, New York.
Brangle for orchestra by Jacob Druckman (60) is performed for the first time, in Chicago.
24 March 1989 The offensive by Afghan rebels against Jalalabad, begun 6 March, is halted by government troops.
Ikon of the Crucifixion for solo voices, chorus, brass, percussion, and strings by John Tavener (45) is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of BBC television.
Exxon Valdez runs aground 40 km from the terminus of the Trans-Alaska pipeline at Valdez. 250,000 barrels of oil are sent into Prince William Sound. An uncertified third mate is in command of the ship at the time of the accident. Blood tests will reveal that Captain Joseph Hazelwood was drinking.
25 March 1989 President Frank Iarossi of Exxon Shipping Company says that Exxon assumes full responsibility for the oil spilling from the Exxon Valdez in Prince William Sound.
26 March 1989 The first multi-party elections take place for the Congress of Peoples Deputies of the USSR. Several leading communists lose, including some who run unopposed.
Easter Day for chorus by Dominick Argento (61) to words of Crashaw is performed for the first time, in Minneapolis.
27 March 1989 Teledyne Electronics pleads guilty to conspiracy in the US military procurement scandal. They agree to pay $4,300,000.
Brass Quintet by Leslie Bassett (66) is performed for the first time, in Philadelphia.
28 March 1989 The Serbian government virtually eliminates the autonomous provinces. Strikes and other disturbances take place in Kosovo.
Panorama for orchestra by Robin Holloway (45) is performed for the first time, in Royal Festival Hall, London.
29 March 1989 The Louvre is reopened by President François Mitterand after $1,000,000,000 in renovations. A new glass pyramid by IM Pei is opened in front of the building.
By today, Exxon’s spill containment measures in Prince William Sound have resulted in an oil slick 70 km long.
Piano Sonata no.3 by Charles Wuorinen (50) is performed for the first time, in Town Hall, New York.
Computer Suite for Little Boy for synthesized sounds by Jean-Claude Risset (51) is performed for the first time, in Philadelphia, 21 years after it was composed.
30 March 1989 Roger Reynolds (54) is awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Music for his Whispers Out of Time. See 11 December 1988.
Symphonic Fantasia no.5 by Otto Luening (88) is performed for the first time, in Milwaukee, directed by Lukas Foss (66).
31 March 1989 Over a thousand SWAPO guerrillas cross from Angola into Namibia.
1 April 1989 Voyage absolu des Unari vers Andromede for computer-generated stereo tape by Iannis Xenakis (66) is performed for the first time, in Temple Kamejama Hontokuji, Osaka.
Silk Road for piano and percussion by Tan Dun (31) to words of Sze, is performed for the first time, in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
2 April 1989 An army coup attempt against Lt. General Prosper Avril in Haiti fails.
3 April 1989 Djilie for cello and piano by Pete Sculthorpe (59) is performed for the first time, in the Museum of Contemporary Art, Brisbane.
Desires for orchestra by Tod Machover (35) is performed for the first time, in New York.
5 April 1989 Vietnam announces that it will withdraw its forces from Cambodia by 30 September.
An agreement is signed by representatives of the Polish government and Solidarity in Warsaw. There will be economic reforms and free elections. Solidarity is legalized. The President becomes the chief executive officer of the country. Opposition media will be allowed.
Captain Joseph Hazelwood of the Exxon Valdez, is jailed on Long Island. The ship is refloated and the oil slick now extends over 6,700 sq km.
6 April 1989 Over 200 people have been killed in Namibia in recent fighting between SWAPO rebels and South African troops.
Windows of Order (String Quartet no.8) by George Perle (73) is performed for the first time, in Washington.
101 for large orchestra by John Cage (76) is performed for the first time, in Symphony Hall, Boston.
7 April 1989 Moslems leaving the al-Aksa mosque in Jersusalem attack Jews worshipping at the Wailing Wall with a barrage of rocks.
Soviet troops are deployed in Tbilisi to try to end peaceful demonstrations.
A Soviet nuclear submarine sinks in the Norwegian Sea, 160 km southwest of Bear Island, killing 42 sailors.
By amendment to the Polish constitution, a bicameral parliament is created.
35 people are indicted in Milan in the collapse of Banco Ambrosiano in 1982.
Popul Vuh for orchestra by Alberto Ginastera (†5) is performed for the first time, in Powell Symphony Hall, St. Louis. Only seven of the eight movements were completed at the composer’s death.
9 April 1989 Soviet troops break up a nationalist demonstration by 10,000 people in Tbilisi. 30 people are killed and 200 injured. The troops use poison gas.
10 April 1989 Sonata for violin and piano by George Rochberg (70) is performed for the first time, in Ambassador Auditorium, Los Angeles.
11 April 1989 Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita appears before the Japanese Diet and admits that he took ¥95,000,000 in political donations from Recruit Company.
12 April 1989 SmithKline Beckman Corp. and Beecham Group PLC agree to merge. They will form SmithKline Beecham PLC, the second largest pharmaceutical company in the world with capitalization of about $16,400,000,000.
Salford Toccata for brass by Harrison Birtwistle (54) is performed for the first time, at the Salford College of Technology.
13 April 1989 Tamil terrorists set off a car bomb in a Sri Lanka marketplace killing 38 people.
A committee of the US Senate, reporting on the results of its investigation, says that the Reagan administration regularly undercut efforts to stop the illegal drug trade, in pursuit of support for the Contras and other foreign policy goals.
14 April 1989 Shintaro Abe, Secretary-General of the ruling Japanese Liberal Democratic Party, reveals that his wife received monthly payments of ¥8,000,000 over three years from Recruit Company.
The Georgian Communist Party leadership accepts responsibility for the killings of 9 April and resigns.
Intermezzo for flute, clarinet and piano by Gottfried Michael Koenig (62) is performed for the first time, in Ghent.
15 April 1989 Former General-Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Hu Yaobang dies of a heart attack in Beijing.
94 people are killed, 200 injured as soccer fans rush against an iron fence in Sheffield, England.
With Music Strong for chorus and orchestra by Lukas Foss (66) to his own words after Whitman is performed for the first time, in Uihlein Hall, Milwaukee the composer conducting.
16 April 1989 Kyodo News Service releases a poll showing that the approval of Noboru Takeshita as Prime Minister is 3.9% of the Japanese public.
The Spanish ambassador to Lebanon is killed in shelling between Christians and Moslems in Beirut.
17 April 1989 Thousands of students gather in Tienanmen Square, Beijing to remember Hu Yaobang and call for democracy and an end to corruption.
A court in Warsaw legalizes Solidarity as an official union.
Reports surface in the west that Odeon, the Czechoslovak state publishing house, plans to publish the works of Franz Kafka, banned since the communist takeover in 1948.
A committee of twelve central bank governors headed by European Commission President Jacques Delors unveils a plan for complete monetary and economic union of the European Community.
18 April 1989 Former Japanese Minister of Education Kunio Takaishi is indicted for receiving bribes in the Recruit scandal.
Students sit-in near the Great Hall of the People in Tienanmen Square, Beijing. 1,500 students march in Shanghai.
19 April 1989 Izvestia reports that many who died in Tbilisi on 9 April were poisoned by chemical agents.
47 sailors are killed in an explosion aboard the USS Iowa off Puerto Rico.
Roberto García Alvarado, Attorney General of El Salvador and a supporter of the far-right ARENA party, is killed when a bomb explodes on top of his armored car.
John Cage (76) gives the last of his six Charles Eliot Norton Lectures (I-VI) in Sanders Theatre of Harvard University.
Anna La Bonne for voice and piano by Ned Rorem (65) to words of Cocteau is performed for the first time, in Bing Theatre of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles.
21 April 1989 100,000 people begin gathering in Tienanmen Square for the official memorial service for Hu Yaobang.
Stück for three percussionists by Wolfgang Rihm (37) is performed for the first time, in Witten.
El divino narciso, a dramatic cantata by John C. Eaton (54) to words of Nelson after Juana, is performed for the first time, in Chicago.
Concertante no.2 for alto saxophone and 15 players by Ralph Shapey (68) is performed for the first time, in Mandel Hall, Chicago, conducted by the composer.
22 April 1989 Asahi Shimbun reports that Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita received ¥50,000,000 in loans from Recruit Company in 1987.
An official memorial service for former General-Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, Hu Yaobang takes place in the Great Hall of the People, Beijing. Three students representing the 100,000 gathered in Tienanmen Square kneel on the steps of the Great Hall to deliver a petition to Prime Minister Li Peng. Li Peng does not respond. Riots break out in Xian and Changsha.
Festlicher Tanz for wind quintet by Isang Yun (71) is performed for the first time, in Witten. Also premiered is 3x7 for clarinet, horn, trombone, harpsichord, violin, cello, and double bass by Alfred Schnittke (54).
24 April 1989 Students begin boycotting classes in Beijing to call for democracy.
Herbert von Karajan resigns after 34 years as music director of the Berlin Philharmonic.
25 April 1989 Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita announces he will resign over his involvement in the Recruit scandal.
The USSR begins to reduce its military presence in Eastern Europe. 31 tanks are removed from Hungary.
About one-quarter of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union are replaced by reformers in a purge organized by Mikhail Gorbachev.
Five days of attacks begin in Mauritania and Senegal on nationals of the other country. At least 450 people will be killed and 50,000 repatriated.
Echoes Through Time for chorus and chamber ensemble by Thea Musgrave (60) is performed for the first time, in Atlanta.
26 April 1989 One day after Japanese Prime Minister Takeshita announced he will resign, his secretary, Ihei Aoki, kills himself in his Tokyo home. Aoki has been accused of being the middleman in Recruit payoffs to Takeshita.
Echange for 13 instruments by Iannis Xenakis (66) is performed for the first time, in Amsterdam.
27 April 1989 Students from 40 universities march to Tienanmen Square to protest a Peoples Daily editorial accusing student leaders of plotting to overthrow the socialist system. 100,000 to 150,000 people march through the city calling for democracy. They are cheered on by as many as 500,000 others.
28 April 1989 A judge in Belgium convicts 14 Liverpool supporters of manslaughter in the 39 deaths which occurred in the 1985 riot at Heysel Stadium. Ten others are acquitted.
Mobil Corp. announces that it will sell all its holdings in South Africa.
Arias and Barcarolles for soprano, baritone, strings, and percussion by Leonard Bernstein (70), to words of Jennie Bernstein, Segal, and the composer, is performed for the first time, at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. See 9 May 1988.
1 May 1989 The Peoples Republic of Kampuchea changes its name to the State of Cambodia.
After May Day celebrations in Prague, 2,000 young people demonstrate for democracy in Wenceslas Square.
In the fairest voting since 1926, Andrés Rodríguez is elected President of Paraguay.
Exxon releases a cleanup plan for Prince William Sound but half of the 586 km of coastline is to be cleaned by “natural processes.”
2 May 1989 Hungary begins to dismantle fortifications along the border with Austria.
80 nations meeting in Helsinki approve a ban on ozone-depleting chemicals by the year 2000.
The Dutch government of Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers resigns when his coalition splits over environmental funding.
3 May 1989 An Arab stabs five Jews at a bus stop in Jerusalem, killing two elderly men. He then has to be rescued by police from a Jewish mob trying to kill him.
4 May 1989 Speaking to foreign bankers, General-Secretary Zhao Ziyang contradicts the Peoples Daily article accusing students of trying to overthrow socialism.
100,000 Chinese march in Beijing to demand democracy. Protests also take place in Shanghai, Changchun, and Dalian.
Bulgarian General-Secretary Todor Zhivkov announces plans to dissolve large collective farms and allow individual farmers to lease land.
Oliver North is found guilty of three crimes in the Iran-Contra affair in federal court in Washington.
The Rogers Pass Tunnel opens through the Selkirk Mountains in British Columbia. At 35 km it is the longest tunnel in the Western Hemisphere.
Fantasy and Polka for orchestra by Ned Rorem (65) is performed for the first time, in Evian, France.
5 May 1989 Mikis Theodorakis (63) calls for the removal of the Socialist government of Greece because of the Koskotas affair. He calls them a “government of thieves.”
6 May 1989 Israeli forces fire on rock-throwing Arab mobs in Gaza. Three people are killed, 138 injured.
Ethnic Turks begin a hunger strike in Razgrad to protest the Bulgarian government plan to assimilate them.
7 May 1989 Panamanian voters go to the polls to elect a president.
8 May 1989 Janos Kadar is removed as President of the Hungarian Workers Party.
Slobodon Milosevic is elected President of Serbia.
Independent observer Jimmy Carter declares the Panamanian elections a fraud.
10 May 1989 The presidential and vice-presidential candidates of the Panamanian opposition are attacked by conservative paramilitary groups. The government voids the election of 7 May.
11 May 1989 Prelude for GSMD for orchestra by Witold Lutoslawski (76) is performed for the first time, at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London conducted by the composer.
12 May 1989 Nine Songs, a ritual opera by Tan Dun (31) to his own words after Qu Yuan, is performed for the first time, in Pace Downtown Theatre, New York conducted by the composer.
13 May 1989 Hundreds of students in Tienanmen Square begin a hunger strike.
The government of Hungary announces that it is suspending construction of its end of a hydroelectric dam across the Danube. This strains relations with Czechoslovakia.
White and Light for soprano, two clarinets, viola, cello, and double bass by Harrison Birtwistle (54) to words of Celan (tr. Hamburger) is performed for the first time, in Brighton. See 28 April 1996.
Let Not the Prince Be Silent for chorus by John Tavener (45) to words of St. Clement of Alexandria is performed for the first time, in Sherborne Abbey, Dorset.
14 May 1989 Student representatives begin formal talks with the Chinese government. They shortly break down.
Voting in Argentina assures the election of Peronist Carlos Menem as President.
15 May 1989 Mikhail Gorbachev arrives in Beijing. It is the first Soviet-Chinese summit since 1959.
Janez Drnovsek replaces Raif Dizdarevic as President of Yugoslavia.
Music for keyboard instruments and orchestra by Mauricio Kagel (57) is performed for the first time, in Cologne.
16 May 1989 Two days of anti-Soviet protests begin in Krakow.
China and the USSR renew normal diplomatic relations.
Sunni Moslem leader Sheik Hassan Khaled and 21 other people are killed by a car bomb in West Beirut.
The Washington Post reports that the USSR has halted arms shipments to the government of Nicaragua because of a shift in US foreign policy in Central America.
17 May 1989 The number of demonstrators in Tienanmen Square, Beijing reaches 1,000,000.
Czechoslovak authorities release Vaclav Havel for good behavior after serving three months of a nine-month sentence.
Freedom of religion is granted in Poland. Full citizenship rights are granted to Roman Catholics.
Milan Pancevski replaces Stipe Suvar as President of the Presidium of the League of Yugoslav Communists.
Mohammed Ali Hamadei is sentenced to life in prison for his part in the hijacking of a TWA jet in 1985 and the murder of a passenger.
The Organization of American States condemns Panamanian strongman General Manuel Noriega and calls for a peaceful transfer of power to a popularly elected government.
18 May 1989 Prime Minister Li Peng meets student leaders in a televised meeting in the Great Hall of the People. Nothing is achieved.
The Supreme Soviet of Lithuania adopts the Declaration of State Sovereignty, claiming that the 1940 Soviet takeover was illegal.
Epicycle for cello and 12 instruments by Iannis Xenakis (66) is performed for the first time, in London.
19 May 1989 General-Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Zhao Ziyang visits hunger strikers in Tienanmen Square, urging them to stop. When student leaders learn of the government’s plans to declare martial law, they call off the hunger strike and institute a mass sit-in. They create the Independent Workers Union.
The coalition government of Italian Prime Minister Ciriaco De Mita resigns
20 May 1989 Chinese Prime Minister Li Peng declares martial law in Beijing. The army’s advance to the city is slowed by citizens. 300,000 people demonstrate in Xian in favor of democracy.
Sinfonia tragica for orchestra by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (†25) is performed for the first time, in Munich, 49 years after it was composed.
21 May 1989 3,000 hunger strikers in Tiananmen Square end their fast, in anticipation of confrontations with the military.
500,000 people march in Hong Kong in support of the Beijing protesters.
Huit esquisses en duo pour un pianiste by Jean-Claude Risset (51) is performed for the first time, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
22 May 1989 100,000 people march in Shenzen in favor of democracy.
23 May 1989 500,000 people take to the streets in Shanghai in support of the Beijing protesters. 100,000 people do likewise in Canton.
Egypt attends an Arab League summit for the first time since 1977, in Casablanca.
24 May 1989 Police arrest Paul Touvier in Nice. He was the commander of the Milice in Lyon which combated the resistance and aided the persecution of Jews during World War II. He has been convicted of crimes against humanity.
Protests against austerity measures in Benin City, Nigeria turn violent and soon spread to nine states.
Machault Mon Chou for orchestra by Charles Wuorinen (50) is performed for the first time, in Davis Symphony Hall, San Francisco.
25 May 1989 At the first session of the newly elected Congress of Peoples Deputies, Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev’s title of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR is changed to President of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
Celebrate Cage, a gala evening in honor of John Cage (76) to benefit the Cunningham Dance Foundation, takes place in the Grand Ballroom of the Pierre Hotel, New York. Several large corporations support the cause, and the evening is chaired by John Ashbery, Jasper Johns, and Seiji Ozawa.
Fives for english horn, bass clarinet, piano, viola, and cello by Robert Erickson (72) is performed for the first time, in La Jolla, California.
26 May 1989 Quartet for flute, violin, cello, and piano by Isang Yun (71) is performed for the first time, in Münster.
27 May 1989 Phantasiestück for flute and piano by Mauricio Kagel (57) is performed for the first time, in Heide.
29 May 1989 President Raúl Alfonsín of Argentina declares a state of siege after a week of food riots.
30 May 1989 A ten-meter high statue, the Goddess of Democracy, is unveiled in Tienanmen Square, Beijing. It was constructed by art students.
31 May 1989 Speaker of the US House of Representatives Jim Wright resigns amidst charges of ethics violations.
Composition for three flutes by Morton Feldman (†1) is performed for the first time, in Berlin.
1 June 1989 Chinese authorities ban press coverage of any troops movements or activities of security forces in Beijing.
Alfredo Cristiani of the far-right ARENA party becomes President of El Salvador, succeeding José Napoleón Duarte.
Jabiru Dreaming for percussion ensemble by Peter Sculthorpe (60) is performed for the first time, in Neuilly-sur-Seine.
2 June 1989 Four student leaders begin a hunger strike in Tienanmen Square.
Sosuke Uno replaces Noboru Takeshita as Prime Minister of Japan.
Peter Weir’s film Dead Poets Society is shown for the first time, at the Toronto Film Festival.
William Schuman’s (78) Chester: Variations for piano is performed for the first time, in Fort Worth, Texas.
3 June 1989 Japanese television begins broadcasting analog HDTV.
early morning. Unarmed Chinese soldiers attempt to clear Tienanmen Square without using deadly force. They are blocked by demonstrators before they reach the square. They withdraw. This “victory” emboldens the protesters and hundreds of thousands of civilians pour into the square.
14:00 Police and troops fire tear gas and begin attacking civilians in Tienanmen Square.
16:00 Troops and civilians exchange flying missiles, mostly bricks, near the Great Hall of the People.
22:00 Chinese army units advance on Tienanmen Square, firing on anyone who attempts to detain them or who openly opposes them. Perhaps thousands are killed.
Today begins two weeks of ethnic riots in Uzbekistan.
Iran’s paramount ruler, Ayatollah Ruollah Khomenei dies in a Teheran hospital.
France announces a ban on the importation of ivory.
Incidental music to Pushkin’s play A Feast in Time of Plague by Alfred Schnittke (54) is performed for the first time, in Taganka Theatre, Moscow.
4 June 1989 01:00 Clashes begin between Chinese army units surrounding Tienanmen Square and protesters. Troops fire into crowds killing hundreds. Civilians set police vehicles on fire and lynch soldiers they manage to capture.
05:00 As thousands of students left in Tienanmen Square begin to leave peacefully, army units attack with tanks.
07:40 The Chinese government declare themselves to be in control of Tienanmen Square.
Soviet troops are dispatched to Uzbekistan to quell violence.
President Ali Khamenei replaces Ruollah Khomenei as Faghi of Iran.
The Arab League truce in Beirut breaks down as fighting begins again.
In free elections in Poland, Solidarity-backed candidates win 99 of 100 seats in the new Senate. They win a majority of contested seats in the Sejm but 65% of the seats are guaranteed to the Communist Party.
Monologue for viola and string orchestra by Alfred Schnittke (54) is performed for the first time, in Bonn.
Osten from the cycle Die Stücke der Windrose for small orchestra by Mauricio Kagel (57) is performed for the first time, in the Rathaus, Aachen.
5 June 1989 The US government bans the importation of ivory.
Tanz- und Salonmusik from the mime-drama Der Idiot by Hans Werner Henze (62) is performed for the first time, in Bristol.
6 June 1989 Lech Walesa refuses President Jaruzelski’s request to take part in a coalition government.
8 June 1989 Turkey opens its border to Bulgarian Turks. 300,000 of them will cross over during the two-and-a-half months that the border will be open.
Empty Places, a performance piece by Laurie Anderson (42), is performed for the first time, at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina. It is her reaction to the world following Ronald Reagan.
9 June 1989 Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping appears on television for the first time since 16 May. At the same time, authorities begin arresting thousands of pro-democracy advocates throughout the country.
11 June 1989 Hallelujah! The Lord God Almichtie for chorus and organ by Peter Maxwell Davies (54) is performed for the first time, in St. Giles Church, Edinburgh.
12 June 1989 President Raúl Alfonsín of Argentina announces that he will resign at the end of the month, five months before the end of his term, and allow his successor to take over.
The Brazilian Stock Exchange is closed for one day to prevent its collapse in the wake of $31,100,000 in bad checks to seven brokerage firms.
Bagatelle for piano by Charles Wuorinen (51) is performed for the first time, in Albright-Knox Gallery, Buffalo.
Elegy for Anne Frank for orchestra and piano obbligato by Lukas Foss (66) is performed for the first time, in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York conducted by the composer.
13 June 1989 General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev and Chancellor Helmut Kohl sign a document in Bonn affirming the right of all states to self-determination.
In Bourges, France a four-day symposium on electronic music presents some of the giants in the history of the field. During the conference, Lev Sergeyevich Termen (Leon Theremin) (92) makes his first appearance outside the Soviet Union since the 1930s.
14 June 1989 A conference of 60 nations in Geneva decides on a plan to stop the flow of refugees out of Vietnam to neighboring countries.
Rendering for orchestra by Luciano Berio (63) is performed for the first time, in Amsterdam.
15 June 1989 Three working men are sentenced to death in Shanghai for setting fire to a train during pro-democracy protests.
After two weeks of ethnic violence in Uzbekistan, 90 people are dead.
Belgian Dr. Jan Cools is freed by Arab terrorists in Lebanon after 13 months in captivity.
The ruling Fianna Fail Party loses seats in Irish parliamentary elections. They will form a coalition with the Progressive Democrats.
Under the Double Moon, an opera by Anthony Davis (38) to words of Atherton, is performed for the first time, in St. Louis.
16 June 1989 The remains of Imre Nagy and four other leaders of the 1956 Hungarian revolt are reinterred in a place of honor in Budapest, witnessed by 200,000 people.
Süden from the cycle Die Stücke der Windrose for small orchestra by Mauricio Kagel (57) is performed for the first time, in Amsterdam.
Peter Maxwell Davies’ (54) music-theatre piece The Great Bank Robbery is performed for the first time, in Kirkwall Arts Theatre, Orkney.
17 June 1989 Miserere for solo voices, chorus, chamber ensemble, and organ by Arvo Pärt (53) is performed for the first time, in Rouen.
18 June 1989 The right-wing New Democracy Party wins 145 seats in Greek parliamentary elections. The ruling Socialists win 125 seats.
Leftists and Greens gain seats in voting for the European Parliament.
Six Songs for St. Andrew’s, a song cycle for children and instruments by Peter Maxwell Davies (54) to his own words, is performed for the first time, in Papdale Primary School, Kirkwall, Orkney.
19 June 1989 The military government of Burma changes the name of the country to Myanmar.
21 June 1989 Three working men, convicted of setting fire to a train that ran over pro-democracy demonstrators, are executed in Shanghai.
The US Supreme Court rules in the case of Texas v. Gregory Lee Johnson that the first amendment to the constitution ensures the right to destroy the American flag.
22 June 1989 Chinese officials report that seven people are executed in Beijing today and 17 in Jinan yesterday for actions surrounding the pro-democracy movement.
Meeting in Gbadolite, Zaire, government and opposition leaders agree to a cease-fire in the 14-year-old civil war in Angola.
Steps for orchestra by Sofia Gubaidulina (57) is performed for the first time in its revised version, in Bad Kissingen. See 19 December 1990 and 25 March 1993.
23 June 1989 Two works by Henri Pousseur are performed for the first time, in London on his 60th birthday: Mnémosyne (doublement) obstinée for string quartet with female voice ad lib, and Flexions hermétiques pour Baudelaire.
24 June 1989 Jiang Zemin replaces Zhao Ziyang as General-Secretary of the Communist Party of China. As part of a general removal of reformers from the leadership of the party.
William Schuman’s (78) opera A Question of Taste to words of McClatchy after Dahl is performed for the first time, in Cooperstown, New York.
26 June 1989 The United States Supreme Court rules that states may execute citizens with diminished capacity and children under 16.
Trio for violin, cello, and piano by Betsy Jolas (62) is performed for the first time, in Lincoln Center, New York.
27 June 1989 The European Community, meeting in Madrid, announces stringent sanctions against China for its crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations and the subsequent executions.
28 June 1989 1,000,000 Serbs travel to Kosovo to mark the 600th anniversary of the defeat of Serbia by the Turks.
Lament of the Mother of God for soprano and chorus by John Tavener (45) to words of the Orthodox liturgy is performed for the first time, in Norwich Cathedral.
30 June 1989 The Sudanese military overthrows the government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi. Omar Hassam Ahmed al-Bashir heads the new government.
1 July 1989 Tzannis Petrou Tzannetakis replaces Andreas Georgiou Papandreou as Prime Minister of Greece at the head of a conservative-communist coalition.
2 July 1989 A car bomb set by the IRA explodes in Hannover, West Germany killing a British soldier.
Introduction to the First Sunday Feast for chorus and organ by Alfred Schnittke (54) is performed for the first time, in Lockenhaus.
4 July 1989 The Sunday Mainichi magazine publishes allegations that the new Japanese Prime Minister Sosuke Uno carried on extra-marital affairs and paid for sex.
A new Sejm opens in Warsaw. Solidarity members constitute the first real opposition in any eastern European Parliament since World War II.
String Quartet no.4 “Buczak” by Philip Glass (52) is performed for the first time, at the Emily Harvey Gallery, New York.
5 July 1989 Quartettsatz for string quartet by Carl Orff (†7) is performed for the first time, in Altötting, approximately 75 years after it was composed.
Nelson Mandela meets secretly with PW Botha in the President’s office.
6 July 1989 An Arab terrorist takes control of the wheel of an Israeli bus west of Jerusalem and sends it down a ravine. 14 people are killed.
The University Complutense of Madrid confers an honorary doctorate on Joaquín Rodrigo (87).
Oliver North is sentenced to $150,000 in fines and 1,200 hours of community service for his crimes committed in the Iran-Contra affair.
Wie es wär’, wenn’s anders wär for soprano and eight instruments by Paul Hindemith (†25) to words of von Miris (pseud. of Bonn) is performed for the first time, in Munich, 71 years after it was composed.
7 July 1989 The new Polish Parliament opens.
The discovery of a new moon of Neptune, Proteus, by Voyager scientist Stephen P. Synnott is announced.
8 July 1989 Carlos Saúl Menem Akil replaces Raúl Ricardo Alfonsín Foulkes as President of Argentina. It is the first transfer of power between two democratically elected leaders in Argentina in 61 years.
9 July 1989 Mein Weg hat Gipfel und Wellentäler for organ by Arvo Pärt (53) is performed for the first time, in Parainen, Finland.
10 July 1989 Coal miners in Mezhdurechensk, Siberia strike for better living conditions. The strike will spread over the next few weeks.
11 July 1989 Laurence Olivier dies at his home in Steyning, England at the age of 82.
12 July 1989 Charles Haughey is reelected Prime Minister of Ireland after forming a coalition between his Fianna Fail Party and the Progressive Democrats.
13 July 1989 The second movement of a String Quartet in E by Arnold Bax (†35) is performed for the first time, in Wigmore Hall, London 86 years after it was composed.
The Noon’s Repose, a cycle for tenor and harp by Robin Holloway (45) to words of Eliot, Stevens, and Marvel, is performed for the first time, in Cheltenham.
14 July 1989 Lengthy celebrations commemorating the French Revolution climax in Paris at the 200th anniversary of the storming of the Bastille.
16 July 1989 Herbert von Karajan dies at the age of 81 after suffering a heart attack at his home in Anif, Austria.
17 July 1989 Coal miners at eight mines in the Donetsk basin, Ukraine go on strike.
Poland establishes diplomatic relations with the Vatican.
Austria applies for membership in the European Community.
The new Argentine government signs a price-freeze agreement with 300 leading industrial firms in attempt to halt hyperinflation.
19 July 1989 Siberian coal miners return to work after promises of higher wages and better living and working conditions.
The new Polish Parliament elects Wojciech Jaruzelski as President.
20 July 1989 The military government of Myanmar places opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest.
22 July 1989 A by-election in the Godoll constituency northeast of Budapest returns Rev. Gabor Roszik, the first non-communist deputy in Hungary since 1947. He receives 69% of the vote.
23 July 1989 The ruling Liberal Democratic Party of Japan suffers a crushing defeat in elections for the upper house of Parliament, losing their majority for the first time since 1955.
All 106 opposition members of the lower house of the Indian Parliament resign to protest the refusal of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to resign over the Bofors Scandal.
Giulio Andreotti replaces Ciriaco De Mita as Prime Minister of Italy at the head of the same five-party coalition.
24 July 1989 Prime Minister Sosuke Uno of Japan announces he will resign to take responsibility for the defeat in yesterday’s elections.
20,000 people demonstrate in Tbilisi against the “Russian Empire.”
Three hours after the transaction is approved by the Supreme Court of Delaware, Time Inc. buys Warner Communication for $14,000,000,000.
Rebonds B for percussion by Iannis Xenakis (67) is performed for the first time, in Avignon.
27 July 1989 Carl Gustav Christer Pettersson is convicted by a Swedish court for the murder of Olof Palme and sentenced to life in prison.
Bristol-Meyers and Squibb announce a $12,300,000,000 merger.
28 July 1989 Israeli commandos capture Hezbollah leader Sheik Abdul Karim Obeid at his home in southern Lebanon.
Three Character Pieces for piano by Benjamin Britten (†12) are performed for the first time, in St. Mary’s Centre, Chester, 59 years after they were composed.
29 July 1989 Mieczyslaw Rakowski resigns as Prime Minister and becomes head of the Communist Party of Poland, replacing President Jaruzelski.
30 July 1989 An opposition grouping calling itself the Inter-Regional Group of People’s Deputies constitutes itself in the Congress of Peoples Deputies. Members include Boris Yeltsin and Andrey Sakharov.
A conference of 19 nations seeking peace in Cambodia opens in Paris.
Voters in Chile overwhelmingly approve changes to the 1980 constitution which pave the way out of the Pinochet dictatorship.
Callabonna for piano by Peter Sculthorpe (60) is performed for the first time, in Melba Hall of the University of Melbourne.
Fratres for cello and piano by Arvo Pärt (53) is performed for the first time, in Hitzacker.
31 July 1989 In response to the Israeli commando raid of 28 July, Hezbollah terrorists release a tape showing the hanging body of US Lt. Colonel William R. Higgins, who was kidnapped on 17 February 1988.
Concerto for cello, piano, and string orchestra by Ralph Shapey (68) is performed for the first time, at Tanglewood, Lenox, Massachusetts.
1 August 1989 The Polish government ends price controls and the rationing of food. Panic buying ensues as prices increase dramatically.
2 August 1989 Czeslaw Kiszczak replaces Mieczyslaw Rakowski as Prime Minister of Poland.
The discovery of three new moons of Neptune, Larissa, Despina, and Galatea, by Voyager scientists Reitsima, Hubbard, Lebofsky, Tholen, and Synnott is announced.
A federal court in Washington finds the crew of the Korean Air Lines jet shot down by the USSR in 1983 guilty of “willful misconduct.” They say that the crew knew they were flying into Soviet airspace. Therefore, the survivors of the victims are eligible to receive unlimited compensatory damages and a total of $50,000,000 in punitive damages.
46 futures traders at the Chicago Board of Trade and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange are indicted on charges of racketeering, theft of clients’ profits, fraud, and tax crimes.
3 August 1989 Hajatolislam Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani replaces Sayyed Ali Khamenei as President of Iran. The post of Prime Minister is abolished.
7 August 1989 Five Central American presidents agree that the Nicaraguan rebels will be disbanded by 8 December.
8 August 1989 Geoffrey Palmer replaces David Lange as Prime Minister of New Zealand.
West Germany closes its East Berlin embassy to slow East German immigration. Hundreds are encamped there and at the West German missions in Budapest and Prague.
9 August 1989 Toshiki Kaifu replaces Sosuke Uno as Prime Minister of Japan.
US President George Bush appropriates $166,000,000,000 to bail out Savings and Loan institutions which had failed because of lax regulatory practices over the last eight years.
Island Prelude for oboe and wind quartet by Joan Tower (50) is performed for the first time, at Arizona State University, Scottsdale. See 23 August 1989.
12 August 1989 Kazi Zafar Ahmed replaces Moudud Ahmed as Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
13 August 1989 After five months of artillery duels in which 710 people have been killed in Beirut, Syrian, Druze, and Palestinian forces attack Christians in East Beirut with tanks and infantry.
14 August 1989 In the midst of a feud inside the National Party, PW Botha resigns as State President of South Africa.
15 August 1989 The Hungarian Communist Party expresses its regret over the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia.
Frederik Willem de Klerk replaces Pieter Willem Botha as acting State President of South Africa.
17 August 1989 President Wojciech Jaruzelski of Poland accepts a plan to create a coalition government headed by Solidarity. Prime Minister Czeslaw Kiszczak resigns. The lower house of Parliament adopts a resolution expressing “sorrow” over Polish participation in the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia.
18 August 1989 Colombian presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galán is shot to death at a rally near Bogotá. The assailants are assumed to be drug traffickers.
Piccolo Play for piccolo and piano by Thea Musgrave (61) is performed for the first time, in New Orleans.
19 August 1989 When Hungarian border guards open the gate at Sopron to allow Austrians in for a cross-border friendship day, 900 East Germans rush past them from Hungary into Austria. The guards do nothing to intervene.
Fragende Ode for double chorus, winds, and percussion by Mauricio Kagel (57) is performed for the first time, in the Alte Oper, Frankfurt.
21 August 1989 Czechoslovak police arrest 370 demonstrators in Prague who are commemorating the 1968 invasion of their country.
22 August 1989 A commission of the Supreme Soviet of Lithuania declares the 1940 Soviet annexation of the country illegal.
Turkey closes its border with Bulgaria after over 300,000 ethnic Turks have fled from Bulgaria into Turkey.
23 August 1989 2,000,000 people form a human chain 650 km long through the Baltic States to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Soviet-Nazi non-aggression pact which led to their subjugation.
Island Prelude for oboe and string quintet by Joan Tower (50) is performed for the first time, in Teton Village, Wyoming. See 9 August 1989.
24 August 1989 Solidarity activist Tadeusz Mazowiecki becomes Prime Minister of Poland. He is the first non-communist head of government in the Warsaw Pact. The vote in the Sejm to confirm him is 378-4-41.
25 August 1989 0456 UTC The Voyager 2 spacecraft passes within 4,800 km of Neptune sending images back to Earth. The data sent back allows scientists to determine the makeup of Neptune’s atmosphere, confirm the existence of a magnetic field and a ring system.
27 August 1989 Geheimer Block for vocal soloists, chorus, organ, and orchestra by Wolfgang Rihm (37) is performed for the first time, in Frankfurt-am-Main.
29 August 1989 The United States recalls its ambassador to Bulgaria to protest the official treatment of ethnic Turks.
30 August 1989 A conference seeking peace in Cambodia closes in Paris without result.
After a series of bombings in Medellín, the Colombian government orders a crackdown on drug traffickers, imposing curfews in ten cities. The US State Department orders all dependents of its personnel to leave the country.
1 September 1989 Francisco Rodríguez, a close friend of General Manuel Noriega, is sworn in as President of Panama when the term of outgoing President Manuel Solís Palma expires. An election to choose a successor to Solís Palma was annulled due to fraud. The United States breaks diplomatic relations with Panama.
Michael Moore’s film Roger & Me is shown for the first time, at the Telluride Film Festival.
4 September 1989 The first mass demonstration against the government of East Germany takes place in the Karl Marx Platz (Augustus-Platz) in Leipzig.
Zwei Akte for saxophone and harp by Mauricio Kagel (57) is performed for the first time, in the Alte Oper, Frankfurt.
The Protecting Veil for cello and strings by John Tavener (45) is performed for the first time, in Royal Albert Hall, London.
6 September 1989 The United States evacuates its embassy in Beirut.
In whites-only voting in South Africa, the ruling National Party suffers a loss of a quarter of its seats, but retains a majority. The staunchly apartheid Conservative Party gains 19 seats. Elections to the Asian and Colored houses are again overwhelmingly boycotted.
In Dutch Parliamentary elections, the Christian Democratic Party of Ruud Lubbers wins the most seats, but not a majority.
Kammersinfonie II “Den Opfern der Freiheit” by Isang Yun (71) is performed for the first time, in Frankfurt-am-Main.
7 September 1989 Three days of violence ends in South Africa surrounding the elections from which the black majority are excluded. About 25 people have been killed, 100 injured.
8 September 1989 Drei Lieder über den Schnee for soprano, baritone, and eight instruments by Hans Werner Henze (63) to words of Treichel is performed for the first time, in Frankfurt.
10 September 1989 Symphony no.4 for chamber orchestra by Peter Maxwell Davies (55) is performed for the first time, in Royal Albert Hall, London, the composer conducting.
The Hungarian government announces it is suspending an agreement with East Germany and will no longer stop East Germans from going to the west, effective tomorrow.
11 September 1989 Thousands of East Germans begin streaming across the border from Hungary to Nickelsdorf, Austria.
In Norwegian parliamentary elections, the ruling Labor Party wins the most votes but significant gains are made by the right-wing Progress Party. The Socialist Left Party also does well.
12 September 1989 The Polish Sejm confirms a new cabinet. Of the 23 members, only four are Communists.
By noon today, over 10,000 East Germans have crossed from Hungary into Austria in the last 36 hours.
Für Manfred for violin by Hans Werner Henze (63) is performed for the first time, in Cologne.
13 September 1989 Thousands march in a multi-racial anti-apartheid demonstration in Cape Town.
14 September 1989 Leader of the independence movement Sam Nujoma returns to Namibia for the first time in 30 years.
Treasury Minister Guido Carli testifies before a committee of the Italian Senate that the Atlanta branch of Italy’s largest state-owned bank, Banco Nazionale del Lavoro, made $3,000,000,000 in loans to Iraq without authorization from Rome. The chairman and director general of the bank have already resigned.
A gunman kills eight people, including himself, and injures 15 at a printing plant in Louisville, Kentucky where he once worked.
Festum for orchestra by Luciano Berio (63) is performed for the first time, in Dallas. Also premiered is Allegro brillante for orchestra by Hans Werner Henze (63).
15 September 1989 20,000 people march in a multi-racial anti-apartheid demonstration in Johannesburg.
Pierre Boulez (64) is named as one of the winners of the new Praemium Imperiale, given by the Japanese Art Association, in New York.
17 September 1989 Oophaa for amplified harpsichord and percussion by Iannis Xenakis (67) is performed for the first time, in Warsaw.
Threeplay for flute, clarinet, double bass and computer by John Melby (47) is performed for the first time, at St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota.
18 September 1989 Pro-democracy demonstrations take place in Leipzig.
Hungary and Israel restore diplomatic relations.
19 September 1989 The New Forum becomes the first national opposition group in East Germany.
A French airliner is blown up over Niger. All 170 people aboard are killed. Six Libyans will be convicted of the crime.
20 September 1989 Arab terrorists burn 250,000 trees, destroying 800 hectares in Israel’s Carmel National Park.
Frederik Willem de Klerk, who has been acting State President of South Africa since 15 August, takes on the office in his own right, in Cape Town.
Andreas Papandreou, former Prime Minister of Greece, is charged with corruption and abuse of power by the Parliament. He is ordered to stand trial.
Miss Saigon, with music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, opens in London.
Invitation to Bitterness for ATB chorus by Marc Blitzstein (†25) to his own words is performed for the first time, in New York 51 years after it was composed.
21 September 1989 16 Kuwaiti Shia terrorists are publicly beheaded for exploding bombs during the Haj in Mecca last July.
The East German Interior Ministry declares that the opposition group New Forum is illegal.
22 September 1989 Irving Berlin dies in New York at the age of 101.
Ten musicians are killed by an IRA bomb at the Royal Marines School of Music in Deal, Kent. 22 people are injured.
Arias and Barcarolles for soprano, baritone, and piano four-hands by Leonard Bernstein (71), to words of Jennie Bernstein, Segal, and the composer, orchestrated by Bright Sheng (33), is performed for the first time, at Tilles Center, Long Island University.
23 September 1989 A truce between Christians and Moslems takes hold in Beirut. Six months of artillery and rocket duels have left at least 835 people dead.
Etudes 7 and 8 from György Ligeti’s (66) Etudes for piano Book II are performed for the first time, in Berlin.
24 September 1989 Un “petit rien” for orchestra by Bernd Alois Zimmermann (†19) is performed for the first time, in Berlin.
25 September 1989 Pro-democracy demonstrations take place in Leipzig.
The first complete performance of The Struggle Between the Realistic and Formalistic Trends in Music, for four basses, speaker, chorus, and piano by Dmitri Shostakovich (†14) takes place in the Bolshoy Hall of the Moscow Conservatory on the 83rd anniversary of the composer’s birth.
26 September 1989 Vietnam completes its military withdrawal from Cambodia.
8,000 democracy supporters march in Leipzig.
27 September 1989 The city of Johannesburg opens up all recreational areas to all races.
Newly approved constitutional amendments in Slovenia restate the right of secession.
28 September 1989 Sony buys Columbia Pictures for $3,400,000,000.
29 September 1989 The discovery of two new moons of Neptune, Thalassa and Naiad, by Voyager scientist Richard J. Terrile is announced.
30 September 1989 An agreement is announced whereby 5,500 East Germans who had taken refuge in the West German embassy in Prague, and 800 refugees in Warsaw, will be transported by train through East Germany to West Germany.
Virgil Garnett Thomson dies at his New York City home, of “General Failure”, aged 92 years, ten months, and five days.
2 October 1989 Pro-democracy demonstrations take place in Leipzig.
3 October 1989 East Germany allows thousands more refugees to travel from Prague through East Germany to West Germany, then closes its borders. Police use clubs and water cannons to battle about 10,000 who try to board the refugee trains in Dresden.
A military coup, backed by the United States, to overthrow Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega is thwarted.
5 October 1989 The Norwegian Nobel Committee announces that His Holiness the Dalai Lama has won the Nobel Peace Prize.
The Bush administration admits that it had a hand in the coup attempt of 3 October in Panama. They also admit that they performed badly.
Christian evangelist Jim Bakker is convicted on 24 counts of fraud and conspiracy in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Anniversary, the third of Three Occasions for Orchestra by Eliott Carter (80) is performed for the first time, in Royal Festival Hall, London as part of the first complete performance of Three Occasions for Orchestra. See 10 April 1987 and 10 August 1988.
7 October 1989 At a special party congress in Budapest, the ruling Hungarian Socialist Workers (communist) Party renounces Marxism and takes on the ideology of democratic socialism. They rename themselves the Hungarian Socialist Party.
Prime Minister Tzannis Tzannetakis of Greece resigns.
9 October 1989 The Supreme Soviet gives workers the right to strike except in key industries.
50,000 East Germans gather in Leipzig for democracy.
10 October 1989 Narrative in argument for piano by Ross Lee Finney (82) is performed for the first time, at Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti.
11 October 1989 Ioannis Grivas replaces Tzannis Petrou Tzannetakis as Prime Minister of Greece. He will be a caretaker until elections next month.
12 October 1989 In an interview published today in the defense ministry newspaper Red Star, General Anatoly Sidorov reveals that Soviet military personnel saw combat in Korea (1950-1953), Egypt (1962-1974), Vietnam (1965-1974), Syria (1967, 1972), Angola (1975 on), and Ethiopia (1977 on).
Carl Gustav Christer Petersson, convicted of killing Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, is freed from prison after an appeals court overturns the verdict.
The Museum of London announces that the remains of the Globe Theatre have been found.
Fanfare for Lancaster for brass and percussion by Witold Lutoslawski (76) is performed for the first time, at the University of Lancaster.
14 October 1989 “Hay que caminar” sognando for two violins by Luigi Nono (65) is performed for the first time, in Milan.
15 October 1989 South African authorities release Walter Sisulu and seven other important leaders of the African National Congress.
16 October 1989 Meeting in Lausanne, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species bans all trade in ivory and places the elephant on the most-endangered species list.
Jan Peder Syse of the Conservative Party replaces Gro Harlem Brundtland of the Labor Party as Prime Minister of Norway at the head of a three-party conservative minority government.
100,000 pro-democracy demonstrators march in Leipzig. It is reported without comment in the East German press. 30,000 people march in Dresden.
17 October 1989 17:04 As the third game of the baseball World Series is set to start in Candlestick Park, a 7.1 earthquake strikes the area of San Francisco. The epicenter is northeast of Santa Cruz, 120 km south of the city. The upper level of a bridge in Oakland collapses on the lower, killing many motorists. Ruptured gas lines cause fires throughout the affected area. Over 60 people are killed, 3,000 injured. An estimated $6,000,000,000 in damage is done.
18 October 1989 The Communist Party of the German Democratic Republic removes Erich Honecker as General-Secretary and replaces him with Egon Krenz.
The Hungarian National Assembly amends the constitution by ending the Communist Party’s “leading role” in society. Multiparty elections are set for next year.
19 October 1989 An appeals court vacates the convictions of four people serving life sentences for IRA bombings in Guildford and Woolwich in 1974. It is determined that police withheld exculpatory evidence and gave false testimony in the original trial.
20 October 1989 50,000 East Germans take part in a silent candlelight march in Dresden for democracy.
Okho for three djembes (large African drum) by Iannis Xenakis (67) is performed for the first time, in Paris.
21 October 1989 Thousands march in East Berlin for democracy.
String Quartet no.4 by Alfred Schnittke (54) is performed for the first time, in Vienna.
22 October 1989 Frau/Stimme for soprano and orchestra by Wolfgang Rihm (37) to words of Müller is performed for the first time, in Donaueschingen.
23 October 1989 Speaking to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Foreign Minister Edvard Shevardnadze admits that the 1979 invasion of Afghanistan was illegal. He also states that the radar complex at Krasnoyarsk violated the 1972 ABM treaty.
Hundreds of thousands of people march for democracy in Leipzig. Other demonstrations take place in several East German cities.
On the anniversary of the 1956 uprising, the Peoples Republic of Hungary is officially renamed the Republic of Hungary. Mátyás Szürös is named interim President. 80,000 people rally in front of the National Assembly building in Budapest, an event that is televised to the country.
Threnody on a Plain Song for Michael Vyner for orchestra by Peter Maxwell Davies (55) is performed for the first time, in the Glyndebourne Festival Theatre, the composer conducting.
24 October 1989 Nourlangie, a concerto for guitar, percussion, and strings by Peter Sculthorpe (60) is performed for the first time, in Brisbane, Queensland.
General-Secretary Egon Krenz is made President of the German Democratic Republic.
26 October 1989 Bulgarian police attack and detain members of Eco-Glasnost who try to distribute a petition in Sofia during an international environmental conference.
100,000 people march in Dresden to oppose the government.
27 October 1989 The East German government announces an amnesty for all recent emigrants and those arrested in recent demonstrations.
Several anti-government leaders are arrested by Czechoslovak authorities including Vaclav Havel, Jaroslav Sabata, and Vaclav Maly. Havel is taken from his sick bed and placed under guard in a hospital.
Suite no.1 from The Confidence Man for orchestra by George Rochberg (71) is performed for the first time, in Nashville.
Michael Tippett’s (84) opera New Year to his own words is performed for the first time, in Houston.
28 October 1989 10,000 people gather in Wenceslas Square to commemorate the 71st anniversary of the founding of the Czechoslovak Republic. They are violently dispersed by police.
The fifth of the Nonsense Madrigals for six solo voices by György Ligeti (66) is performed for the first time, in London. In this performance, the five madrigals are interspersed with movements from La messe de Notre Dame. See 25 September 1988 and 27 November 1993.
29 October 1989 The ruling Socialist Workers Party of Spanish Prime Minister Felipe González, together with their Catalonian allies, wins a one-seat majority in elections for the Cortes.
70,000 people join in a rally for the outlawed African National Congress in a football stadium outside Johannesburg.
30 October 1989 A court in Israel sentences Abdul al-Khadi Suleiman Ghneim to 16 consecutive life sentences plus 480 years for causing the events of 6 July.
300,000 people march in Leipzig for democracy.
The Rockefeller Group announces that it has sold Rockefeller Center and other properties to Mitsubishi Estate Company of Tokyo.
Continuo for orchestra by Luciano Berio (64) is performed for the first time, in London conducted by the composer.
Organbook I by Ned Rorem (66) is performed for the first time, in New York.
31 October 1989 Ali Hüsrev Bozer replaces Turgut Ozal as Prime Minister of Turkey ad interim.
A bomb explodes at a labor federation headquarters in El Salvador. Ten people are killed, 35 injured.
1 November 1989 East Germany opens the border with Czechoslovakia.
Islamic Jihad terrorists kill Mohammed Ali Marzouki, the last Saudi diplomat in Beirut.
President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua announces an end to the unilateral cease-fire with right-wing rebels.
2 November 1989 Itaipu for chorus and orchestra by Philip Glass (52) to a traditional Guarani creation myth, is performed for the first time, in Atlanta.
3 November 1989 An anti-government demonstration attracts 10,000 people in Sofiya. Led by Eco-Glasnost they demand democracy.
In East Germany, five Politburo members resign. President Egon Krenz addresses the nation promising sweeping economic reforms.
5,000 East Germans in the West German embassy in Prague begin leaving for West Germany.
Salvadoran rebels pull out of talks with the government after ten of them were killed in the bombing of a labor federation headquarters.
Pro et contra for orchestra by Sofia Gubaidulina (58) is performed for the first time, in Louisville.
4 November 1989 Soviet state security chief Vladimir Alyeksandrovich Kryuchkov says on national television that the KGB and its predecessors had caused suffering among the Soviet people.
500,000 people march in East Berlin for democracy.
The ashes of the earthly remains of Virgil Thomson are interred in the family plot in Rehoboth Cemetery in Slater, Missouri.
A String Sextet by Charles Wuorinen (51) is performed for the first time, in Oliver Swan Porter Memorial Auditorium, Covington, Georgia.
5 November 1989 The Lebanese Parliament elects moderate Christian Rene Moawad as President. Christian hard liners refuse to acknowledge him.
No party wins a majority in the second Greek parliamentary elections in five months. Conservative New Democracy wins 148 of 300 seats.
Vladimir Horowitz dies at his home in New York at the age of 86.
6 November 1989 The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation organization is founded by Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and the United States.
Christian hard liners attack the residence of Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir who backs Rene Moawad and peace. They capture Sfeir and beat him.
Hundreds of thousands of people march for democracy in Leipzig.
7 November 1989 In the face of a mass exodus from East Germany, Prime Minister Willi Stoph and his entire cabinet resign.
A left-right coalition is formed in the Netherlands led by Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers.
Five days of voting for a constituent assembly begin in Namibia. The voter turnout will be 97%.
8 November 1989 The liberal weekly Moscow News reports that over 250 people died as a result of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident.
Most of the politburo of the Communist Party of the German Democratic Republic resign. Reformer Hans Modrow, the head of the Party in Dresden, is named to form a new government.
A car bomb explodes in west Beirut an hour before new President Moawad arrives in the city. Four people are killed, 19 injured.
9 November 1989 Turgut Ozal replaces Kenan Evren as President of Turkey. He names Yildirim Akbulut as Prime Minister.
The new East German government opens the border with West Berlin and West Germany. Citizens of the two Berlins meet at the Wall and celebrate by dancing on it. Border guards do not interfere. By this time, 50,000 East Germans have reached West Germany through Czechoslovakia.
Traces for piano by Tan Dun (32) is performed for the first time, in Kyoto. See 11 December 1992.
10 November 1989 Tens of thousands of East Germans cross into West Berlin at five crossing points. West Berliners greet them with flowers and champagne. Only about 1,500 do not return to the East.
Todor Zhivkov, President of Bulgaria and General-Secretary of the Bulgarian Communist Party since 1954, resigns. He is replaced as General-Secretary by Petar Mladenov.
Rufe for oboe and harp by Isang Yun (72) is performed for the first time, in Ravensburg.
Duomonolog for violin and cello by Wolfgang Rihm (37) is performed for the first time, in Badenweiler.
11 November 1989 The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the German Democratic Republic announces free elections, a shift to a market economy, freedom of assembly, and freedom of the press.
Leftist rebels begin a major offensive in El Salvador.
Two ‘Identical’ Rooms, a sound work by Max Neuhaus (50), is inaugurated in the Deichtorhallen, Hamburg. It will exist until 18 February 1990.
Leftist rebels begin a new offensive in San Salvador and other cities throughout El Salvador.
Interlude for piano by Leon Kirchner (70) is performed for the first time, in New York.
Les Yeux clos II for piano by Toru Takemitsu (59) is performed for the first time, at the 92nd Street Y, New York.
The first piece from ...in real time op.50 for piano by Alexander Goehr (57) is performed for the first time, in New York.
The first public performance of Study for Player Piano no.26 by Conlon Nancarrow (77) takes place in New York.
12 November 1989 East German workers open the Berlin Wall at Potsdamer Platz. The mayors of East and West Berlin meet there.
The Estonian Supreme Soviet annuls the declaration of 22 July 1940 which proclaimed Estonia as part of the USSR
In the face of a new rebel offensive, the government of El Salvador declares a state of siege.
Figur for four bass trombones, harp, and percussion by Wolfgang Rihm (37) is performed for the first time, in Frankfurt-am-Main.
13 November 1989 The Bulgarian government officially recognizes opposition parties.
Hans Modrow is elected Prime Minister of the German Democratic Republic.
Prince Franz Joseph II of Liechtenstein dies in Vaduz at the age of 83. He is succeeded by his son Hans-Adam II.
200,000 people march for democracy in Leipzig.
Electron-Positron for tape by Jean-Claude Risset (51) is performed for the first time, in Geneva.
The Natural World for voice, flute, clarinet (or piano or violin), and cello by John Harbison (50) to words of Bly, Stevens, and Wright is performed for the first time, in Los Angeles.
14 November 1989 Results of voting in Namibia show that the South West Africa Peoples Organization wins a majority of seats in the new constituent assembly but not the two-thirds they were hoping for.
The rebel offensive in El Salvador succeeds in capturing large areas in the northern and eastern suburbs of San Salvador.
One3 by John Cage (77) is performed for the first time, in Kyoto, by the composer.
15 November 1989 The East German government announces that 3,000,000 of its citizens have visited the west since 9 November.
A government counterattack forces leftist rebels out of their recent gains near San Salvador.
On the 100th anniversary of the Brazilian Republic, voters participate in the first direct presidential elections in 30 years. Fernando Collor de Mello comes in first, but is forced into a runoff.
15 November 1989 Leonard Bernstein (71) refuses the National Medal of Arts awarded by President George Bush to protest the revocation of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for an exhibit of AIDS related art.
16 November 1989 South African President FW de Klerk announces the end of the Separate Amenities Act.
Conservative death squads kill six Roman Catholic priests, their cook, and her daughter at José Simeón Cañas University of Central America in San Salvador. They then mutilate the bodies.
A revised version of Le visage nuptial for soprano, alto, female chorus, and orchestra by Pierre Boulez (64) to words of Char is performed completely for the first time, in Metz conducted by the composer. See 25 January 1988.
17 November 1989 Bulgarian party chief Petar Toshev Mladenov is elected Chairman of the State Council.
A government-led demonstration in Prague to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the murder of a Czechoslovak student by the Nazis, attracting 50,000 people, turns anti-communist. Police violently break up the rally.
East German Prime Minister Hans Modrow announces sweeping changes in politics and economy.
Government troops begin to regain control of San Salvador and surrounding areas.
Budapest Radio reports that Romania has closed its border with Hungary.
Margaret Geller and John Huchra of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics report in today’s issue of Science their discovery of a massive array of about 2,000 galaxies, arranged almost in a plane, which they call the “Great Wall.” They say that the configuration is 500,000,000 light years by 200,000,000 light years, but only 15 light years deep.
La Ville d’en-haut for piano and chamber orchestra by Olivier Messiaen (80) is performed for the first time, in Salle Pleyel, Paris conducted by Pierre Boulez (64).
Essay, an installation by John Cage (77), opens at the Wexner Center for the Visual Arts at Ohio State University.
String Quartet no.2 “Vistas” by Shulamit Ran (40) is performed for the first time, in Mandel Hall of the University of Chicago.
18 November 1989 All theatres go on strike in Prague to protest yesterday’s violence.
Millions of East Germans cross to West Berlin and West Germany descending on stores.
19 November 1989 As protests continue in Czechoslovakia, an anti-government umbrella organization called Civic Forum is formed. Vaclav Havel is chosen as leader.
20 November 1989 200,000 citizens march in Prague demanding democracy. Students go on strike. Protests begin in Bratislava, Brno, and Ostrava.
Canons for Ursula for piano by Conlon Nancarrow (77) is performed for the first time, in Town Hall, New York.
21 November 1989 The Hero, a chamber opera by Alyeksandr Vasilyevich Mosolov (†16) to his own words, is performed for the first time, in Moscow, 61 years after it was composed.
One2 by John Cage (77) is performed for the first time, in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England.
22 November 1989 René Moawad is killed by a bomb in west Beirut, 17 days after being elected President of Lebanon. 23 other people are killed in the blast.
Little Suite no.1 and Little Suite no.2 for piano by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (†25) are performed for the first time, in Cologne, 63 years after they were composed.
23 November 1989 Alexander Dubcek proclaims support for the anti-government cause before 70,000 people in Bratislava. Vaclav Havel speaks to 200,000 in Prague.
Xenophon Efthimiou Zolotas replaces Ioannis Grivas as Prime Minister of Greece at the head of a coalition of the three largest parties.
24 November 1989 52 members of the Lebanese Parliament meet in Shtaura under Syrian protection and elect Elias Hrawi President to succeed René Moawad.
General Secretary of the Czechoslovak Communist Party Milos Jakes and twelve other top communists resign. Karel Urbanek is named head of the party. Alexander Dubcek speaks to 350,000 in Prague.
A congress of the Romanian Communist Party reelects Nicolae Ceausescu to a five-year term as general-secretary.
The central committee of the Italian Communist Party votes to change the party’s name and its symbol.
The South African government opens four “free settlement areas” to all races.
Eros Piano for piano and orchestra by John Adams (42) is performed for the first time, in Queen Elizabeth Hall, London conducted by the composer.
Four for string quartet by John Cage (77) is performed for the first time, in Huddersfield.
25 November 1989 The Communist Party of the German Democratic Republic gives up its monopoly on power.
800,000 pro-democracy demonstrators rally in Prague. They are addressed by Vaclav Havel who tells them that the recent shake up in the Communist Party leadership is a trick.
A service in memory of Virgil Thomson takes place in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York on what would have been his 93rd birthday. The cathedral is nearly full.
Partita no.2 op.62/2 for horn by Robin Holloway (46) is performed for the first time, in Conway Hall, London.
26 November 1989 National elections come to a close in India. The result is a hung parliament. Voters in a national referendum in Hungary decide that the President will be chosen by Parliament after elections next year.
Symphony no.4 “Adagio” by Krzysztof Penderecki (56) is performed for the first time, in Paris.
27 November 1989 Noon. A countrywide, two-hour general strike begins in Czechoslovakia. Millions walk off their jobs.
The French Council of State rules that Moslem girls may wear headscarves in school, if they do so without “pressure, provocation, proselytism, or propaganda.”
Hommage à Marina Tsvetayeva for chorus by Sofia Gubaidulina (58) is performed for the first time, in Stockholm.
28 November 1989 The Czechoslovak government agrees to share power with non-communists.
The Latvian Parliament votes to end the leading role of the Communist Party.
South African President FW de Klerk abolishes the National Security Management System which gives police greater power than civilian authority.
Tristesse au jardin for voice and piano by Albert Roussel (†52) to words of Tailhade is performed for the first time, in the auditorium of the Conservatoire, Turcoing at least 92 years after it was composed.
New Moon, a dance for flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, violin, bass, and percussion by Lou Harrison (72) is performed for the first time, in Joyce Theatre, New York.
29 November 1989 Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi resigns after results from last week’s elections show his Congress (I) Party has lost its parliamentary majority.
The Czechoslovak Federal Assembly ends the monopoly of the Communist Party and Marxism-Leninism as the basis of education.
A String Around Autumn for viola and orchestra by Toru Takemitsu (59) is performed for the first time, in Salle Pleyel, Paris.
Guitar Concerto by Lukas Foss (67) is performed for the first time, in Avery Fisher Hall, New York conducted by Leonard Bernstein (71).
Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman no.2 for brass and percussion by Joan Tower (51) is performed for the first time, in Avery Fisher Hall, New York.
30 November 1989 The Czechoslovak government begins to dismantle military fortifications along the border with Austria.
The East German government admits that the invasion of Czechoslovakia was a mistake.
The Red Army Faction explodes a bomb near Frankfurt which kills Alfred Herrhausen, chairman of Deutsche Bank AG.
In Distance for piccolo, harp, and bass drum by Tan Dun (32) is performed for the first time, in London.
November 19, 1828 for piano quartet by John Harbison (50) is performed for the first time, in Atlanta.
1 December 1989 A coup by the Philippine military begins in Manila.
Yemen and South Yemen agree on a constitution for a unified state.
Mikhail Gorbachev and Pope John Paul II meet at the Vatican. It is the first meeting between a Pope and a leader of the Soviet Union.
The Politburo of the Czechoslovak Communist Party declares that the 1968 invasion was a mistake.
The constitution of the German Democratic Republic is amended to eliminate the leading role of the Communist Party.
The East German Volkskammer repeals constitutional guarantees giving the Socialist Unity (communist) Party the “leading role” in society.
Alvin Ailey dies in a New York hospital at the age of 58.
Nocturne for brass quintet by John Harbison (50) is performed for the first time, in Washington Square Church, New York.
2 December 1989 Rebels take control of the financial district of Manila.
National elections take place on Taiwan, for the first time with opposition candidates legally participating. The opposition Democratic Progressive Party wins 21 of 101 contested seats.
Vishwanath Pratap Singh replaces Rajiv Gandhi as Prime Minister of India at the head of a minority government.
Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and US President George Bush hold meetings today and tomorrow aboard ships off Malta.
3 December 1989 Philippine Vice President Salvador Laurel announces support for the rebellion and calls on President Corazon Aquino to resign.
A new Czechoslovak government is formed with 16 communists and five non-communists. The arrangement is rejected by Civic Forum.
Erich Honecker and eleven others are expelled from the Communist Party of the German Democratic Republic. Three are arrested. The entire Politburo, including General Secretary Egon Krenz and Prime Minister Hans Modrow, resigns. They are followed by the entire 163-member Central Committee.
William Schuman (79) is one of five people receiving the Kennedy Center Honor in Washington “for an extraordinary lifetime of contributions to American culture through the performing arts.”
4 December 1989 Leaders of Bulgaria, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and the Soviet Union jointly denounce their 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia, at a Warsaw Pact meeting in Moscow.
Demonstrations begin again in Czechoslovakia against the newly named government. 200,000 people rally in Prague.
Tens of thousands of East Germans march in Leipzig demanding unification and an end to the Communist Party.
Les idées fixes for chamber orchestra by Mauricio Kagel (57) is performed for the first time, at the Opéra-Comique, Paris directed by the composer.
5 December 1989 Erich Honecker and other former East German leaders are placed under house arrest. The East German government lifts all restrictions on West Germans traveling to East Germany as of 1 January.
6 December 1989 In response to the ongoing coup attempt, Philippine President Corazon Aquino declares a nationwide state of emergency.
Egon Krenz resigns all his positions and is replaced as Head of State of the German Democratic Republic by Manfred Gerlach of the Liberal Democratic Party.
The headquarters of the security service in Bogotá is destroyed by a massive bomb. 52 people are killed and over 1,000 injured. Several blocks are destroyed. Drug cartels are suspected.
A man goes on a shooting rampage through the École Polytechnique in Montreal. He kills 14 young women and injures 12 other people before killing himself.
7 December 1989 Nine Bulgarian opposition groups form the Union of Democratic Forces. Zheliu Zhelev is named chair.
Prime Minister Ladislav Adamec of Czechoslovakia and his government resign. Marian Calfa is named to form a new government.
The Lithuanian Supreme Soviet votes to end the leading role of the Communist Party in Lithuanian society and adopt a multi-party system.
8 December 1989 The Communist Party of the Czech Republic accepts a minority position in a new government.
Erich Honecker and five other former high officials of the East German government are formally charged with corruption and abuse of power.
Loral Corp. pleads guilty to bribery, conversion of government property and making false statements in the US military procurement scandal. They agree to pay $5,800,000.
9 December 1989 After nine days, the coup attempt against the Philippine government fails. 400 rebels surrender at a military airport in Cebu. 119 people were killed in the uprising, 418 wounded.
On the first weekend after travel restrictions are eased, 100,000 Czechoslovaks travel to Austria.
Gregor Gysi is elected General-Secretary of the Communist Party of the German Democratic Republic.
Lyric Studies for woodwinds and piano by Roy Harris (†10) is performed for the first time, at the 92nd Street Y, New York.
10 December 1989 The Nobel Prize for Peace is awarded to His Holiness, the Dalai Lama.
50,000 democracy supporters rally in Sofiya.
Czechoslovak President Gustav Husak swears in a new government of ten communists and eleven non-communists under Marian Calfa. Husak then immediately resigns. Calfa becomes acting President.
The Communist Party of the Slovak Republic accepts a minority position in a new government.
50,000 Bulgarians march in Sofiya in favor of democracy.
11 December 1989 Noon. Five minutes of nationwide demonstrations take place in Czechoslovakia to celebrate the new government.
200,000 people march in Leipzig for German unification.
Bulgarian party chief Petar Mladenov announces support for free elections and an end to the leading role of the Communist Party.
12 December 1989 British authorities in Hong Kong begin the forced repatriation of Vietnamese refugees. 51 people are put aboard a plane and flown to Hanoi.
The Congress of Peoples Deputies of the USSR votes to postpone debate on changing the leading role of the Communist Party in the country.
Stock in Great Britain’s ten water companies begins trading on the London Stock Exchange, thus beginning the privatization of the water industry.
Meeting in San José, Costa Rica, the presidents of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua sign a peace agreement for Central America.
13 December 1989 The Communist Party of Bulgaria votes to expel Todor Zhivkov and end its monopoly on power.
President FW de Klerk of South Africa meets with imprisoned African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela in the President’s office in Cape Town.
14 December 1989 20,000 democracy supporters rally in Sofiya. When Bulgarian President Mladenov tries to address them, he is shouted down.
Nobel laureate and Peoples Deputy Andrey Sakharov dies of a heart attack in Moscow at the age of 68.
In the first presidential election in Chile since 1970, opposition candidate Patricio Aylwin defeats the conservative Hernan Buchi. Buchi was a finance minister for the US-backed dictator Augusto Pinochet.
15 December 1989 Romanian authorities attempt to move Laszlo Tokes, a Lutheran minister and ethnic Hungarian, from Timisoara to another part of the country. They are thwarted by several hundred protesters. Tokes is an outspoken critic of government policy towards Hungarians.
15,000 democracy supporters demonstrate at the state-run television station in Sofiya. The government repeals laws against anti-communist activity and frees prisoners convicted of such crimes.
The high court of South Africa overturns the convictions of eleven black leaders on charges of treason and terrorism. The five still in prison are immediately released.
The legislature of Panama names Gen. Manuel Noriega as head of government and “maximum leader.” They declare the country to be in a state of war with the United States.
16 December 1989 Street protests begin in Timosoara against the regime of Nicolae Ceausescu. The Romanian army and Securitate move into the city and battle demonstrators.
Panamanians detain four US soldiers at a roadblock, killing one of them.
The US Congress reports that Surgeon General C. Everett Koop and the Reagan administration failed to publish a study by Koop which showed that abortion is safe and does not cause infertility, miscarriage, or premature birth.
17 December 1989 Protests against political and economic conditions grow in Timisoara, Romania. Securitate forces fire on the crowd, killing hundreds.
In the second round of voting, Brazilians elect conservative Francisco Collor de Mello of the National Reconstruction Party as President.
18 December 1989 Soviet Foreign Minister Edvard Shevardnadze signs a trade agreement with the European Community in Brussels.
The European Community effectively rejects Turkey’s application for membership.
Canticum Novissimi Testamenti for vocal soloists, chorus, four clarinets, and four saxophones by Luciano Berio (64) is performed for the first time, in Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris.
19 December 1989 The Federal Assembly of Czechoslovakia approves free elections and a transition to a market economy.
Anti-government protests spread to Cluj and Oradea in Transylvania.
After meeting with East German Prime Minister Hans Modrow, West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl addresses tens of thousands of people in front of the ruins of the Frauenkirche in Dresden. He tells them that his goal is the unification of Germany.
Soviet Foreign Minister Edvard Shevardnadze visits NATO headquarters in Brussels, the first leader of a Warsaw Pact country to do so.
The Iranian tanker Kharg-5 suffers an explosion north of Las Palmas in the Canary Islands and dumps over 140,000,000 liters of crude oil into the Atlantic.
20 December 1989 Romanian troops withdraw from Timisoara. Protesters take the city and demand democracy.
At a congress in Vilnius, the Lithuanian Communist Party declares itself independent of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
A constituent assembly agrees on a constitution for Namibia at Windhoek.
12,000 US troops invade Panama, seizing several strategic locations. Guillermo Endara is sworn in as President of Panama at a US base.
21 December 1989 The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia votes to suspend 32 former leaders including Gustav Husak and Lubomir Strougal. They also vote to disband the People’s Militia, who were a large part of the 1948 communist coup.
A staged mass demonstration in Bucharest turns ugly when the crowd begins to heckle Nicolae Ceausescu as he speaks to them on live television. Securitate forces fire on the crowd, killing at least 40 people. Fighting continues into the night. Anti-government rallies take place in other Romanian cities. Securitate kill over 30 people in Cluj.
22 December 1989 The Brandenburg Gate is opened for the first time in 28 years.
Radio Bucharest announces the death of Defense Minister Vasile Milea, calling it a suicide. (many feel he was murdered on orders of Ceausescu) Securitate members fire on demonstrators in several Romanian cities. Heavy fighting takes place in Bucharest between Securitate and about 150,000 demonstrators. Soldiers begin to aid the demonstrators, giving them weapons and fighting alongside them. Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife flee by helicopter from the roof of the Central Committee building in Bucharest. They are soon captured near Tirgoviste. The National Salvation Front, allying former communists and non-communists, appoints itself as the de facto government in Romania and sets up shop in the state television station. Rebels take control of downtown Timosoara. They find mass graves containing the bodies of hundreds killed by the Securitate.
Samuel Beckett dies in Paris at the age of 83.
The Organization of American States deplores the US invasion of Panama.
23 December 1989 The Communist Party leader in Prague, Miroslav Stepan, is arrested for ordering the repression of 17 November.
Rival Shia Moslem groups begin battling again in southern Lebanon.
Leonard Bernstein (71) leads Beethoven’s (†162) Symphony no.9 in the Kaiser Wilhelm Kirche, West Berlin to celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall. The performance is timed to end at midnight, when West Germans no longer need visas to enter East Germany.
24 December 1989 When it becomes known that Gen. Noriega has taken refuge in the Vatican embassy in Panama City, Panamanian resistance to the US invasion collapses.
Carol for St. Steven for chorus by Alexander Goehr (57) is performed for the first time, at King’s College, Cambridge.
Several works by John Harbison (51) are performed for the first time, in Rochester, New York: Christmas Vespers for narrator and brass quintet, Little Fantasy on The Twelve Days of Christmas for brass quintet, Two Choral Preludes for Advent for brass quintet, and The Three Wise Men for brass quintet and narrator.
25 December 1989 General-Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party and Romanian Head of State Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife Elena are tried and convicted of genocide, abuse of power, and theft. They are immediately shot. The bodies are videotaped and broadcast throughout Romania so there will be no doubt that they are dead. This breaks the will of fighting Securitate members.
10:30 Leonard Bernstein (71) leads Beethoven’s (†162) Symphony no.9 in the Schauspielhaus, East Berlin to celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall.
26 December 1989 The National Salvation Front names a new government for Romania. Ion Iliescu is President of the Council and Petre Roman is Prime Minister.
The Wine Merchant Robin of Mere for male voices and piano by Harrison Birtwistle (55) to his own words, is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of BBC Radio 3.
27 December 1989 Egypt and Syria resume full diplomatic relations, severed after the Camp David Accords.
The Food and Agriculture Organization reports that Ethiopia will need over 1,000,000 tons of food to avoid famine.
The United States government announces that 623 people were killed in their invasion of Panama and 2,646 people were wounded.
Today the Virgin for chorus by John Tavener (45) to words of Mother Thekla is performed for the first time, in Westminster Abbey.
28 December 1989 Alexander Dubcek is named Chair of the Federal Assembly of Czechoslovakia.
29 December 1989 The Federal Assembly of Czechoslovakia elects Vaclav Havel as President. He replaces acting President Marian Calfa.
The Polish Parliament approves austere economic reform measures. The Polish Peoples Republic is renamed the Republic of Poland. The leading role of the Communist Party is ended.
Fighting ends in Bucharest. It is estimated that tens of thousands of people may have been killed in Romania during the past 15 days.
The Bulgarian government announces that Moslem citizens are no longer required to take on Slavic names.
The United Nations General Assembly “strongly deplores” the United States invasion of Panama.
US troops raid the residence of the Nicaraguan ambassador in Panama.
©2004-2012 Paul Scharfenberger
24 April 2012
Last Updated (Tuesday, 24 April 2012 05:18)