1993

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    1 January 1993 Chen Kaige’s film Farewell My Concubine is released in Hong Kong.

    The Czech and Slovak Federal Republic ceases to exist, in spite of polls showing a majority of Czechs and Slovaks oppose the split.  In its place are created the Czech Republic under acting President and Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus, and the Republic of Slovakia under acting President and Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar.

    2 January 1993 David Owen and Cyrus Vance present the Vance-Owen plan for peace in Bosnia and Hercegovina.  It calls for the splitting of the country into ten cantons with a single national government.

    3 January 1993 The second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START II) is signed by Presidents Bush and Yeltsin in Moscow.  The treaty requires both parties to cut long-range missiles by two-thirds.  Land-based multiple warhead missiles are banned.

    5 January 1993 The US oil tanker Braer goes aground off the Shetland Islands dumping 620,000 barrels of crude oil into the sea and polluting beaches.

    The One Hundred-and-third Congress of the United States convenes in Washington.  The Democratic Party of President-elect Bill Clinton controls both houses.

    6 January 1993 Indian security forces rampage in Sopore, Kashmir killing at least 52 civilians and setting dozens of buildings on fire.  They are angered over the deaths of two of their comrades by land mines.

    John Birks (Dizzy) Gillespie dies in Englewood, New Jersey at the age of 75.

    Rudolf Nureyev dies in Paris at the age of 54.

    7 January 1993 United States forces raid a compound of a Somali warlord seizing weapons and cash.  Many Somalis are killed or captured.

    Bosnian government troops attack north from Srebrenica, killing Serb civilians and destroying villages and committing atrocities.

    Alfred Schnittke (58) is awarded the first Triumph Prize from the Russian Independent Foundation.

    8 January 1993 A European Community investigation reports today that Bosnian Serbs have raped up to 20,000 Bosnian Moslem women and girls.

    While travelling under United Nations protection, Bosnian Deputy Prime Minister Hakija Turajlic is murdered by Serb militiamen.  Most Serb leaders claim the deed is justifiable.

    9 January 1993 After a United Nations ultimatum, Iraq removes its anti-aircraft batteries from the southern part of the country.

    10 January 1993 Dreaming for orchestra and tape by Roger Reynolds (58) is performed for the first time, in Carnegie Hall, New York.

    11 January 1993 Concerto for flute and chamber orchestra by Krzysztof Penderecki (59) is performed for the first time, in Lausanne.

    12 January 1993 A right-left coalition government of the Fianna Fail and the Labour Party is approved by the Irish Parliament.

    The Braer finally breaks up in heavy seas off the Shetland Islands.  Its entire cargo of crude oil ends up in the ocean.

    13 January 1993 United States, British, and French aircraft launch punitive attacks on Iraq in response to repeated Iraqi violations of the agreements ending the Gulf War.  The planes hit air defense and SAM sites.  1,250 United States troops are sent to northern Kuwait to guard against Iraqi incursions.

    120 countries sign a treaty banning chemical weapons, today and tomorrow in Paris.  Signatories are given ten years to destroy all existing stockpiles.

    Erich Honecker is freed by the German government which says he is too ill to stand trial.  He flies to Chile.

    14 January 1993 Suite for Four Haisho (Japanese panpipes) with percussion and narrator by Lou Harrison (75) to his own words is performed for the first time.

    15 January 1993 Representatives of 14 Somali factions sign a ceasefire in Addis Ababa.  They agree to give up their heavy weapons and militias are to be disarmed.

    The Story of Harriet Tubman, a narrated music drama by Thea Musgrave (64) to her own words, is performed for the first time, in Mobile, Alabama.

    17 January 1993 United States cruise missiles are sent into the Baghdad area to hit a nuclear facility.  One of them hits the al-Rashid Hotel.

    Chamber Symphony for 15 instruments by John Adams (45) is performed for the first time, in The Hague, conducted by the composer.

    18 January 1993 A 17-year-old student shoots two people to death at his high school in Grayson, Kentucky.

    19 January 1993 Battles between Croats and Moslems intensify in Gornji Vakuf and Travnik.

    The Czech Republic and the Republic of Slovakia are admitted to the United Nations.

    20 January 1993 The Bosnian Serb “parliament” votes to endorse the Vance-Owen peace plan.

    William Jefferson Clinton replaces George Herbert Walker Bush as President of the United States.

    22 January 1993 Croatian forces attack Serb-held Krajina near Zadar and make immediate gains.

    25 January 1993 As Somali guerrillas advance on Kismayu they are routed by United States and Belgian forces.

    Social Democrat Poul Nyrup Rasmussen replaces the Conservative Peoples Poul Schluter as Prime Minister of Denmark at the head of a four-party coalition.

    Sonata-Aria for cello and piano by George Rochberg (74) is performed for the first time, at Rice University, Houston, Texas.

    26 January 1993 Kenneth Louis Gaburo dies of bone cancer at his home in Iowa City, Iowa, aged 66 years, six months, and 21 days.

    Soli for percussion solo by Ralph Shapey (71) is performed for the first time, at the Manhattan School of Music, New York.

    27 January 1993 Serb forces counterattack against the Croat attack of 22 January in Krajina.

    28 January 1993 The World Health Organization reports a diphtheria epidemic through Russia and Ukraine.

    Concerto for piano and orchestra no.2 by George Perle (77) is performed for the first time, in Columbus, Ohio.

    29 January 1993 US President Clinton announces that the ban on homosexuals in the military will be lifted.

    30 January 1993 Seven km of a new subway system goes into operation in Los Angeles.

    A car bomb set by the Colombian drug cartel explodes in Bogotá killing 20 people.

    Kokoro for violin by Roger Reynolds (58) is performed for the first time, in Brussels.

    1 February 1993 The Israeli government announces it will accept the return of 100 of the over 400 terrorists it deported to Lebanon.

    2 February 1993 Vaclav Havel takes office as the first President of the Czech Republic, replacing acting President Vaclav Klaus.

    4 February 1993 Widespread attacks on Turks take place in Germany.

    A family receives $105,200,000 from a jury which finds General Motors negligent when a teenager burned to death in one of their cars.  They find that General Motors knew of the faulty fuel tank design but did nothing about it.

    Concerto for piano-left hand and orchestra by Ned Rorem (69) is performed for the first time, at the Academy of Music, Philadelphia.

    5 February 1993 Symphony no.4 by Witold Lutoslawski (80) is performed for the first time, in Los Angeles, conducted by the composer.

    7 February 1993 A revised version of Dérive for eleven instruments by Pierre Boulez (67) is performed for the first time, in London.  See 21 June 1990 and 1 December 2001.

    8 February 1993 The Russian government begins a massive privatization of major industries and other firms, in Volgograd.

    The diaries of former United States Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger are released today.  They clearly show his culpability in the cover-up of the Iran-Contra scandal.  Weinberger was pardoned by President George Bush last December.

    9 February 1993 The Parliament of the Netherlands allows euthanasia under strict conditions.

    Radoje Kontic replaces Milan Panic as Prime Minister of Yugoslavia.

    12 February 1993 The South African government and the African National Congress agree to a transition plan for majority rule.

    The Turn of the Tide for orchestra with children’s chorus and instrumentalists by Peter Maxwell Davies (58) is performed for the first time, in Lightfoot Center, Newcastle.

    13 February 1993 Fratres for violin, strings, and percussion by Arvo Pärt (57) is performed for the first time, in Perth, Australia.

    Maldoror for tape by Pierre Henry (64) is performed for the first time, in Salle Olivier Messiaen of Radio France, Paris.

    15 February 1993 Michal Kovac is elected the first President of the Republic of Slovakia.

    Polish President Lech Walesa signs a law banning abortions except for rape, incest, genetic disorders, or when the life of the mother is threatened.  The Catholic Church pushes for a complete ban.  When the law takes effect in March, many women will travel to the Czech Republic for abortions.

    Up to 10,000 union members demonstrate in Bucharest for a higher minimum wage, job security, and better social services.

    Les chants de Maldoror, a “feuilleton radiophonique” in 50 episodes by Pierre Henry (65) is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of France Musique from today until 23 April.

    17 February 1993 A ferry sinks 80 km west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.  Over 1,000 people are killed, 300 survive.

    Thirteen for chamber ensemble by John Cage (†0) is performed for the first time, in the Stadthalle, Gütersloh.

    18 February 1993 Silhouettes de comédie op.193, twelve pieces for bassoon and orchestra by Charles Koechlin (†42) is performed for the first time, at the Bern Casino, 50 years after it was composed.

    21 February 1993 Government forces in Tajikistan capture rebel bases northeast of Dushanbe.

    22 February 1993 The UN Security Council votes unanimously to create an international tribunal to try war crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia.

    24 February 1993 Somalis riot against foreign troops in Mogadishu.  Offices of the United Nations and United States are fired upon.

    Zairean troops and tanks surround the legislature building in Kinshasa.  President Mobutu demands that they accept new banknotes which they previously have declared worthless.

    Brian Mulroney resigns the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party and the office of Prime Minister of Canada.

    Requiem, nine sacred concertos for piano, trumpet, and chamber orchestra by Hans Werner Henze (66), is performed completely for the first time, in Berlin.  See 6 May 1990, 14 January, 11 December 1991, and 26 November 1992.

    25 February 1993 Kim Young Sam replaces Roh Tae Woo as President of the Republic of Korea.  He is the first civilian president since 1961.

    Symphony no.3 by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (53) is performed for the first time, in New York.

    26 February 1993 12:18  A bomb set by Moslem terrorists explodes in an underground parking garage at the World Trade Center in New York City, killing six people.  50,000 people are evacuated and the buildings are closed.  Over 1,000 people are injured, mostly from smoke inhalation.

    28 February 1993 United States airplanes begin dropping food and medical supplies to Moslem held areas in Bosnia.  The first flights are over Cerska.  Many items dropped fall into Serb hands.

    Glafkos Ioannou Kliridis replaces Georgios Vasou Vasiliou as President of Cyprus.

    Agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms attempt to serve warrants to a religious cult at their compound outside Waco, Texas.  They are met with a hail of bullets.  Four agents are killed and at least twelve are injured.  A standoff ensues.

    2 March 1993 Serb forces take Cerska.

    Michal Kovac replaces Vladimir Meciar as President of Slovakia.

    4 March 1993 The British journal Nature reports that the gene for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis has been identified.

    Mohammed Salameh is arrested by the FBI in connection with the World Trade Center bombing.

    Midnight for chorus by Thea Musgrave (64) to words of Keats is performed for the first time, in San Antonio, Texas.

    7 March 1993 Eight faction leaders in Afghanistan sign a truce agreement in Islamabad.

    After almost two months of fighting, UNITA forces capture Huambo from the Angolan government.

    Dritte Music for violin and orchestra by Wolfgang Rihm (40) is performed for the first time, in Baden-Baden.

    Trio 1992 for violin, cello, and piano by Ralph Shapey (71) is performed for the first time, in Kathryn Bache Miller Theatre at Columbia University.

    10 March 1993 About 30-40 people, believed to be Khmer Rouge, attack ethnic Vietnamese in Phum Chong Keas, Cambodia killing 33 men, women, and children.

    Adolfas Slezevicius replaces Bronislovas Lubys as Prime Minister of Lithuania.

    Physician Dr. David Gunn is shot to death by Pro-Life activist Michael Griffin outside a clinic in Pensacola, Florida.

    11 March 1993 UN commander Philippe Morillon takes three vehicles through the front lines into Srebrenica.  He finds refugees living in the street in the hundreds and more still arriving.  No wood is left.

    12 March 1993 North Korea announces it will withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

    A bomb goes off at the Bombay stock exchange killing 50 people.  Within 90 minutes, ten more bombs go off at banks, government offices, hotels, and an airline office.  India blames Pakistan.

    The Russian Congress of Peoples Deputies repudiates the agreement of last December allowing President Yeltsin decree powers.

    UN commander Philippe Morillon meets the Bosnian commander of Srebrenica, Naser Oric.  He promises humanitarian aid and to do everything possible to get a cease-fire.  Bosnian civilians surround his vehicles and refuse to allow him to leave without his guarantee of security.  Morillon walks on to a balcony and publicly proclaims that he will never abandon them.

    13 March 1993 The ruling Labor Party of Prime Minister Paul Keating wins a fifth term in national elections in Australia with a slightly increased majority.

    02:00  UN commander Philippe Morillon tries to sneak out of Srebrenica but fails.  Later in the day he is allowed to leave after promising to go to Belgrade to demand the Serbs end their assault on the town.

    Music to accompany the Alfred Hitchcock film Blackmail for seven players by Jonathan Lloyd (44) is performed for the first time, at the Louvre, Paris.

    14 March 1993 Voters in Andorra adopt their first constitution, instituting a parliamentary form of government and reducing the powers of the co-princes.  All 9,123 eligible voters cast ballots.

    15 March 1993 A UN commission reports that the great majority of human rights abuses in the Salvadoran civil war were committed by the US-backed government.  It further reports that no current members of the Supreme Court are capable of fairness. Defense Minister General René Emilio Ponce is linked to the 1989 killing of six priests and two women, and Robert D’Aubuisson, founder of the conservative ARENA party, ordered the murder of Archbishop Óscar Arnulfo Romero in 1980.

    17 March 1993 At least 80 people are killed in Calcutta when a bomb goes off destroying two apartment buildings.

    Lament:  Autumn Wind for any six instruments and any voice by Tan Dun (35) is performed for the first time, in Aberdeen, Scotland directed by the composer.

    19 March 1993 A bomb goes off in a Calcutta rail station.  Over 300 people have been killed and 1,100 injured in bomb explosions over the last week in India.

    Microsymphony by Charles Wuorinen (54) is performed for the first time, in Philadelphia.

    Wind Quintet by Thea Musgrave (64) is performed for the first time, at Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.

    20 March 1993 Russian President Boris Yeltsin claims “special powers” and announces a referendum on a new constitution will be held 25 April.

    The Provisional IRA sets off two bombs in a shopping center in Warrington, England.  Two boys are killed.  50 people are injured.

    The National Assembly of El Salvador responds to the report of 15 March by declaring a blanket amnesty for anyone guilty of atrocities during the civil war, making any prosecutions impossible.

    22 March 1993 Russian President Boris Yeltsin places the country’s media under his control.

    23 March 1993 The Russian Constitutional Court finds that President Yelstin has violated nine provisions of the current constitution.

    24 March 1993 The airlift of sick and wounded by helicopter from Srebrenica is suspended when Serb artillery shells the landing zone.

    President FW de Klerk of South Africa reveals that his country built six atomic bombs but they were destroyed in 1990.

    25 March 1993 At UN headquarters in New York, Bosnian Moslem and Croat leaders endorse the Vance-Owen plan to divide Bosnia into ten autonomous cantons.  Serb leader Radovan Karadzic rejects it.

    The Ulster Freedom Fighters shoot four Catholic workmen to death in Castlerock, County Londonderry.

    The third version of Steps for orchestra by Sofia Gubaidulina (61) is performed for the first time, in Stockholm.  See 22 June 1989 and 19 December 1990.

    Piano Quintet by Hans Werner Henze (66) is performed for the first time, at the University of California, Berkeley.

    26 March 1993 The UN Security Council unanimously votes for a plan for peacekeeping forces in Somalia.  28,000 troops from 24 countries will be sent, along with 2,800 civilians to create a government.

    A report in the journal Cell says that the gene for Huntington’s Disease has been identified by scientists in the United States and Great Britain.

    Troorkh for trombone and orchestra by Iannis Xenakis (70) is performed for the first time, in Berwald Hall, Stockholm.

    27 March 1993 Jiang Zemin replaces Yang Shangkun as President of the People’s Republic of China.

    Somali leaders meeting in Addis Ababa agree to a transition government.

    Mahamane Ousmane wins the first free presidential elections in Niger.

    Death and Fire:  Dialoque with Paul Klee for orchestra by Tan Dun (35) is performed for the first time, in Glasgow.

    28 March 1993 A move to impeach President Yeltsin falls 72 votes short in the Russian Congress of Peoples Deputies.

    A UN convoy reaches Srebrenica and removes several thousand refugees over the next three days.

    In the second round of voting for the French National Assembly, the conservative Rally for the Republic and the Union for French Democracy win 80% of the seats.

    Les quatre élémens for chorus by Franz Liszt (†106) to words of Autran is performed completely for the first time, in Budapest, 149 years after it was composed.  See 6 August 1844.

    The third movement of the Sonata for viola by Györgi Ligeti (69) is performed for the first time, in Geneva.  See 18 November 1991 and 23 April 1994.

    29 March 1993 The National Peoples Congress of the Peoples Republic of China approves a new constitution which uses the phrase “socialist market economy.”

    The Russian Parliament approves President Yeltsin’s referendum of 25 April but ends his decree powers.

    Conservative Édouard Balladur replaces Socialist Pierre Beregovoy as Prime Minister of France.

    Nikica Valentic replaces Hrvoje Sarinic as Prime Minister of Croatia.

    30 March 1993 Italian Finance Minister Franco Reviglio resigns as a result of an investigation of corruption known as “clean hands.”  He is the fifth minister in two months to resign.

    31 March 1993 The UN Security Council resolves (14-0-2) that NATO forces may shoot down any aircraft violating the no-fly zone in Bosnia.

    1 April 1993 Stepping Stones, a ballet by Joan Tower (54) to a choreography by Posin, is performed for the first time, in Milwaukee.

    2 April 1993 An agreement is signed in Paris between Russia and its creditor nations to reschedule Russian debt.

    Frauenleben, nine songs for alto and orchestra by Betsy Jolas (66), is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of Radio France originating in Paris.

    3 April 1993 Armenian forces capture the Azerbaijani province of Kelbadzhar.

    From Saibai for violin and piano by Peter Sculthorpe (63) is performed for the first time, in Penrith, Australia.

    I, II, III, IV, V:  Fantasia on a Ground for strings by John Harbison (54) is performed for the first time, at the Music School at Rivers, Weston, Massachusetts.  Also premiered are Harbison’s shorter setting of O Magnum Mysterium for chorus, the first three of the Inventions for a Young Percussionist, the theme and two variations of Variations (in first position) for string quartet, and the first three of the Inventions for a Young Pianist.

    4 April 1993 After meeting with Russian President Yeltsin in Vancouver, US President Bill Clinton pledges $1,600,000,000 in aid for Russia.

    One10 for violin by John Cage (†0) is performed for the first time, in Baltimore.

    8 April 1993 From Nourlangie for piano quartet by Peter Sculthorpe (63) is performed for the first time, in Purcell Room, London.

    After lengthy negotiations with Greece, Macedonia is admitted to the United Nations as The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

    Marian Anderson dies in Portland, Oregon at the age of 96.

    9 April 1993 United States planes are fired on by Iraqi anti-aircraft weapons.  They respond by bombing the Iraqi positions.

    10 April 1993 Chris Hani, Secretary-General of the South African Communist Party and a leader of the African National Congress, is shot to death in his driveway in a Johannesburg suburb.  Januzu Walus, right-wing Polish immigrant, is arrested.  Walus was given the gun by a Conservative MP.

    12 April 1993 Bosnian Serb forces break the two-week old cease-fire by shelling Srebrenica.  56 civilians are killed in less than an hour, including children.  Sarajevo is also hit.

    13 April 1993 Adagio for orchestra by George Perle (77) is performed for the first time, in Baltimore.

    14 April 1993 Demonstrations across South Africa over the death of Chris Hani turn violent.  Eight people are killed, hundreds injured.

    Bosnian government defenses at Srebrenica collapse south of the town.

    15 April 1993 Meeting in Tokyo, the Group of Seven nations announce $28,400,000,000 in aid for Russia.

    Moslem defenders of Srebrenica agree to surrender to the Serbs.

    Colossos or Panic op.55, a symphonic fragment after Goya for orchestra by Alexander Goehr (60), is performed for the first time, in Symphony Hall, Boston.

    16 April 1993 The Moslem-Croat alliance in Bosnia breaks down and they begin fighting each other.

    The UN Security Council declares Srbrenica to be a safe area

    17 April 1993 President Turgut Ozal of Turkey dies of heart failure in an Ankara hospital.  He is replaced by Hüsamettin Cindoruk ad interim.

    The UN Security Council reaffirms sanctions against Yugoslavia for their military support of the Bosnian Serbs.

    A federal jury in Los Angeles finds two police officers guilty of violating the civil rights of Rodney King.  The city remains calm.

    18 April 1993 President Ghulam Ishaq Khan of Pakistan sacks Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and dissolves the National Assembly.  He names Balakh Sher Mazari as interim Prime Minister.

    02:00  Talks between Bosnian and Serb military leaders conclude at Sarajevo airport, mediated by the United Nations.  The Bosnian government agrees to surrender Srebrenica in return for the evacuation of everyone in the town except able-bodied men of military age, and the disarming of the Bosnian militia to be overseen by the UN.  Serb and Moslem forces declare Srebrenica a “safe area” for civilians under the supervision of the United Nations.

    19 April 1993 4,000,000 South African workers strike on the day of Chris Hani’s funeral.

    Italian voters overwhelmingly approve constitutional changes aimed at ending corruption.

    After 50 days of siege, federal agents move in on the religious cult outside of Waco, Texas.  Once again they are fired upon from within.  A fire breaks out and within 30 minutes the entire compound burns to the ground.  72 cultists are killed.

    Tillinghast Duo for voice and piano by William Bolcom (54) is performed for the first time, in Los Angeles.

    21 April 1993 United Nations (Canada) troops begin creating a safe haven in Srebrenica for refugees.

    Brazilian voters reject a proposal to introduce a parliamentary system.

    Piano Concerto no.3 by Andrew Imbrie (72) is performed for the first time, in Alice Tully Hall, New York.

    22 April 1993 Due to the results of the referendum held three days ago, Italian Prime Minister Giuliano Amato submits his resignation.  Seven of his cabinet ministers have been linked to corruption.

    Epiphanies for female voices and orchestra by Luciano Berio (67) to words of Proust, Joyce, Machado, Simon, Brecht, and Sanguinetti is performed for the first time, in Bonn.

    23 April 1993 The opposition leader in Sri Lanka, Lalith Athulath Mudali, is shot to death at a campaign rally near Colombo.

    Plektó (Flechte) for flute, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin, and cello by Iannis Xenakis (70) is performed for the first time, in Witten.

    Inventions for clarinet and percussion by Ralph Shapey (72) is performed for the first time, in Mandel Hall of the University of Chicago.

    24 April 1993 The Provisional Irish Republican Army explodes a huge bomb in the London financial district killing one person and injuring 45.  Many buildings sustain damage.

    25 April 1993 A referendum takes place across Russia.  58% of the electorate vote confidence in President Yeltsin.  53% approve of his social and economic policies.

    In a three-day referendum ending today, voters in Eritrea approve independence from Ethiopia.

    26 April 1993 The Bosnian Serb parliament votes unanimously to reject the United Nations peace plan.

    27 April 1993 United Nations sanctions against Yugoslavia go into effect.

    The Republic of Yemen holds its first parliamentary election since the unification of the country and the first multiparty election on the Arabian peninsula.

    28 April 1993 US Secretary of Defense Les Aspin removes the ban on women engaging in aerial combat.

    29 April 1993 Carlo Azeglio Ciampi replaces Giuliano Amato as Prime Minister of Italy amidst a widespread corruption scandal.  A political independent, Ciampi heads a broad cabinet including some former Communists.

    Symphony (The Stages of Life) for orchestra by Roger Reynolds (58) is performed for the first time, in Los Angeles.

    30 April 1993 A majority of shares in 600 state owned businesses in Poland are turned over to investment funds.

    1 May 1993 During a parade in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 24 people are killed by a suicide bomber, including President Ranasinghe Premadasa.  Prime Minister Dingiri Banda Wijetunge is sworn in as President.

    Communists in Moscow battle police when they are not allowed to celebrate May Day.  One policeman is killed, hundreds of people are injured.

    Leaders of the three Bosnian factions meet in Athens to discuss the Vance-Owen plan for peace.

    2 May 1993 In Athens, Radovan Karadzic signs the Vance-Owen peace plan subject to the approval of the Bosnian Serb Parliament.

    Christ is made the Sure Foundation for chorus and organ by Ned Rorem (69) is performed for the first time, in North Carolina.

    4 May 1993 United States forces in Somalia hand over command to the United Nations, marking the first time the US forces have served under UN control.

    Supporters of former President Zviad Gamsakhurdia blow up a power station cutting off electricity to half of Georgia.

    5 May 1993 Antiphonies for solo piano and orchestra by Harrison Birtwistle (58) is performed for the first time, in Paris conducted by Pierre Boulez (68).

    6 May 1993 The Bosnian Serb Parliament votes to reject the Vance-Owen plan but agrees to submit it to a referendum.  President Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia calls it an “irresponsible decision” and orders a blockade of all trade with the Bosnian Serbs except food and medicine.

    The United Nations Security Council declares Sarajevo and five other Bosnian cities as “safe areas” for civilians fleeing Serb militias.

    7 May 1993 The Polish Parliament completes action to transfer 600 state-owned industries to investment funds.  Shares will be distributed to all adult Poles.

    Serbs in Banja Luka destroy two 16th century mosques.

    Five Distances for Five Instruments for woodwind quintet by Harrison Birtwistle (58) is performed for the first time, in Purcell Room, London.

    Anima mundi, a film with music by Philip Glass (56), is released in the United States.

    9 May 1993 Serb forces take Zepa from the Moslems.

    Carlos Wasmosy wins a three-way race in the first direct, multiparty elections for a civilian president in Paraguay.

    Antlitz for violin and piano by Wolfgang Rihm (41) is performed for the first time, in Cologne.

    12 May 1993 Fighting for Kabul resumes between several Afghan factions.

    Et nunc II for winds and percussion by Wolfgang Rihm (41) is performed for the first time, in Vienna.

    13 May 1993 Meeting in Kyoto, the International Whaling Commission rejects lifting the moratorium on commercial whaling.

    Ezer Weizman replaces Chaim Herzog as President of Israel.

    US President Clinton abandons the Reagan-Bush Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars), turning it towards local missile defense.

    Wanting to Tell Stories, a dance by Kevin Volans (43) to a choreography of Davies, is performed for the first time, in Gardner Center, Brighton.

    Concerto for bassoon and orchestra by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (54) is performed for the first time, in Pittsburgh.

    14 May 1993 I said, I will take heed for chorus and winds op.56 by Alexander Goehr (60) to words of Psalm 39 is performed for the first time, in Amsterdam.

    Rodrigue et Chimène, an opera by Claude Debussy (†75) to words of Mendes after Castro, reconstructed by Langham Smith, orchestrated by Edison Denisov, is performed for the first time, at the Lyon Opéra, 100 years after it was composed.

    Orphée, an opera by Philip Glass (56) to words of the composer after Cocteau, is performed for the first time, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  It was commissioned by the American Repertory Theatre.

    15 May 1993 Jane Campion’s film The Piano is shown for the first time, in Cannes.

    16 May 1993 Reported results of a referendum among Bosnian Serbs show a rejection of the Vance-Owen peace plan.  They approve an independent Serb state within Bosnia.  Radovan Karadzic declares the peace plan dead and says that he now represents “Republica Srpska.”

    Süleyman Demirel replaces Hüsamettin Cindoruk as President of Turkey.  He names Erdal Inönü as acting Prime Minister.

    President François Mitterand of France visits Mikis Theodorakis (67) at his home in Vrachati.

    The Cave, for two sopranos, tenor, baritone, four percussionists, three keyboards, string quartet, two wind instruments, and videotape by Steve Reich (56) to words of the Torah, Koran, and various commentaries, is performed for the first time, in Theater Messe Palast, Vienna.  The videotape is created by the composer’s wife, Beryl Korot.

    18 May 1993 Danish voters reject last year’s referendum and approve the Maastricht treaty by 57%-43% after the Danish government gained certain concessions.

    Bosnian Croats and Moslems agree in Medjugorje to observe elements of the Vance-Owen peace plan between them.

    US President Clinton decides to extend recognition to the MPLA government of Angola, the government Ronald Reagan tried so hard to overthrow.

    Witold Lutoslawski (80) is presented with the Polar Prize for Music by King Gustaf XVI of Sweden at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm.

    Hommage à Zhivago, a musical allegory by Alred Schnittke (58) to words of Lubimov after Pasternak, Blok, Vosnesensky, and Russian scriptures, is performed for the first time, in Odeon Hall, Vienna.

    Adagio adagio, a serenade for piano, violin, and cello by Hans Werner Henze (66) is performed for the first time, in Darmstadt.

    20 May 1993 The British Parliament votes to support the Maastricht Treaty.

    21 May 1993 East Timor rebel leader José Alexandre Gusmão is sentenced to life in prison by an Indonesian court.

    President Carlos Andrés Pérez of Venezuela is suspended from office by the Senate and will be tried for corruption by the Supreme Court.  Octavio Lepage becomes acting President.

    22 May 1993 A “Joint Action Plan” for Bosnia is put forward by the United States, Russia, France, the United Kingdom, and Spain.  It calls for sealing Bosnia’s borders and establishing six “safe areas.”  It effectively ends the Vance-Owen peace process and moves towards a three-way split of Bosnia.

    23 May 1993 Etude 13 from György Ligeti’s (69) Etudes for piano Book II is performed for the first time, in Schwetzingen.

    A jury in Baton Rouge, Louisiana acquits a man of charges of murder for shooting to death a Japanese exchange student who came to his door to ask directions.

    Partita no.1 op.62/1 for horn by Robin Holloway (49) is performed for the first time, in Bath.

    24 May 1993 Thousands of Tibetans begin five days of protests against Chinese rule in Lhasa.

    After battling for thirty years, the Republic of Eritrea is declared independent of Ethiopia under President Isaias Afwerki.

    Six people are killed in a shootout between members of two drug cartels at Guadalajara International Airport.  Among the dead is Cardinal Juan Jésus Posadas Ocampo, Archbishop of Guadalajara.

    25 May 1993 Two works by Alfred Schnittke (58) are performed for the first time, in Evian:  Trio for violin, cello, and piano, and Epilogue from the Ballet ‘Peer Gynt’ for cello, piano, and tape.

    Memorial 19 Fucks, a Memorial to Injustice for voice, piano, and double bass by Tan Dun (35) to a text in 19 languages is performed for the first time, in New York.

    26 May 1993 The Supreme Court of Pakistan rules 10-1 that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif must be restored to power.

    Leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan sign a cease-fire in Moscow.

    Prime Minister Édouard Balladur of France announces plans to sell the government’s stakes in 21 companies.

    27 May 1993 A bomb explodes near the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.  Five people are killed, three paintings destroyed and 30 damaged.  It is assumed that the bomb was planted by the Mafia.

    Hymns of Paradise for bass, female chorus, and six violins by John Tavener (49) to words of St. Ephraim the Syrian (tr. Brock) is performed for the first time, in St. Paul’s Cathedral, London.

    Concerto for violin and orchestra by Karel Husa (71) is performed for the first time, in Avery Fisher Hall, New York.

    28 May 1993 Serb militias fire thousands of shells into the UN safe area of Gorazde over the next five days.  Dozens of people are killed.

    The German Bundestag approves constitutional changes making it more difficult to seek asylum in the country.

    The Federal Constitutional Court of Germany voids a law easing abortions.  It rules 6-2 that life begins at conception.

    The Republic of Eritrea and the Principality of Monaco are admitted to the United Nations.

    Dienstag aus Licht, an opera by Karlheinz Stockhausen (64) to his own words, is staged for the first time, in the Leipzig Opernhaus.  See 10 May 1992.

    Melodien for carillon by Mauricio Kagel (61) is performed for the first time, in Amsterdam.

    29 May 1993 Five members of a Turkish family in Solingen, Germany are killed when their home is firebombed by neo-Nazis.

    31 May 1993 The Singing Child, an opera by Gian Carlo Menotti (81) to his own words, is performed for the first time, at the Spoleto Festival, Charleston, South Carolina.

    1 June 1993 The Russian Ministry of Justice announces that all men in prison for being homosexuals will be released.  Homosexuality is no longer a crime.

    Serb artillery shells a soccer match in Sarajevo.  Twelve people are killed, 80 wounded.

    After fist fights in the halls, the Yugoslav Parliament ousts President Dobrica Cosic as being too moderate.  Milos Radulovic takes over ad interim.  About 4,000 opposition demonstrators attack the parliament building and battle police.  One person is killed, 30 injured.

    Acting on appeals from the judiciary and public, the armed forces of Guatemala oust President Jorge Serrano Elías, who seized dictatorial powers on 25 May.

    2 June 1993 After anti-Milosevic demonstrations in Belgrade, opposition leader Vuk Draskovic and his wife are arrested and beaten.

    A Singing Telegram for Amelia Freedman from Robin Holloway for string sextet by Robin Holloway (49) is performed for the first time, in Bath.

    3 June 1993 Following elections for a constituent assembly, Norodom Sihanouk creates a government for Cambodia, naming himself as Prime Minister.

    4 June 1993 The United Nations Security Council votes to allow air attacks on Serbs besieging six Moslem areas in Bosnia.

    Music to the play Gra by Elliott Carter (84) is performed for the first time at the Pontino Festival, Castello Caetani, Sermonetta, Italy.  The work is a tribute to Witold Lutoslawski on his 80th birthday.

    5 June 1993 Militia forces of Mohammed Farah Aidid attack United Nations forces in Mogadishu.  23 Pakistani soldiers are killed.  The United States retaliates by bombing Aidid’s arms caches.

    A constitutional conference opens in Moscow.  The Chairman of the conference, Ruslan Khasbulatov, and fifty delegates opposing President Yeltsin walk out.

    6 June 1993 Over 450 people are killed by rebels in Liberia at a rubber plantation 60 km from Monrovia.

    The ruling Socialist Workers Party of Spain, together with their Catalonian allies, win a surprising victory in Spanish national elections, giving Prime Minister Felipe González a fourth term.

    The Congress of Guatemala elects human rights activist Ramiro de León Carpio as President.

    7 June 1993 Serb forces capture Travnik and send Croat soldiers and civilians fleeing south.

    Popular music entertainer Prince changes his name to a symbol.

    James Tenney (58) receives the $10,000 Chalmers Award for his work Critical Band in a ceremony in the Tennenbaum Opera Center, Toronto.

    9 June 1993 The definitive version of the Concerto for violin and orchestra by Györgi Ligeti (70) is performed for the first time, in Lyon conducted by Pierre Boulez (68).  See 3 November 1990 and 8 October 1992.

    Roman Fever, an opera by Robert Ward (75) to words of Brunyate after Wharton, is performed for the first time, in Durham, North Carolina.

    10 June 1993 The Romanian government reports the discovery of 300 bodies over the last two years at a secret police interrogation center 40 km north of Bucharest.

    11 June 1993 Movement for wind sextet by Benjamin Britten (†16) is performed for the first time, in Aldeburgh Parish Church, 63 years after it was composed.

    12 June 1993 United States helicopters destroy four arms caches of Mohammed Farah Aidid in Somalia.  Ground troops seize heavy weapons, ammunition and 200 prisoners.

    Armenian forces attack Agdan in Nagorno-Karabakh.

    Now always Snow for chamber chorus and chamber ensemble by Sofia Gubaidulina (61) to words of Aigi is performed for the first time, in Amsterdam.

    Kleines Requiem für eine Polka op.66 for piano and 13 instruments by Henryk Górecki (59) is performed for the first time, in Amsterdam.

    13 June 1993 Pakistani troops fire on demonstrators in Mogadishu supporting Mohammed Farah Aidid.  20 people are killed, 50 wounded.

    Serb artillery shells a first aid center in Gorazde, one of the United Nations “safe zones.”  Fifty people are killed.

    15 June 1993 Six of the ten members of the Commonwealth of Independent States agree to disband their joint military command.

    Hommage à Grieg for orchestra by Alfred Schnittke (58) is performed for the first time, in Bergen on the 150th anniversary of Grieg’s (†85) birth.

    16 June 1993 The United Nations Security Council votes an oil and arms embargo on Haiti and freezes Haitian assets abroad in an attempt to force the military government to allow the return of elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

    Incidental music to the play Doctor Zhivago after Pasternak by Alfred Schnittke (58) is performed for the first time, in Taganka Theatre, Moscow.

    Fugue sur un sujet d’Ernest Le Grand op.126 for string quartet by Charles Koechlin (†42) is performed for the first time, in Berlin 62 years after it was composed.

    17 June 1993 Faction leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar is sworn in as Prime Minister of Afghanistan in a ceremony in a village near Kabul.

    United Nations troops storm the headquarters of Mohammed Farah Aidid in Mogadishu but he is not present.  At least 65 people are killed in the fighting.

    Presidents Tudjman of Croatia and Milosevic of Serbia announce agreement on the division of Bosnia and Hercegovina on ethnic lines.  David Owen concedes the failure of the Vance-Owen plan.

    Odyssey for mezzo-soprano, bass-baritone, 16 players, and electronic sound generators by Roger Reynolds (58) to words of Beckett is performed for the first time, in the Georges Pompidou Center, Paris.

    18 June 1993 Chairman of the Parliament Heydar Aliyev takes control of the government of Azerbaijan as rebels move on Baku.

    39 members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party join opposition members to vote no confidence in the Japanese government of Prime Minister Kiichi Miyzawa.  The government falls.

    Seven Summer Songs, a cycle for children’s voices by Peter Maxwell Davies (58) to his own words, is performed for the first time, at Papdale Primary School, Kirkwall, Orkney.

    Archipelago S. for 21 players by Toru Takemitsu (62) is performed for the first time, in Aldeburgh.

    22 June 1993 The European Community formally invites Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia to apply for membership.

    23 June 1993 President General Ibrahim Babangida of Nigeria voids the presidential election held 12 June, as well as the promise of a return to civilian rule.

    24 June 1993 Kurdish militants attack Turkish diplomatic and business interests in over two dozen cities in Europe.  20 hostages are taken and released at the Turkish consulate in Munich.  One Kurd is killed in Bern.

    The FBI arrests eight Moslems charged with planning to bomb several sites in New York City and murder the United Nations Secretary General.

    25 June 1993 Russia cuts off gas supplies to Estonia after Estonia restricts the rights of non-Estonian-speaking inhabitants.

    About 3,000 members of white supremacist groups attack the Kempton Park World Trade Center in Johannesburg where talks to end apartheid are taking place.

    The Azerbaijan Parliament votes to strip President Abulfez Elchibey of power.

    Tansu Çiller replaces Erdal Inönü as Prime Minister of Turkey, the first woman to hold that post.

    Albania expels a senior Orthodox cleric for fomenting rebellion among Greeks in southern Albania.  Greece responds by beginning the deportation of 200,000 illegal Albanian immigrants in Greece.

    Zoran Lilic is elected President of Yugoslavia and replaces acting President Milos Radulovic.

    Avril Phaedra “Kim” Campbell replaces Martin Brian Mulroney as Prime Minister of Canada.

    Antigone, a music drama by Ton de Leeuw (66) to his own words after Sophocles, is performed for the first time, in the Westergasfabriek, Amsterdam.

    Musique pour Xavier for clarinet, tenor saxophone, and violin by Betsy Jolas (66) is performed for the first time, in Paris.

    26 June 1993 United States naval vessels fire 23 cruise missiles at the intelligence complex in Baghdad in response to the Iraqi plan to kill former president Bush.  The plot came to light when conspirators were arrested and tried in Kuwait.  Three missiles go astray, killing civilians.

    27 June 1993 President Lech Walesa of Poland divorces himself from Solidarity after it refuses to endorse candidates supported by him.

    28 June 1993 Here in the Flesh for congregation and piano by TJ Anderson (64) to words of Masefield is performed for the first time, in Charlotte, North Carolina.

    1 July 1993 Orchestral Theatre II:  Re for bass, audience, and orchestra by Tan Dun (35) is performed for the first time, in Suntory Hall, Tokyo.  The composer is one of the two conductors.

    2 July 1993 Memento Mori for orchestra by Peter Sculthorpe (64) is performed for the first time, in Perth, Western Australia.

    The Man with Footsoles of Wind, a chamber opera by Kevin Volans (43) to words of Clarke after Chatwin and Rimbaud, is performed for the first time, in the Almeida Theatre, London.

    3 July 1993 President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in New York and General Raoul Cedras in Port-au-Prince sign a compromise agreement which provides for the return of Aristide to power in Haiti.

    4 July 1993 United Nations arms inspectors leave Iraq after they are not allowed to install cameras at missile sites.

    The last Russian troops leave Cuba.  They have been on the island since 1962.

    Suite for saxophone by Robin Holloway (49) is performed for the first time, in West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge.

    6 July 1993 Chairman of the Supreme Council Anatolijs Gorbunovs of Latvia becomes acting President.  Chairman of the Council of Ministers Ivars Jodmanis becomes Prime Minister.

    Winter Music:  Concertino no.6 op.76 for oboe, clarinet, trumpet, piano, violin, and cello by Robin Holloway (49) is performed for the first time, in the Royal Pump Room, Leamington Spa.

    7 July 1993 Compassion in Exile:  The Life of the 14th Dalai Lama, a film with music by Philip Glass (56), is shown for the first time, on television in the United States.

    8 July 1993 From Kakadu for guitar by Peter Sculthorpe (64) is performed for the first time, in Darwin, Australia.

    Guntis Ulmanis replaces Anatolijs Gorbunovs as President of Latvia.

    Six Moslem militants are hanged in Egypt for attacks on tourists.

    9 July 1993 British scientists confirm that remains unearthed two years ago are those of Tsar Nikolay II and his family.

    Serbian opposition leader Vuk Draskovic is released after a month in prison.

    The collective presidency of Bosnia and Hercegovina. meeting in Sarajevo, votes against a plan to partition the country along ethnic lines.

    10 July 1993 Third Sonata for Strings by Peter Sculthorpe (64) is performed for the first time, in Darwin, Australia.

    12 July 1993 Four journalists are killed in Mogadishu at a militia stronghold by United States helicopters.

    Serbs send mortar shells into a crowd waiting for water in Sarajevo.  Twelve people are killed, 15 wounded.

    Third Sonata (Sonata Stramba) for violin and piano by William Bolcom (55) is performed for the first time, in Aspen, Colorado.

    14 July 1993 Arias for clarinet and piano by Leslie Bassett (70) is performed for the first time, in Ghent.

    15 July 1993 Primavera Amarilla for mezzo-soprano, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano by Samuel Adler (65) is performed for the first time, in Santiago, Chile.

    16 July 1993 Wild Winter I:  Lamentations for voices and viols for four voices and four viols by Thea Musgrave (65) to words of various authors, is performed for the first time, in Litchfield Cathedral.

    17 July 1993 Five Moslem militants are hanged in Egypt.

    18 July 1993 National elections in Japan produce a hung parliament.  The ruling Liberal Democratic Party drops to 223 of 512.  An eight-party opposition alliance wins 258 seats.

    Wasim Sajjad replaces Ghulam Ishaq Khan as President of Pakistan.

    19 July 1993 Iraq accepts United Nations weapons monitoring.

    US President Clinton announces that homosexuals may serve in the military if they are discreet and do not engage in homosexual acts.  The policy is dubbed “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

    22 July 1993 Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa of Japan resigns due to the results of the elections of 18 July.  He will retain his post in a caretaker capacity.

    23 July 1993 The British Parliament votes to accept the Maastricht Treaty while opting out of the social chapter.

    Mosaïques for orchestra by Iannis Xenakis (71) is performed for the first time, in Marseille.

    24 July 1993 The Russian Central Bank withdraws all notes issued before 1 January.  Citizens must replace their bills by 7 August.  The announcement sets off a panic.

    25 July 1993 After Arab terrorists attacking Israeli forces in southern Lebanon kill seven, the Israelis retaliate against terrorist bases with air and artillery attacks.  The Arabs then send rockets into a town in northern Israel and kill two people.

    Serbs send artillery rounds into a base containing French UN peacekeepers in Sarajevo.  Several are injured.

    Black gunmen attack a predominantly white church in Kenilworth, near Cape Town.  Eleven church members are killed, at least 53 injured.

    A second setting of The Lord’s Prayer for chorus by John Tavener (49) is performed for the first time, in St. Edmundsbury Cathedral, Bury St. Edmunds.

    26 July 1993 Russian President Yeltsin modifies his drastic currency reform.

    27 July 1993 Bombs explode in Milan and Rome, killing five people and wounding 24.

    28 July 1993 The Valleys of Andorra is admitted to the United Nations.

    30 July 1993 The leaders of the three Bosnian factions agree to the establishment of ethnically based republics in loose federation.

    31 July 1993 A cease-fire goes into effect in Lebanon.

    King Baudouin of Belgium dies of a heart attack in Spain.  He is succeeded by his brother, Albert II.

    1 August 1993 Bosnian Serb forces take Mount Bjelasnica from Moslems southwest of Sarajevo.

    Concerto for horn and string orchestra by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (54) is performed for the first time, in Vail, Colorado.

    2 August 1993 45,000 coal miners strike in Romania for better pay.

    The European Exchange Rate Mechanism collapses.  All member currencies except Germany and the Netherlands are allowed to float as much as 15% from the central rate.

    Three City Blocks for band by John Harbison (54) is performed for the first time, at the Hilton Hotel Convention Center, Fort Smith, Arkansas.

    4 August 1993 Valdis Birkaves replaces Ivars Jodmanis as Prime Minister of Latvia.

    Bosnian Serbs take Mount Igman overlooking Sarajevo.

    The Italian Parliament gives final approval to significant changes in the electoral system.

    6 August 1993 President Eduard Shevardnadze replaces Tengiz Ipolitovich Sigua as Prime Minister of Georgia.

    Elegy (“…Forgive These Wild and Wandering Cries…”) for trombone and string quartet by Joan Tower (54) is performed for the first time, in Norfolk, Connecticut.

    8 August 1993 Four United States soldiers are killed by a land mine in Mogadishu.

    9 August 1993 Morihiro Hosokawa of the Japan New Party replaces Kiichi Miyazawa as Prime Minister of Japan.

    Albert II takes the oath in the national Parliament, Brussels, as the new King of Belgium, succeeding his brother Baudouin.

    10 August 1993 UN and EU negotiators suspend Bosnian peace talks until the Serbs withdraw from two mountains southwest of Sarajevo.

    11 August 1993 Coal miners in Romania go back to work after a settlement, but railroad workers go out on strike for better pay.  By 13 August, all the country’s railroads are shut down.

    13 August 1993 Quartet for clarinet and strings by Krzysztof Penderecki (59) is performed for the first time, in Lübeck.

    14 August 1993 Chinesische Bilder for recorder by Isang Yun (75) is performed for the first time, in Stavanger.

    15 August 1993 UN troops take up positions between the warring armies around Sarajevo.

    Gold miners kill at least 73 Yanomami Indians in Brazil.

    Democratically elected Juan Carlos Wasmosy is inaugurated as President of Paraguay, ending decades of military rule.  He replaces Andres Rodríguez.

    18 August 1993 Troops of the interim Cambodian government launch an offensive against the Khmer Rouge in the northwest of the country.

    Moslem militants explode a bomb in Cairo.  Four people are killed, 15 injured, including Egypt’s new security chief.

    Romanian railroad workers return to work after the government threatens to fire them all.

    The United Nations Security Council calls for the removal of Armenian forces from all territory they have occupied since 12 June.

    19 August 1993 Arab terrorists attack Israeli forces in Lebanon killing eight.  Israel responds with air strikes.

    Dr. George Tiller is shot and wounded outside the clinic he operates in Wichita, Kansas by Rachelle Shannon, a Pro-Life advocate.  Abortions are performed within the clinic.

    Lament for string sextet by Peter Sculthorpe (64) is performed for the first time, in Dartington, Great Britain.

    20 August 1993 Otar Ambakovich Patsatsia replaces President Eduard Shevardnadze as Prime Minister of Georgia.

    A new plan for the division of Bosnia and Hercegovina along ethnic lines is presented in Geneva by Thorwald Stoltenberg for the UN and David Owen for the EU.

    Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman no.5 for four trumpets by Joan Tower (54) is performed for the first time, in Aspen, Colorado.

    21 August 1993 Health officials in Russia report over 4,000 diphtheria cases this year and the beginning of a massive immunization program.

    26 August 1993 President Babangida of Nigeria resigns and appoints Ernest Shonekan at the head of a civilian interim government.

    In Prague to mark the 25th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, Russian President Boris Yeltsin calls it “an assault on the sovereignty of an independent state.”

    UN relief trucks with food and medicine reach the Moslems in Mostar besieged by Croats.

    Serenade for Strings op.73 by Robin Holloway (49) is performed for the first time, in Worcester Cathedral.

    27 August 1993 The United Nations suspends its embargo on Haiti after the military agrees to the return of President Aristide.

    28 August 1993 The Bosnian Parliament unanimously rejects the United Nations peace plan.  The Bosnian Serb Parliament accepts.  Croats in Grude also accept and declare the independence of Herceg-Bosna.

    31 August 1993 The last Russian troops leave Lithuania.  Church bells ring.

    The Israeli government approves a draft agreement with the PLO for Arab self-rule.

    1 September 1993 The Bacchae for baritone, female chorus, and nine instrumentalists by Iannis Xenakis (71) to words of Euripides, is performed for the first time, in London.

    3 September 1993 Former Prime Minister Georgi Atanasov of Bulgaria begins serving a ten-year prison term for embezzlement of state funds.

    Ukraine agrees to sell its half of the Black Sea Fleet to Russia and send all nuclear warheads it has to Russia.

    Laudatio pacis, an oratorio for vocal soloists, chorus, and orchestra (without strings) by Sofia Gubaidulina (61), Marek Kopelent, and Paul-Heinz Dittrich to words of Amos Comenius, is performed for the first time, in Berlin.

    4 September 1993 The remains of Admiral Miklós Horthy (leader of Hungary from 1919-1944) are reinterred in his hometown of Kenderes.  Horthy died in exile in 1957.  Thousands turn out and the ceremony is broadcast on television.  The event also produces protests.  He is widely seen as a Nazi sympathizer.

    5 September 1993 Seven UN troops (Nigeria) are killed by Somali irregulars in Mogadishu.

    7 September 1993 19 of 23 South African parties agree to the formation of the multiracial Transitional Executive Council to oversee preparations for universal suffrage elections next April.

    9 September 1993 Yasser Arafat declares “the PLO recognizes the right of the State of Israel to exist in peace and security.”  Israeli Prime Minister Rabin responds that the PLO is the representative of the Palestinian people.

    A hundred Somalis are killed by United Nations (United States-Pakistan) troops in Mogadishu.  Three US soldiers are killed.  Many of the dead are civilians used by Somali warlords as human shields for their attack on UN troops.

    11 September 1993 Erich Leinsdorf dies in Zürich at the age of 81.

    12 September 1993 Lieder und Tänze aus der Operette La Cubana for mezzo soprano and chamber orchestra by Hans Werner Henze (67) are performed for the first time, in the Kleiner Tonhallesaal, Zürich.

    13 September 1993 Leaders of the State of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization sign a peace accord on the lawn of the White House in Washington.

    In Norwegian parliamentary elections, the ruling Labor Party wins the most votes and a plurality of seats.  The Center Party triples its representation, apparently at the expense of more conservative parties.  Labor Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland continues in office.

    A version of “...explosante-fixe...” for MIDI flute, orchestra, and electronic sound generators by Pierre Boulez (68) is performed for the first time, in Turin.

    14 September 1993 Yitzhak Rabin meets with King Hassan in Morocco, the first visit of an Israeli prime minister to an Arab country other than Egypt.

    Representatives of Israel and Jordan sign an “agenda for peace” in Washington.

    Bosnian Moslem troops murder at least 35 Croat civilians at Uzdol.

    16 September 1993 Former East German Defense Minister Heinz Keissler, former Deputy Defense Minister Fritz Streletz, and former Communist Party leader Hans Albrecht are convicted in Germany for their part in the deaths of East Germans attempting to flee the country.

    17 September 1993 The body of General Wladyslaw Sikorski, Prime Minister of the Polish government-in-exile during World War II, is reinterred in Kraków.  He was killed under mysterious circumstances in Gibraltar on 4 July 1943 and buried in England.

    Espace II for cello harp and oboe ad lib by Isang Yun is performed for the first time, in St. Blasien in the Black Forest, on the composer’s 76th birthday.

    18 September 1993 The last Russian military personnel leave Poland.

    Fighting resumes in Abkhazia between rebels and Georgian troops.

    19 September 1993 Parliamentary elections in Poland result in large gains for the Democratic Left Alliance (former Communists).  The ruling Democratic Union gains only ten percent of the vote.

    20 September 1993 The three Bosnian factions break off peace negotiations aboard a British carrier in the Adriatic.

    Between Tides for violin, cello, and piano by Toru Takemitsu (62) is performed for the first time, in Berlin.

    21 September 1993 After opposition to his economic policies, Russian President Yeltsin suspends Parliament and calls parliamentary elections for December.  Parliament votes to remove Yeltsin and swears in Vice-President Vladimir Rutskoy as President.

    Abu Shaaban, local leader of the Al Fatah faction, is shot and killed in Gaza by a member of a rival Arab group.

    22 September 1993 The Russian Constitutional Court rules that President Yeltsin has once again violated the constitution.

    Yukhim Leonidovych Zvyahilsky replaces Leonid Danylovych Kuchma as acting Prime Minister of Ukraine.

    Police officers barricade the Russian Parliament building and place armed guards within.  Anti-Yeltsin forces demonstrate outside.

    23 September 1993 President Yeltsin takes control of all Russian media and calls presidential elections for next June.

    The South African Parliament approves the creation of a multiracial council to oversee universal suffrage elections in April.

    24 September 1993 Norodom Sihanouk is installed as King of Cambodia.  Authority is transferred from the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia.  He immediately appoints his son, Norodom Ranariddh, as First Prime Minister, and Hun Sen as Second Prime Minister.

    The Russian Congress of Peoples Deputies votes to hold simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections by March 1994, while police surround the building.

    Given the action yesterday by the South African Parliament, Nelson Mandela calls on the world to end sanctions against South Africa.

    Two Dances from Caroline Mathilde for flute and harp by Peter Maxwell Davies (59), is performed for the first time, in City Hall, Thurso.

    25 September 1993 City authorities in Moscow cut off electricity, telephone and hot water to the parliament building.  Russian troops are added to police surrounding the building.

    Symphony no.6 by Alfred Schnittke (58) is performed for the first time, in Moscow.

    26 September 1993 15,000 people demonstrate in Moscow in support of President Yeltsin.

    The UN Security Council votes to cut off arms and fuel to the UNITA rebels in Angola after they refuse to join in a cease-fire.

    The Pink, acoustic music for paper by Tan Dun (36), is performed for the first time, in Yellow Springs, Pennsylvania.

    27 September 1993 Georgian rebels take the provincial capital of Sukhumi.  President Shevardnadze narrowly escapes the fighting.

    Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk eliminates the position of Prime Minister, taking direct control of the government.

    28 September 1993 The Russian Interior Ministry seals off the Parliament building with barricades and wire.

    Akhmatova Songs for soprano and cello by John Tavener (49) is performed for the first time, in St. Sampson’s Church, Crickdale.

    29 September 1993 More Russian troops arrive at the Russian Parliament building, laying concertina wire.  Parliament is ordered to leave the building by 4 October.

    The Bosnian government rejects the Owen-Stoltenberg plan.

    The European Parliament meets for the first time in its new building, in Brussels.

    30 September 1993 Anywhere from 10,000-30,000 people are killed by an earthquake in central India.

    A second round of privatization of state industries begins in the Czech Republic.  This involves 770 industries worth $5,000,000,000.

    Meditation on the Bach Chorale Vor Deinen Thron tret ich Hiermit for harpsichord and string quintet by Sofia Gubaidulina (61) is performed for the first time, in Bremen.

    1 October 1993 600 soldiers join the Yeltsin opponents inside the Russian parliament building.

    Rebels manage to eject Georgian government troops from almost all of Abkhazia.

    Symphony no.8 by Hans Werner Henze (67) is performed for the first time, in Boston.

    2 October 1993 Anti-Yeltsin forces put up street barricades in Moscow and battle police.

    Brazilian troops assault a prison in São Paulo where a riot is taking place.  Within hours, 200 inmates are dead and the prison secured.

    Three Fantasy Movements for cello and orchestra by Shulamit Ran (43) is performed for the first time, in Berkeley, California.

    3 October 1993 Armed Yeltsin opponents march to the Russian Parliament building in Moscow and overwhelm government troops.  President Yeltsin declares a state of emergency.  Rebels take the mayor’s office but are stopped by Interior Ministry troops at the television complex.  62 people are killed in the battle there and the rebels are turned back.

    Three United States soldiers are killed by a mine in Mogadishu.  United Nations forces attack the militia of Mohammed Farah Aidid south of the city.  Aidid forces counterattack.  21 U.N. troops are killed (18 United States, 2 Pakistan, 1 Malaysia), 75 wounded.  Somali losses are unknown.

    Maker of our Being for chorus and organ by Leslie Bassett (70) to his own words is performed for the first time, in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

    4 October 1993 Government tanks and troops surround the Russian Parliament building.  After a surrender ultimatum is ignored, the tanks begin shelling the building setting it on fire.  By mid-afternoon the building is occupied and many are taken prisoner.  187 people are killed, 437 wounded.  Vice-President Rutskoy and Chairman of the Parliament Khasbulatov are arrested.  The office of the Mayor of Moscow is recaptured by loyal troops.  President Yeltsin bans Pravda and other publications and organizations connected to the rebels.

    5 October 1993 President Yeltsin bans certain Russian opposition parties and newspapers.

    6 October 1993 National Assembly elections in Pakistan result in a plurality for the Pakistan Peoples Party of Benazir Bhutto.

    Russian President Yeltsin promises elections on 12 December.  The honor guard is removed from Lenin’s tomb.

    7 October 1993 Agnes de Mille dies at her home in New York at the age of 88.

    Legends for orchestra by Shulamit Ran (43) is performed for the first time, in Chicago.

    8 October 1993 Ten Russian political parties are banned.  13 newspapers critical of President Yeltsin are suspended.

    Esther, an opera by Hugo Weisgall (80) to words of Kondek after the Bible, is performed for the first time, in New York.

    Troubadours:  Variations for guitar and chamber orchestra by John Corigliano (55) is performed for the first time, in St. Paul, Minnesota.

    10 October 1993 Parliamentary elections in Greece result in a clear majority for the Panhellenic Socialist Movement of Andreas Papandreou.

    Concertino for harpsichord and seven instruments by Ned Rorem (69) is performed for the first time at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, 46 years after it was composed.

    11 October 1993 The first private commercial bank in Tanzania opens.

    Armed demonstrators prevent the landing of United States and Canadian troops at Port-au-Prince.

    Come Holy Spirit op.61 for chorus by Henryk Górecki (59) is performed for the first time, in Warsaw.

    Orfeo III for flute and string quintet by Thea Musgrave (65) is performed for the first time, at the Moscow Conservatory of Music.

    12 October 1993 The Constitutional Court of Germany rules that challenges to the Maastricht Treaty are not valid.  Within hours, President Richard Weizsäcker signs the ratification law.

    The German government decides to move the capital from Bonn to Berlin by the end of 2000.

    13 October 1993 Andreas Georgiou Papandreou replaces Konstantinos Kiriakou Mitsotakis as Prime Minister of Greece.

    The United Nations Security Council votes to reimpose sanctions on Haiti.  They give a grace period through 18 October.

    14 October 1993 Guy Malary, a member of the transitional government of Haiti, is murdered with three others in Port-au-Prince.

    15 October 1993 The Norwegian Nobel Committee announces that the 1993 Peace Prize will go to Nelson Mandela and FW De Klerk.

    The Haitian military government refuses to step down as scheduled today.  United States warships are ordered to Haitian waters to enforce the embargo.

    16 October 1993 After a lull of several weeks, Serbs begin heavy shelling of Sarajevo again.

    17 October 1993 Into the Dreaming for cello by Peter Sculthorpe (64) is performed for the first time, in Eugene Goossens Hall, Sydney.

    18 October 1993 Shares in the first company to be privatized under a new French government plan, Banque Nationale de Paris, begin trading on the Paris Bourse.

    19 October 1993 Benazir Bhutto replaces Moeen Qureshi as Prime Minister of Pakistan.

    Over the next week, Israel will free 600 Arab prisoners.

    The UN demands unmet, the embargo on Haiti resumes.

    20 October 1993 President Milosevic dissolves the Serbian Parliament and calls for elections on 19 December.

    String Quartet no.4 by Mauricio Kagel (61) is performed for the first time, in Anvers, Belgium.

    Fanfares to Music for brass by John Corigliano (55) is performed for the first time, in Alice Tully Hall, New York.

    21 October 1992 A prominent PLO leader is shot to death by Arab terrorists in Gaza.

    Popular music entertainer Madonna releases her book Sex which includes images of the singer acting out various of her sexual fantasies.

    22 October 1993 The Most Often Used Chords for orchestra by John Harbison (54) is performed for the first time, in Los Angeles.

    23 October 1993 Croat militia bombard the Moslem village of Stupni Do all day.  At night they move in and destroy every house in the village.  At least 80 villagers who have not fled are killed.

    The Provisional IRA explodes a bomb in a fish and chips shop in Belfast, killing nine Protestants and the bomber.  The explosion was intended for a meeting of Protestant paramilitaries meeting on the floor above.  Some of them are hurt, in a total of 57 injuries.

    25 October 1993 Bosnian President Izetbegovic names Haris Silajdzic as Prime Minister.

    Israel releases 617 Arab prisoners today and tomorrow.

    The ruling Progressive Conservative Party loses all but two of its seats in Canadian parliamentary elections.  The Liberal Party wins an overall majority by more than doubling its seats.

    26 October 1993 Erich Mielke, head of the East German secret police from 1957-1987, receives six years in prison for the murders of two policemen.

    Waldemar Pawlak replaces Hanna Suchocka as Prime Minister of Poland.

    A fragment from an Adagio movement for the Symphony no.1 by Anton Bruckner (†97) is performed for the first time, in Essen.

    Two works for voice and keyboard by Leonard Bernstein (†2) are performed for the first time, in Alice Tully Hall, New York:  Psalm 148 and Vayomer Elohim.

    27 October 1993 Russian President Boris Yeltsin decrees that land may be bought, sold, and rented without restriction from the government.  All workers and dependents on collective farms receive shares which they can redeem for land, sell, or trade.

    Lyric Concerto for flute and orchestra by William Bolcom (55) is performed for the first time.

    29 October 1993 The Prelude no.1 and Section A of the Universe Symphony by Charles Ives (†39) edited by Porter, are performed for the first time, in Montfort Concert Hall, Greeley, Colorado.  Also premiered is the original version of movements one and three from Three Places in New England. See 28 January 1994 and 6 June 1996.

    30 October 1993 10,000 people march through Budapest protesting press censorship.

    Protestant paramilitaries kill seven people in a bar in the predominantly Catholic town of Greysteel, Northern Ireland.

    Witold Lutoslawski (80) receives an honorary doctorate from McGill University in Montreal.  He gives two lectures, one in English and one in French.

    31 October 1993 Federico Fellini dies in Rome at the age of 73.

    The remains of 70 women and 107 children are exhumed near Rio Negro, Guatemala.  They were murdered by government security forces in 1982.

    Popular music entertainer Tupac Shakur is arrested in Atlanta and charged with shooting two off-duty police officers.

    1 November 1993 After a two-year ratification process, the European Union (Maastrictht Treaty) goes into effect.

    Popular music entertainer Flavor Flav is arrested in New York and charged with attempted murder.

    3 November 1993 After days of looting and terrorizing Moslems in Vares, Croats, residents, and refugees flee the town due to oncoming Bosnian forces.  10,000 flee in one night.

    President Oscar Scalfaro of Italy makes a nationwide television address to refute charges that he received payments from the intelligence agencies while he was Minister of the Interior.

    Lev Sergeyevich Termen (Leon Theremin) dies in Moscow, aged 97 years, two months, and 19 days.

    4 November 1993 Bosnian government forces enter Vares.  Moslem civilians return to their homes and Moslem refugees take over the homes of fleeing Croats.

    Kurdish militants attack dozens of Turkish interests in Western Europe.

    Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien replaces Avril Phaedra “Kim” Campbell as Prime Minister of Canada.

    Contraption no.1 for computer-driven prepared piano by Conlon Nancarrow (81) is performed for the first time, in San Francisco.

    Fanfare for the Los Angeles Philharmonic for brass and percussion by Witold Lutoslawski (80) is performed for the first time, in Los Angeles.

    5 November 1993 The privatization of British Rail receives royal assent.

    Newly declassified documents show that the Reagan and Bush administrations knew that the conservative leaders they supported in El Salvador were running death squads.  They further show that the Reagan administration suppressed incontrovertible evidence that Roberto D’Aubuisson planned the murder of Archbishop Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez.

    6 November 1993 National elections in New Zealand apparently result in a hung parliament.  The Labour Party makes strong gains but falls three seats short of the National Party.

    Cambridge Hocket op.57 for four horns and orchestra by Alexander Goehr (61) is performed for the first time, in Cambridge.

    8 November 1993 Russian President Boris Yeltsin signs a new draft constitution which enhances  executive power.

    Fantasias 2 and 4 for string quartet by Harrison Birtwistle (59) are performed for the first time, in Antwerp.  See 28 April 1996.

    9 November 1993 Croat artillery destroys the Mostari Bridge over the Neretva in Mostar.  It was built by the Turks in 1566.

    10 November 1993 Several ethnic Albanians are arrested in Macedonia, charged with planning an armed uprising.

    11 November 1993 Originel for orchestra by Pierre Boulez (68) is performed for the first time, in New York, the composer conducting.

    13 November 1993 String Quartet no.9 “Quartetsatz” by Wolfgang Rihm (41) is performed for the first time, in Badenweiler.

    14 November 1993 Farooq Ahmed Lehari replaces Wasim Sajjad as President of Pakistan.

    A service in memory of Lev Sergeyevich Termen (Leon Theremin) is held at the Moscow Composers’ House.  His earthly remains will be interred at Kuncevskoye Cemetery, Moscow.

    In a referendum in Puerto Rico, 48% vote for continued commonwealth, 46% vote for statehood, and 4% choose independence.

    Abschiedsstücke for female chorus and 15 players by Wolfgang Rihm (41) to words of Wondratschek is performed for the first time, in Badenweiler.

    16 November 1993 Camp Shadywillow for voice and piano by William Bolcom (55) to words of Tillinghast is performed for the first time, in New York.

    17 November 1993 Counting of absentee ballots in the 6 November New Zealand election result in a one-seat majority for the National Party.

    Defense Minister General Sani Abachi overthrows the interim government of Nigeria.

    The war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia meets in The Hague.

    18 November 1993 21 South African parties agree to a new constitution to take effect after 1994.  It includes elections on the basis of universal suffrage and the elimination of black “homelands.”

    50,000 people march through Bucharest protesting living conditions and economic decline.

    The Ukrainian Parliament approves the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty, promising to reduce one half of their nuclear weapons.  They do not approve a resolution to become a nuclear free state.

    Popular music entertainer Tupac Shakur is arrested in New York with two others and charged with forcible sodomy and unlawful imprisonment of a woman.

    Etudes 12 and 14 from György Ligeti’s (70) Etudes for piano Book II are performed for the first time, in Münster.

    19 November 1993 Juglares for piano-four hands by Joaquín Rodrigo (91) is performed for the first time, in Barcelona 70 years after it was composed.

    20 November 1993 The United States Senate ratifies the North American Free Trade Agreement.

    22 November 1993 The Mexican Senate ratifies the North American Free Trade Agreement.

    23 November 1993 Variations on Bach’s Sarabande from the English Suite in e minor for winds and timpani by Alexander Goehr (61) is performed for the first time, in St. Paul’s Hall, Huddersfield. 

    Forever and Ever for hyperviolin and orchestra by Tod Machover (40) is performed for the first time, in the Ordway Theatre, St. Paul, Minnesota.

    24 November 1993 Two works by Peter Maxwell Davies (59) are performed for the first time, in City Halls, Glasgow, the composer conducting:  Strathclyde Concerto no.8 for bassoon and orchestra, and A Spell for Green Corn:  The MacDonald Dances.

    25 November 1993 Moslem militants explode a bomb near the motorcade of Egyptian Prime Minister Atef Sedki north of Cairo.  Sedki is unhurt but a girl is killed and 20 people are injured.

    27 November 1993 Vier Gedichte von Peter Härtling for voice and piano by Wolfgang Rihm (41) is performed for the first time, in Stuttgart.

    The sixth of the Nonsense Madrigals for six solo voices by György Ligeti (70) is performed for the first time, in Huddersfield.  See 25 September 1988 and 27 November 1993.

    28 November 1993 British Prime Minister John Major confirms press reports that his government has made secret contacts with the Provisional Irish Republican Army.

    30 November 1993 Corpus Christi, with Cat and Mouse for chorus by Peter Maxwell Davies (59) is performed for the first time, at Balliol College, Oxford.

    2 December 1993 Pablo Escobar, leader of the Medellín cocaine cartel, is shot to death by police in Medellín.

    Of Reminiscences and Reflections by Gunther Schuller (68) is performed for the first time, in Louisville.  It will win the Pulitzer Prize.  See 12 April 1994.

    4 December 1993 Frank Zappa dies in Los Angeles at the age of 52.

    5 December 1993 Mayor Helmut Zilk of Vienna loses three fingers when a letter bomb sent by conservatives explodes as he opens it in his home.  Four other Austrians will be injured by letter bombs within a week and ten others are detonated or made safe.  They are all addressed to proponents of minority or immigrant rights.

    7 December 1993 The crew of the space shuttle Endeavour completes four days of repair to the Hubble space telescope.

    President Felix Houphouet-Boigny of Côte d’Ivoire dies of cancer after 43 years in power.

    Concerti e Corali for winds, strings, piano, vibraphone, and marimba by Gottfried Michael Koenig (67) is performed for the first time, in Antwerp.

    8 December 1993 The United States Secretary of Defense announces that the Global Positioning System is in place and ready for civilian use.

    40,000 people march through Bucharest demanding that the government resign.

    Let’s Get This Show on the Road:  an Alternative View of “Genesis”, an opera by John C. Eaton (58) to words of Walter, is performed for the first time, in Chicago.

    9 December 1993 The Bulgarian government votes to declassify secret police files.

    Walker, a chamber opera by TJ Anderson (65) to words of Walcott is performed for the first time, in the Boston Athenaeum.

    11 December 1993 Russian voters approve a new constitution supported by President Yeltsin by a margin of 58.4%-41.6%.  They simultaneously elect a new Duma.  Nationalist parties do unexpectedly well.

    12 December 1993 Prime Minister József Antall of Hungary dies of cancer in Budapest.

    13 December 1993 Reports surface that a notebook of Henry Purcell (†298) containing 21 previously unknown compositions has been discovered by British antiquarian book dealer Lisa Cox.

    14 December 1993 Trio for violin, cello, and piano no.2 by Leon Kirchner (74) is performed for the first time, in New York.

    15 December 1993 The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade announces that after seven years, the Uruguay round of trade talks are complete.  It has resulted in massive reductions in tariffs.

    After meetings in London, British Prime Minister John Major and Irish Prime Minister Albert Reynolds issue a seven-page “framework for lasting peace” in Northern Ireland.

    Moslem terrorists kill 15 technicians from Croatia and Bosnia at a construction site southeast of Algiers.

    Witold Lutoslawski (80) is admitted to the Ministry of the Interior Hospital in Warsaw for apparently minor skin surgery.

    17 December 1993 15 motets de style archïque op.225 by Charles Koechlin (†42) is performed completely for the first time, in the Stiftskirche, Stuttgart 44 years after it was composed.  See 21 October 1952.

    19 December 1993 In Serbian elections, the Socialist Party of President Milosevic wins an almost absolute majority.

    21 December 1993 Pétar Boross replaces József Antall as Prime Minister of Hungary.  He has been serving ad interim since 12 December.

    The new Russian constitution goes into effect.

    22 December 1993 Popular music entertainer Michael Jackson denies charges that he molested a 13-year-old boy.

    23 December 1993 Witold Lutoslawski (80) returns to his Warsaw home following hospitalization for skin surgery.

    Jonathan Demme’s film Philadelphia is released in the United States.

    29 December 1993 The Convention on Biological Diversity goes into effect.

    30 December 1993 Israel and the Vatican announce a treaty of mutual recognition.

    ©2004-2012 Paul Scharfenberger

    25 January 2012


    Last Updated (Wednesday, 25 January 2012 07:40)

     

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