January 8 - Pianist Arthur Rubinstein plays Camille Saint-Saens' Piano concerto at his New York debut.[1]
January 15 - Excerpts from Arthur Nevin's opera Poia are premiered in concert form by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.[2]
January 17 - Felix Weingartner makes his Boston debut conducting the New York Symphony Orchestra in program that includes Symphonie fantastique by Hector Berlioz.[3]
January 27 - Ernest Bloch's symphonic work Hiver-Printemps premieres in Geneva, the composer conducting.[5]
January 27 - Russian pianist Josef Lhevinne makes his American debut with the Russian Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Vasily Safonov in New York.[6]
February 6 - Karol Szymanowski's Concert Overture in E major (Uwertura koncertowa E-dur) premiered by Gregor Fitelberg in Warsaw.[7]
February 18 - Vincent d'Indy's symphonic work Jour d'été à la montagne premieres at a Colonne concert in Paris.
February – Abyssinia receives its première at the Majestic Theatre (Broadway), with a score co-written by Bert Williams, including premiere of Nobody.
March 7 - Ernst von Dohnányi's Concerto for Cello and Orchestra premieres with Hugo Becker as soloist and the composer conducting Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra.[8]
March 10 - Don Procopio, an opera buffa written by Georges Bizet, is premiered posthumously at the Theatre du Casino, Monte Carlo.The two-act opera, written during Bizet's students days, had not been discovered until 30 years later.[9]
March 19 - The premiere of I quattro rusteghi (or Die Vier Grobiane), by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, takes place at the Hoftheater in Munich. The libretto, by Giuseppe Pizzolato, is based on a popular play of the same name by Carlo Goldoni.[10]
March 27 - John Philip Sousa's comic opera The Free Lance receives its initial performance in Springfield, Massachusetts.[11]
April 2 - Mayor Eugene Schmitz of San Francisco gives a lavish dinner party for the purpose of raising money to build a new opera house. Violinist Jan Kubelik is the guest of honor.
April 8 - Vincenzo Tommasini's Medea premieres at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste. The libretto, written by the composer, is based on the Greek myth of Medea.[12]
April 18 - A catastrofic earthquake hits San Francisco. Grand Opera house, where Enrico Caruso performed last night, is destroyed by fire. Costumes and scenery of twelve operas go up in smoke, resulting in a loss of $120,000.
May 24 – Choral rhapsody for baritone solo, chorus and orchestraSea Drift, by Frederick Delius, is performed for the first time at the music festival in Essen, Germany.[13]
May 27 – Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 6 in A Minor receives its première in Essen, Germany.
May 29 – Oxford University awards an honorary Doctor of Music degree to Edvard Grieg.[14]
June 20 – Anton von Webern's doctoral dissertation is approved by his doctoral advisors at the Musicological Institute of the University of Vienna.
July - The first console gramophone is released, known as Victrola, a horn-enclosed phonograph, manufactured by Victor.[15]
August 23 – Norfolk Rhapsody No.1 in E Minor receives its first performance at a Promenade Concert in London. The work of Ralph Vaughan Williams, is based on Norfolk folk tunes.[16]
October 15 – Giacomo Puccini's Madama Butterfly receives its first American performance. The Henry W. Savage Opera Company performs the opera in Washington D.C.[17]
October 31 - Jules Massenet's Ariane has its premiere at the Paris Opera. The libretto, by Catulle Mendes, is based on the Greek myth of Ariane.[18]
October 27 – Enrique Granados's zarzuelaGaziel is produced in Barcelona.[19]
November 11 - Maskarade, a three-act opera by Carl Nielsen, receives its first performance in Copenhagen, the composer conducting.[21]
November 16 - In what becomes known as "monkey-house scandal", Enrico Caruso is arrested by a New York City officer on a charge of making improper advances to a passer-by, Mrs.Hannah Stanhope. The police accused him of pinching the buttocks of a married woman. The scandal threatens to reduce sales at the Metropolitan Opera box office, where Caruso sings.
November 26 - Geraldine Farrar makes here Metropolitan Opera debut as Juliette in Charles Gounod's Romeo et Juliette
November 28 - Enrico Caruso sings Rodolfo in La Boheme, by Giacomo Puccini. This is his first appearance after having been arrested, convinced and fined for making improper advances to a woman in the Central Park. He virtually bring down the house and the "monkey-house scandal" is quickly forgotten nad Caruso's stature remains unaffected.[22]
December 1 – The celebrated soprano Adelina Patti gives her farawell concert at the Albert Hall in London.[23]
December 3 – Impresarion Oscar Hammerstein opens the Manhattan Opera House to compete with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. The first presentation is Vincenzo BelliniI Puritani.[24]
December 8 – Moloch, an opera by Max von Schillings, receivces its first performance in Dresden.[25]
December 9 – Richard Strauss' Salome receives its first Berlin performance. It stars Emmy Destinn and is so successful that, over next 27 years, it was performed 285 times in Berlin alone.[26]
December 11 – The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra plays its first concert, the oldest continuously active professional orchestra in Australia.
December 27 – Matteo Falcone, a dramatic scene by Cesar Cui, is performed for the first time in Moscow. The operatic work is based on a novella by Prosper Merimee about Corsicans.[28]
December 27 – Florent Schmitt's Psalm XLVII premieres at the a Paris concert of music by winners of the Prix de Rome.[29]
January 6 - Cinderella - another new production of the Empire Theater - premieres in London. It is a fairy ballet in five scenes, choreography by Fred Farren, music by Sidney Jones.[32]
January 14 - The Debutante is produced at London's Empire Theater. The music by Cuthbert Clarke, the lead dancer Fred Farren.[33]
January 28 - Radha - a modern dance work by Ruth Saint Denis - is performed for the first time at a private performance at the New York Theater. Music by Leo Delibes.[34]
March 26 - Choreographer Ruth Saint Denis has two premieres: The Cobras (music by Leo Delibes) and The Incense (music by Harvey Worthington Loomis). Performed at the Hudson Theater in New York. [35]
May 14 - The London public sees its first complete performance of Coppélia by Leo Delibes as Adeline Genee recreates her famous role at the Empire Theater.[36]
August 6 - Fete Galante premieres at the Empire Theater, London. This ballet is an extended version of the first scene of Cinderella, produced at the same theater on January 6 of this year.
Musical theater[]
Broadway production
Forty-Five Minutes From Broadway Broadway production
