411 REFERENCE · Wikipedia
1919 in music
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1919
1919 music film radio
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1919.
Specific locations
1919 in British music
1919 in Norwegian music
Specific genres
1919 in country music
1919 in jazz
Events
January 18 – The pianist Paderewski becomes Prime Minister of Poland.
April 7 – The Original Dixieland Jass Band brings Dixieland jazz to England, opening a 15-month tour at the Hippodrome, London.
May 3 – The National Association of Negro Musicians is established in Washington, D.C. under the leadership of Nora Holt and Henry Grant.https://blackthen.com/nora-douglas-holt-co-founder-national-association-negro-musicians/ Nora Douglas Holt: Co-founder of the National Association of Negro Musicians Black Then Jae Jones 2018-09-15 2019-06-24 2019-06-24 https://web.archive.org/web/20190624143638/https://blackthen.com/nora-douglas-holt-co-founder-national-association-negro-musicians/ dead
July 22 – The Ballets Russes gives the world premiere of Manuel de Falla's ballet El sombrero de tres picos (The Three-Cornered Hat) in London.
August – Josef Matthias Hauer devises his own twelve-tone technique of composition.
August 19 – The Southern Syncopated Orchestra, visiting the UK, perform for the future King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom.https://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2006/10/09/orchestra_feature.shtml BBC London History Features London's jazz legends 2014-09-24 2019-06-24 Ernest Ansermet subsequently writes an enthusiastic review of the orchestra's performances in London, singling out Sidney Bechet – one of the first serious pieces of jazz criticism.
October 27 – Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto is premiered in London with Felix Salmond as soloist; the performance is a disaster because Elgar (as conductor) is given inadequate rehearsal time with the London Symphony Orchestra.Newman Ernest Ernest Newman Music of the Week The Observer London 1919-11-02
unknown dates
The Louisiana Five are advertised as playing "Modern Jazz".
Soprano Elsie Griffin joins the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.
Flautist Nicholas Laucella joins the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra under the direction of Artur Bodanzky.https://books.google.com/books?id=39pEAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA222 The Musical Blue Book of America, ...: Recording in Concise Form the Activities of Leading Musicians and Those Actively and Prominently Identified with Music in Its Various Departments ... August 18, 1922 Musical Blue Book Corporation Google Books
Johan Wagenaar becomes director of the Royal Conservatory at the Hague.
Published popular music
thumb|right|Cover of sheet music "Dardanella", 1919
"Alcoholic Blues" w. Edward Laska, m. Albert Von Tilzer
"Alexander's Band Is Back In Dixieland" w. Jack Yellen m. Albert Gumble
"Alice Blue Gown" w. Joseph McCarthy m. Harry Tierney
"All The Quakers Are Shoulder Shakers Down In Quaker Town" w. Bert Kalmar & Edgar Leslie m. Pete Wendling
"And He'd Say, "Oo-La-La! Wee-Wee!"" w. George Jessel, m. Harry Ruby
"Any Old Place With You" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
"Baby, Won't You Please Come Home?" w.m. Charles Warfield & Clarence Williams
"Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives To Me" w.m. Charles McCarron, Casey Morgan & Arthur Swanstrom
"The Boys Who Won't Come Home" w. Harry Hamilton m. Ed. Thomas
"Camp Meeting Blues" by Dabney's Band
"Cielito Lindo" w.m. Quirino Mendoza y Cortez
"Daddy Long Legs" w. Sam M. Lewis & Joe Young
"Dardanella" w. Fred Fisher m. Felix Bernard & Johnny S. Black
"Don't Dilly Dally on the Way" w.m. Fred W. Leigh & Charles Collins
"Grönnens Laid", w. Geert Teis Pzn., m. G.R. Jager
"Hold Me" w.m. Art Hickman & Ben Black
"I Ain't Gonna Give Nobody None O' This Jelly Roll" w. Spencer Williams m. Clarence Williams
"I Gave Her That" w. m. B. G. De Sylva & Al Jolson
"I Lost My Heart In Dixieland" w.m. Irving Berlin
"I Might be Your "Once-In-A-While"" w. Robert B. Smith m. Victor Herbert
"I Never Realized" w.m. Cole Porter
"I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate" w.m. Armand J. Piron
thumb|Sheet music cover for "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles"
"I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" w. John W. Kellette m. Jaan Kenbrovin (pseudonym of James Kendis, James Brockman and Nat Vincent)
"I'm Going Back To Yarrawonga" by Corporal Neil McBeathYarrawonga [music] / written & composed by Neil McBeath; arranged by Claude McGlynn
McBeath
Neil
McGlynn
Claude
Francis Day & Hunter; J. Albert & Son
English
https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-176278285
"Indian Summer" w. Al Dubin m. Victor Herbert Words 1939.
"Irene" w. Joseph McCarthy m. Harry Tierney. Introduced by Edith Day in the musical Irene
"I've Got My Captain Working for Me Now" w.m. Irving Berlin
"Jazz Baby" w. Blanche Merrill & William Jerome m. William Jerome
"Just Like a Gipsy" w.m. Seymour Simons & Nora Bayes
"The Lamplit Hour" m. Arthur A. Penn, w. Thomas Burke
"Let The Rest Of The World Go By" w. J. Keirn Brennan m. Ernest R. Ball
"Letter Song" by William LeBaron
"Little Girls, Goodbye" w. William LeBaron m. Victor Jacobi
"Mammy O' Mine" w. William Tracey m. Maceo Pinkard
"Mandy" w.m. Irving Berlin
"Mirandy" w.m. James Reese Europe, Noble Sissle & Eubie Blake
"The Moon Shines On The Moonshine" w. Frank De Witt m. Robin Hood Bowers. Introduced by Harry Williams in the revue Ziegfeld Follies of 1919
"My Baby's Arms" w. Joseph McCarthy m. Harry Tierney
"My Isle Of Golden Dreams" w. Gus Kahn m. Walter Blaufuss
"Nobody Knows (And Nobody Seems To Care)" w.m. Irving Berlin
"O (Oh!)" w. Byron Gay m. Arnold Johnson
"Oh By Jingo! (Oh By Gee, You're The Only Girl For Me)" w. Lew Brown m. Albert Von Tilzer
"Oh How I Laugh When I Think How I Cried About You" w. Roy Turk & George Jessel, m. Willy White
"Oh! What A Pal Was Mary" w. Edgar Leslie & Bert Kalmar m. Pete Wendling
"Old-Fashioned Garden" w.m. Cole Porter
"On Miami Shore" w. William LeBaron m. Victor Jacobi
"On Patrol In No Man's Land" w.m. James Reese Europe, Noble Sissle & Eubie Blake
"Open Up The Golden Gates To Dixieland And Let Me Into Paradise" w. Jack Yellen m. Gus Van & Joe Schenck
"Patches" w. J. Will Callahan m. Lee S. Roberts
"Peggy" w. Harry Williams m. Neil Moret
"A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody" w.m. Irving Berlin
"Prohibition Blues" w. Ring Lardner m. Nora Bayes
"Royal Garden Blues" w.m. Clarence Williams & Spencer Williams
"Sahara (We'll Soon Be Dry Like You)" w. Alfred Bryan m. Jean Schwartz. Introduced in the musical Monte Cristo, Jr.
thumb|Sheet music cover for "Sipping Cider Through A Straw"
"Sipping Cider Through A Straw" w.m. Carey Morgan & Lee David
"Smilin' Through" w.m. Arthur A. Penn
"Someday Sweetheart" w.m. John Spikes & Benjamin Spikes
"Sugar Blues" w. Lucy Fletcher m. Clarence Williams
"Swanee" w. Irving Caesar m. George Gershwin
"Sweet Kisses That Came In The Night" w. Lew Brown & Eddie Buzzell m. Albert Von Tilzer
"Take Me To The Land Of Jazz" m. Pete Wendling
"Take Your Girlie To The Movies (If You Can't Make Love At Home)" w. Edgar Leslie & Bert Kalmar m. Pete Wendling
"There's More To The Kiss Than the X-X-X" w. Irving Caesar m. George Gershwin
"Tulip Time" w. Gene Buck m. Dave Stamper
"Wait Till You Get Them Up In The Air, Boys" w. Lew Brown m. Harry Von Tilzer
"What'll We Do On A Saturday Night When The Town Goes Dry" w.m. Harry Ruby
"When They're Old Enough To Know Better, It's Better To Leave Them Alone" w. Sam M. Lewis & Joe Young m. Harry Ruby
"Who Played Poker With Pocahontas When John Smith Went Away?" w. Sam M. Lewis & Joe Young m. Fred Ahlert
"Winnie The Window Cleaner" w.m. Herman Darewski
"The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise" w. Eugene Lockhart m. Ernest Seitz
"You Ain't Heard Nothing Yet" w.m. Al Jolson, Gus Kahn & B. G. DeSylva
"You Cannot Make Your Shimmy Shake On Tea" w. Rennold Wolf m. Irving Berlin
"You'd Be Surprised" w.m. Irving Berlin
"Your Eyes Have Told Me So" w. Gus Kahn & Egbert Van Alstyne m. Walter Blaufuss
"You're A Million Miles From Nowhere When You're One Little Mile From Home" w. Sam Lewis & Joe Young m. Walter Donaldson
Hit recordings
December 2025
"Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives To Me" by Ted Lewis & His Jazz Band
"You Ain't Heard Nothing Yet" by Al Jolson
"How Ya Gonna Keep 'Em Down On The Farm" by Nora Bayes
"A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody" by John Steel
"I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" by Ben Selvin's Novelty Orchestra
"The Moon Shines on the Moonshine" by Bert Williams
"O" by Ted Lewis & His Jazz Band
"Alcoholic Blues" by Billy Murray
"Saxophobia" by Rudy Wiedoeft
"Jazz Baby" by Marion Harris
"You'd Be Surprised" by Eddie Cantor
"The Alcoholic Blues" by the Louisiana Five
"Weary Blues" by Yellow Nunez and the Louisiana Five
Classical music
thumb|200px|Rebecca Clarke holding her viola in 1919
Hugo Alfvén - Symphony No. 4 in C minor, Op. 39, "Från havsbandet"
Granville Bantock - Hamabdil for cello, harp and strings
Arnold Bax – Tintagel
Ernest Bloch – Suite for Viola and Orchestra
Rebecca Clarke – Sonata for Viola and Piano
Edward Elgar - Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85
Gabriel Fauré – Masques et bergamasques, Op. 112
Robert Fuchs – Twelve Waltzes, Op. 110, for piano
Louis Glass – Symphony No. 5 in C major, Op. 57, "Svastika"
Peder Gram – Concerto for violin and orchestra in D major
Charles Tomlinson Griffes – The Pleasure-Dome of Kubla Khan
Alois Hába - String Quartet No. 1, Op. 4
Johan Halvorsen – Norwegian Rhapsody No. 1
Paul Hindemith
Cello Sonata No. 1, Op. 11, No. 3
Viola Sonata No.1 in F major, Op. 11, No. 4
Sonata for Solo Viola No. 1, Op. 11, No. 5
Gustav Holst - Ode to Death, H. 144, Op. 38
Dorothy Howell – Lamia
Ernst Krenek - Piano Sonata No. 1 in E-flat, Op. 2
Darius Milhaud
Poèmes de Francis Thompson, Op. 54
Les soirées de Pétrograd, Op. 55
Machines agricoles, 6 Pastorales for voice and chamber ensemble, Op. 56
Suite symphonique No. 2, Op. 57
Le bœuf sur le toit, Op. 58 (ballet)
Cinéma fantaisie for violin and chamber orchestra, Op. 58b
Carl Nielsen – Aladdin (for theatre)
Gabriel Pierné – Sonata for Cello and Piano
Maurice Ravel - Le Tombeau de Couperin, M68a (orchestration of 4 pieces from M 68)
Dane Rudhyar – Syntony
Jean Sibelius - Symphony No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 82
Leo Sowerby – Concerto for Harp
Charles Villiers Stanford – A Song of Agincourt
Igor Stravinsky
The Firebird Suite No. 2
Piano-Rag-Music
Symphony in E-flat (revised version)
Three Pieces for Solo Clarinet
Joaquín Turina
Niñerías, Series 1 Op. 21, for piano
Danzas fantásticas Op. 22, two versions: piano solo, and orchestra
Heitor Villa-Lobos
Symphony No. 3, "A guerra" (War)
Symphony No. 4, "A vitória" (Victory)
Opera
Abesalom da Eteri, by Zacharia Paliashvili
Fennimore and Gerda, by Frederick Delius
Die Frau ohne Schatten, opera by Richard Strauss (staged)
Ihre Hoheit, die Tänzerin (Her Highness, the Dancer), operetta by Walter Goetze
Keto da Kote, by Victor Dolidze
The Love for Three Oranges, Op. 33, by Sergei Prokofiev
The Moon Maiden by Rutland Boughton
The Royal Guest by Hakon Børresen
Jazz
1919 in jazz
Musical theater
Afgar (lyrics by Douglas Furber, music by Charles Cuvillier and book by Fred Thompson and Worton David). London production opened at the Pavilion Theatre on September 17
Apple Blossoms Broadway production
Eastward, Ho! London production opened at the Alhambra Theatre on September 9
George White's Scandals Broadway revue opened at the Liberty Theatre on June 2 and ran for 128 performances
Irene Broadway production opened at the Vanderbilt Theatre on November 18 and ran for 670 performances
Joy-Bells London production opened at the Hippodrome Theatre on March 25 and ran for 723 performances
Kissing Time (music by Ivan Caryll book and lyrics by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse) London production opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on 20 May and ran for 430 performances.
The Kiss Call Broadway production
Linger Longer Letty (Music: Alfred Goodman Lyrics: Bernard Grosman Book: Anne Nichols. Broadway production opened at the Fulton Theatre on November 20 and ran for 69 performances. Starring Charlotte Greenwood.
Monsieur Beaucaire London production opened at the Prince of Wales Theatre on April 19, transferred to the Palace Theatre on July 29 and ran for 221 performances
Monsieur Beaucaire Broadway production opened at the New Amsterdam Theatre on December 11 and ran for 143 performances
Monte Cristo, Jr. Broadway production opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on February 12 and ran for 254 performances
Oh, Boy! (musical) London production opened on January 27 at the Kingsway Theatre and ran for 167 performances
The Red Mill London production opened at the Empire Theatre on December 26 and ran for 64 performances
Sybil Vienna production
Take It From Me Broadway production opened on March 31 at the 44th Street Theatre and ran for 96 performances
The Whirligig opened at the Palace Theatre on December 23
Publications
Gustav Kobbé – The Complete Opera Book (posthumously published)Kobbé Gustav https://books.google.com/books?id=xxorAAAAYAAJ&pg=PR1 The Complete Opera Book Google Books 1919 9 December 2025
Births
January 1 – Yoshio Tabata, singer and guitarist (d. 2013)
January 14 – Kaifi Azmi, Urdu and Hindi songwriter (d. 2002)
January 18 – Juan Orrego-Salas, Chilean-American composer (d. 2019Ricardo Lorenz, "Juan Orrego-Salas: 1919–2019", Indiana University Bloomington, Jacobs School of Music, Latin American Music Center website (accessed January 17, 2020).
January 22 – Sid Ramin, arranger (d. 2019)
January 25
Eula Beal, operatic contralto (d. 2008)
Norman Newell, English record producer and lyricist (d. 2004)Leigh Spencer Spencer Leigh (radio presenter) 7 December 2004 Norman Newell https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/norman-newell-23509.html https://web.archive.org/web/20250508091950/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/norman-newell-23509.html 2025-05-08 2025-06-02 The Independent en-GB
January 27 – Ross Bagdasarian (aka David Seville), of The Chipmunks (d. 1972)
February 1 – Artie Singer, American songwriter, music producer, and bandleader (d. 2008)
February 2 – Lisa Della Casa, Swiss soprano (d. 2012)
February 13 – Tennessee Ernie Ford, country musician (d. 1991)
March 10 – Marion Hutton, big band singer (d. 1987)
March 15 – George Avakian, jazz record producer (d. 2017)
March 17 – Nat King Cole, singer and pianist (d. 1965)
March 19 – Alfred Apaka, Hawaiian singer (d. 1960)
March 28 – D. K. Pattammal, Indian classical singer (d. 2009)
April 3 – Ervin Drake, songwriter (d. 2015)
April 14 – Karel Berman, opera singer and composer (d. 1995)
April 16 – Merce Cunningham, dancer, choreographer (d. 2009)
April 21
Don Cornell, singer (d. 2004)
Roger Doucet, tenor, regular performer of the Canadian national anthem (d. 1981)
April 25 – Irene Jordan, American opera singer (d. 2016)2002 Jordan, Irene Grove Music Online Oxford University Press 10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.O007454 Richard LeSueur
April 29 – Stephen Wilkinson, English conductor and composer (d. 2021)
May 3 – Pete Seeger, American folk singer (d. 2014)
May 7 – La Esterella, Flemish singer (d. 2011)
May 12 – Gerald Bales, Canadian organist and composer (d. 2002)
May 16 – Liberace, American pianist (d. 1987)
May 17 – Antonio Aguilar, Mexican singer, actor and producer (d. 2007)
May 18 – Margot Fonteyn, born Margaret Hookham, English ballerina (d. 1991)
May 19 – Georgie Auld, jazz musician (d. 1990)
May 23 – Betty Garrett, actress and dancer (d. 2011)
May 30 – Joe McQueen, American jazz saxophonist (d. 2019)
June 11 – Helen Tobias-Duesberg, composer (d. 2010)
June 17 – Gene de Paul, pianist and composer (d. 1988)
June 22 – Gower Champion, dancer, choreographer and director (d. 1980)
July 8 – Ernst Haefliger, Swiss tenor (d. 2007)
July 10 – Ian Wallace, Scottish bass-baritone opera singer (d. 2009)
July 27 – Jonathan Sternberg, American conductor, musical director and professor of music (d. 2018)
July 31 – Norman Del Mar, conductor and music writer (d. 1994)
August 2 – Carlo Savina, Italian composer and conductor (d. 2002)
August 11 – Ginette Neveu, violin virtuoso (d. 1949)
August 13 – George Shearing, English jazz pianist and composer (d. 2011)
August 17 – Irv Williams, African American jazz saxophonist (d. 2019)
August 21 – Tommy Reilly, harmonica virtuoso (d. 2000)
August 24 – Niels Viggo Bentzon, Danish composer (d. 2000)
September 2 – Marge Champion, dancer and choreographer (d. 2020)
September 3 – Natalia Clare, ballerina (d. 2007)
September 4 – Teddy Johnson, popular singer (d. 2018)
September 16
Sven-Erik Bäck, composer (d. 1994)
Andy Russell, singer (d. 1992)
September 21 – Virgilio Savona, Italian singer, songwriter (d. 2009)
September 24 – Jack Costanzo, American percussionist (d. 2018)
September 30 – Patricia Neway, operatic soprano and musical theatre actress (d. 2012)
October 9 – Irmgard Seefried, operatic soprano (d. 1988)
October 11 – Art Blakey, jazz drummer and bandleader (d. 1990)
October 18 – Anita O'Day, singer (d. 2006)
October 20 – Lia Origoni, singer (d. 2022)
October 23 – Katie Lee, American folk singer (d. 2017)
October 26 – James E. Myers, songwriter (d. 2001)
November 5 – Myron Floren, accordionist (d. 2005)
November 12 – Jackie Washington, Canadian singer-songwriter (died 2009)https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/jackie-washington-emc Jackie Washington The Canadian Encyclopedia 9 December 2025
November 15 – Carol Bruce, singer and actress (d. 2007)
November 23 – Cláudio Santoro, composer (d. 1989)
December 6 – Blaž Lenger, Croatian folk singer (d. 2006)
December 8 – Mieczyslaw Weinberg, composer (d. 1996)
December 10 – Sesto Bruscantini, operatic bass-baritone (d. 2003)
December 2020 – Reinhold Svensson, Swedish jazz pianist, organist and composer (died 1968)William F Lee People in jazz: jazz keyboard improvisors of the 19th & 20th centuries.... Columbia Lady Music 1984 9780898983586 92
December 21 – Nelson Cooke, Australian cellist (d. 2018)
December 25
Naushad Ali, film score composer (d. 2006)https://www.theguardian.com/news/2006/jun/09/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries Naushad Ali 9 June 2006 Lalit Mohan Joshi Guardian 9 December 2025
Curly Seckler, American bluegrass musician (d. 2017)
December 30 – David Willcocks, British choral conductor, organist and composer (d. 2015)
Deaths
January 28 – Charles McCarron, songwriter (b. 1891)
February 4 – Yelizaveta Lavrovskaya, Russian mezzo-soprano (b. 1845)
February 18 – Henry Ragas, jazz pianist (b. 1891)
March 6 – Gialdino Gialdini, Italian composer and conductor (b. 1843)
March 8 – Auguste Tolbeque, cellist and composer (b. 1830)
March 13 – Amy Woodforde-Finden, composer (b. 1860)
March 23 – Henry Blossom, lyricist (b. 1866)
April 9 – James Reese Europe, jazz musician and composer, band leader (b. 1881) (stabbed in fight)
April 24 – Camille Erlanger, opera composer (b. 1863)
April 25 – Augustus D. Juilliard, music patron (b. 1836)
June 2 – Ernest Ford, conductor and composer (b. 1858)
June 22 – Julian Scriabin, musical prodigy, pianist and composer (b. 1908) (drowned)
August 1 – Oscar Hammerstein I, musical theatre impresario (b. 1847)
August 4 – Ferdinand Thieriot, composer (b. 1838)
August 9 – Ruggiero Leoncavallo, composer (b. 1857)Patrick Kavanaugh Music of the Great Composers: A Listener's Guide to the Best of Classical Music Zondervan 1996 9780310208075 254
August 18 – Anna Deinet, operatic soprano (b. 1843)
September 7 – Eloi Sylva, operatic tenor (b. 1843)Carl Dahlhaus Sieghart Döhring Pipers Enzyklopädie des Musiktheaters Piper Verlag 1994 3-492-02415-7 German Sylva, Eloi 701
September 11 – Géza Csáth, writer and musician (b. 1887)
September 27 – Adelina Patti, opera singer (b. 1843)Nicolas Slonimsky Music Since 1900 https://books.google.com/books?id=W5PlAAAAMAAJ 1938 W.W. Norton, Incorporated 197
October 17 – Sven August Körling, composer of art songs (b. 1842)
November 19 – Florencio Constantino, operatic tenor (b. 1869)
December 16 – Luigi Illica, librettist (b. 1857)
December 21 – Louis Diémer, pianist and composer (b. 1843)
December 27 – Achilles Alferaki, statesman, artist and composer (b. 1846)
December 31 – Marie van Zandt, American operatic soprano (b. 1858)Marie van Zandt
References
Category:20th century in music
Category:Music by year