1925 in music

Events

• February 25 - Art Gillham - The Whispering Pianist records the first electrical recordings to be released for Columbia using the Western Electric system (Master 140125-7 issued on Columbia 328-D).
• March 1 - Edgard Varèse's Intégrales is premiered in New York City.
• March 21 - Maurice Ravel's L'Enfant et les sortilèges is premiered in Monte Carlo.
• April 3 - Gustav Holst's opera At the Boar's Head is premiered in Manchester.
• April 4 - Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians make the first electrical recording for the Victor Talking Machine Company, the song Collegiate.
• June 6 - Sergei Prokofiev's Symphony No. 2 is premiered in Paris.
• December 11 - Carl Nielsen's Symphony No. 6, the Sinfonia semplice, is premiered in Copenhagen.
• December 14 - Alban Berg's opera Wozzeck is given its first complete performance, in Berlin, conducted by Erich Kleiber.
• Joseph Canteloube founds a group called La Bourrée in Paris to publicize the folklore and other attractions of the Auvergne.
• Victor, Columbia, and HMV phonograph companies switch from old acoustic mechanical recording methods to new electric microphone technology.
• Blind Lemon Jefferson's recording career begins
• Lonnie Johnson's recording career begins.
• Louis Armstrong leaves Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra, returns to Chicago, Illinois, and makes his first records under his own name, leading Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five.

Published popular music

• "Adios, Mariquita Linda" w. (Eng 1939) Ray Gilbert (Sp) Marcos A. Jimenez m. Marcos A. Jimenez
• "Alone at Last" w. Gus Kahn m. Ted Fio Rito
• "Always" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "Bam, Bam, Bamy Shore" w. Mort Dixon m. Ray Henderson
• "Boneyard Shuffle" m. Hoagy Carmichael & Irving Mills
• "Brown Eyes, Why Are You Blue?" w. Alfred Bryan m. George W. Meyer
• "Bye and Bye" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
• "Cecilia" w. Herman Ruby m. Dave Dreyer
• "Cheatin' on Me" w. Jack Yellen m. Lew Pollack
• "Clap Hands! Here Comes Charley!" w. Billy Rose & Ballard MacDonald m. Joseph Meyer
• "Collegiate" w.m. Moe Jaffe & Nat Bonx
• "A Cup of Coffee, a Sandwich and You" w. Billy Rose & Al Dubin m. Joseph Meyer
• "Davenport Blues" m. Bix Beiderbecke
• "The Death of Floyd Collins" w. Andrew Jenkins m. Irene Spain
• "Dinah" w. Sam M. Lewis & Joe Young m. Harry Akst
• "Dipper Mouth Blues" m. Joe "King" Oliver
• "Don't Bring Lulu" w. Billy Rose & Lew Brown m. Ray Henderson
• "Don't Wake Me Up, Let Me Dream" w. L.. Wolfe Gilbert m. Mabel Wayne
• "Down by the Winegar Works" w.m. Don Bestor, Roger Lewis & Walter Donovan
• "Drifting and Dreaming" w. Haven Gillespie m. Egbert Van Alstyne, Erwin R. Schmidt & Loyal Curtis
• "D'Ye Love Me?" w. Otto Harbach & Oscar Hammerstein II m. Jerome Kern. Introduced by Marilyn Miller in the musical Sunny
• "Five Foot Two Eyes of Blue" w. Sam M. Lewis & Joe Young m. Ray Henderson
• "Flamin' Mamie" w.m. Fred Rose & Paul Whiteman
• "Footloose" Rupp
• "Freshie" w. Harold Berg m. Jesse Greer
• "Grandpa's Spells" m. Jelly Roll Morton
• "Headin' for Louisville" w. B. G. De Sylva m. Joseph Meyer
• "Here in My Arms" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
• "The Hills of Home" w. Floride Calhoun m. Oscar J. Fox
• "I Found a New Baby" w.m. Jack Palmer & Spencer Williams
• "I Love My Baby" w. Bud Green m. Harry Warren
• "I Might Have Known" Lucas
• "I Miss My Swiss" w. L. Wolfe Gilbert m. Abel Baer
• "I Never Knew" w. Gus Kahn m. Ted Fio Rito
• "I Wonder Where My Baby Is Tonight" w. Gus Kahn m. Walter Donaldson
• "Ida, I Do" w. Gus Kahn m. Isham Jones
• "If I Had a Girl Like You" w. Billy Rose & Mort Dixon m. Ray Henderson
• "If You Knew Susie" w. B. G. De Sylva m. Joseph Meyer
• "I'm A Little Bit Fonder of You" w.m. Irving Caesar
• "I'm Gonna Charleston Back to Charleston" w.m. Roy Turk & Lou Handman
• "I'm Gonna Cry" Martha Boswell
• "I'm in Love Again" w.m. Cole Porter
• "I'm Knee-Deep in Daisies (And Head Over Heels In Love)" Ash, Shay, Goodwin, Little, Stanley
• "I'm Sitting on Top of the World" w. Sam M. Lewis & Joe Young m. Ray Henderson
• "In Your Green Hat" w. Jack Yellen m. Milton Ager
• "I've Confessed to the Breeze" w. Otto Harbach m. Vincent Youmans
• "Jalousie" (aka "Jealousy") w. Vera Bloom m. Jacob Gade
• "Just a Cottage Small" w. B. G. De Sylva m. James F. Hanley
• "Keep Your Skirts Down, Mary Ann" w. Andrew B. Sterling m. Robert A. King & Ray Henderson
• "Leander" w. Harry Graham m. Jean Gilbert from the musical theater production 'Katja The Dancer'
• "Let It Rain! Let It Pour!" w. Cliff Friend m. Walter Donaldson
• "Looking For a Boy" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin. Introduced by Queenie Smith in the musical Tip-Toes
• "Love Me Tonight" w. Brian Hooker m. Rudolf Friml
• "Manhattan" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
• "Masculine Women! Feminine Men!" w. Edgar Leslie m. James V. Monaco
• "Moonlight and Roses" w. Ben Black m. Neil Moret
• "My Bundle of Love" w.m. Georgie Price & Abner Silver
• "My Sweetie Turned Me Down" w. Gus Kahn m. Walter Donaldson
• "My Yiddishe Momme" w. Jack Yellen m. Lew Pollack
• "Neapolitan Nights (Nights Of Splendour)" w. Harry D. Kerr m. J. S. Zumecnik
• "No, No, Nanette" w. Otto Harbach m. Vincent Youmans
• "Oh, How I Miss You Tonight" w.m. Benny Davis, Joe Burke & Mark Fisher
• "Only a Rose" w. Brian Hooker m. Rudolf Friml
• "Paddlin' Madelin Home" w.m. Harry M. Woods
• "Pal of My Cradle Days" w. Marshall Montgomery m. Al Piantadosi
• "The Pearls" m. Jelly Roll Morton
• "Poor Little Rich Girl" w.m. Noel Coward
• "Remember" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "Roll 'Em Girls" w.m. Archie Fletcher & Bobby Heath
• "Rose of Samarkand" m. Eric Coates
• "Save Your Sorrow (for Tomorrow)" w. B. G. De Sylva m. Al Sherman
• "See See Rider Blues" by Ma Rainey
• "Sentimental Me" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
• "Shake That Thing" Charlie Jackson
• "She Showed Him This, She Showed Him That" Stone & David
• "Show Me the Way to Go Home" w.m. Irving King
• "Sleepy Time Gal" w. Joseph R. Alden & Raymond B. Egan m. Ange Lorenzo & Richard A. Whiting
• "Some Day" w. Brian Hooker m. Rudolf Friml
• "Sometime" w. Gus Kahn m. Ted Fio Rito
• "Sometimes I'm Happy" w. Irving Caesar m. Vincent Youmans
• "Song of the Flame" w. Otto Harbach & Oscar Hammerstein II m. George Gershwin & Herbert Stothart
• "Song of the Vagabonds" w. Brian Hooker m. Rudolf Friml
• "Stack O'Lee Blues" trad w.m. Lopez, Colwell
• "Sugar Foot Stomp" (aka "Dipper Mouth Blues") w. Walter Melrose m. Joe "King" Oliver
• "Sunny" w. Otto Harbach & Oscar Hammerstein II m. Jerome Kern
• "Sweet and Low-Down" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin
• "Sweet Georgia Brown" w.m. Ben Bernie, Maceo Pinkard & Kenneth Casey
• "Tea for Two" w. Irving Caesar m. Vincent Youmans
• "Thanks for the Buggy Ride" w.m. Jules Buffano
• "That Certain Feeling" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin
• "That Certain Party" w. Gus Kahn m. Walter Donaldson
• "That Saxophone Waltz" w. Jules Mingo & Berry J. Sisk m. Berry J. Sisk
• "Then I'll Be Happy" w. Sidney Clare & Lew Brown m. Cliff Friend
• "Too Many Rings Around Rosie" w. Irving Caesar m. Vincent Youmans
• "Two Little Bluebirds" w. Otto Harbach & Oscar Hammerstein II m. Jerome Kern
• "Ukulele Lady" w. Gus Kahn m. Richard Whiting
• "Valentine" w. Albert Willemetz (Fr) Herbert Reynolds (Eng) m. Henri Christin
• "Waters of the Perkiomen" w. Al Dubin m. F. Henri Klickmann
• "When the Sergeant Major's on Parade" w.m. Ernest Longstaffe
• "Who Takes Care of the Caretaker's Daughter?" w.m. Chick Endor
• "Who?" w. Otto Harbach & Oscar Hammerstein II m. Jerome Kern
• "Why Do I Love You?" w. B. G. De Sylva & Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin
• "Yearning" w. Benny Davis m. Joe Burke
• "Yes Sir! That's My Baby" w. Gus Kahn m. Walter Donaldson

Top Hits on Record

• "All Alone", recorded by:
  • John McCormack
  • Paul Whiteman & his Orchestra
• "Everything Is Hotsy Totsy Now" by The Coon-Sanders Nighthawks
• "Charleston" by Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra
• "Dinah" by Ethel Waters
• "Ah-Ha!" by Ted Lewis & His Jazz Band
• "Let's All Go to Mary's House" by Savoy Orpheans
• "St. Louis Blues" by Bessie Smith
• "Sweet Georgia Brown", recorded by:
  • Ben Bernie & His Orchestra
  • Ethel Waters
• "While We Danced 'Til Dawn" by Ted Lewis & His Jazz Band
• "Yes Sir, That's My Baby" by Ace Brigode & His Fourteen Virginians
• "Everybody Loves My Baby" by Blossom Seeley
• "If You Knew Susie (Like I Know Susie)" by Eddie Cantor
• "The Prisoner's Song" by Vernon Dalhart
• "Remember" by Isham Jones & His Orchestra

Classical music

• Isidor Achron - Violin Concerto No. 1
• Béla Bartók - Dance Suite
• Ernest Bloch - Concerto Grosso No. 1, for piano and strings
• John Fernström - Violin Concerto No. 1
• Jacob Gade - Jalousie, for cello and piano
• George Gershwin - Piano Concerto in F
• Leopold Godowsky - Java Suite
• Sir William Henry Harris - Faire is the Heaven
• Herbert Howells - Piano Concerto No. 2
• Bohuslav Martinů - String Quartet No. 2
• Carl Nielsen - Symphony No. 6 Sinfonia Semplice
• Sergei Prokofiev - Symphony No. 2, Iron and Steel
• Erwin Schulhoff - Symphony No. 1, String Quartet No. 2 ([1])
• Dmitri Shostakovich - Symphony No. 1
• Marcel Tournier - Images No. 1, Op. 29; Etude de Concert "Au Matin"
• Edgard Varèse - Intégrales
• Ralph Vaughan Williams - Concerto Accademico for Violin and Strings, Flos Campi
• William Walton - Portsmouth Point, concert overture
• Kurt Weill - Violin Concerto
• Stefan Wolpe - Three Songs by Heinrich von Kleist

Opera

• Alban Berg - Wozzeck
• Armstrong Gibbs - Blue Peter
• Maurice Ravel - L'enfant et les sortilèges

Musical theater

• Big Boy Broadway production opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on January 7 and later moved to the 44th Street Theatre for a total run of 168 performances
• Boodle London production opened at the Empire Theatre on March 10 and ran for 94 performances
• By The Way Broadway revue opened at the Gaiety Theatre on December 28 and ran for 176 performances. Starring Cicely Courtneidge.
• The Cocoanuts Broadway production opened at the Lyric Theatre on December 8 and ran for 375 performances
• Dearest Enemy (Music: Richard Rodgers, Lyrics: Lorenz Hart, Book: Herbert Fields. Broadway production opened at the Knickerbocker Theatre on September 18 and ran for 286 performances. Starring Helen Hart and Charles Purcell.
• The Dollar Princess London revival
• Garrick Gaieties Broadway revue opened at the Garrick Theatre on June 8 and ran for 211 performances
• Katja the Dancer London production opened on February 21 at the Gaiety Theatre and ran for 505 performances
• Mercenary Mary Broadway production opened at the Longacre Theatre on April 13 and ran for 136 performances
• No, No, Nanette (Irving Caesar, Otto Harbach, and Vincent Youmans)
  • London production opened at the Palace Theatre on March 11 and ran for 665 performances
  • Broadway production opened at the Globe Theatre on September 16 and ran for 321 performances
• On With the Dance London revue opened at the Pavilion on April 30 and ran for 229 performances
• Rose-Marie London production opened at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on March 20 and ran for 851 performances
• Sunny Broadway production opened at the New Amsterdam Theatre on September 22 and ran for 517 performances
• Tip-Toes Broadway production opened at the Liberty Theatre on December 28 and ran for 194 performances
• The Vagabond King Broadway production opened at the Casino Theatre on September 21 and ran for 511 performances

Births

• January 1 (probable) - Roger Williams, pianist
• January 13 - Gwen Verdon, singer and actress (d. 2000)
• February 16 - Carlos Paredes, guitarist (d. 2004)
• February 17 - Ron Goodwin, film composer (d. 2003)
• February 19 - Jindřich Feld, composer and teacher (d. 2007)
• February 26 - Delkash, singer (d. 2004)
• March 4 - Paul Mauriat, French musician (Love Is Blue) (d. 2006)
• March 22 – Gerard Hoffnung, cartoonist, comedian, musician (d. 1959)
• March 26 - Pierre Boulez, French composer, conductor and author
• April 14 - Gene Ammons, jazz saxophonist (d. 1974)
• April 26 - Jorgen Ingmann, guitarist
• May 14 - Boris Parsadanian, Armenian - Estonian composer (d. 1997)
• May 15 - Andrei Eshpai, composer
• May 22 - James King, tenor (d. 2005)
• May 28 - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Lieder singer
• June 27 - Doc Pomus. American songwriter (d. 1991)
• July 6 - Bill Haley, American singer (d. 1981)
• July 11 - Nicolai Gedda, tenor
• July 29 - Mikis Theodorakis, composer
• July 30 - Antoine Duhamel, French composer
• August 3 - Dom Um Romão, Brazilian jazz drummer (d. 2005)
• August 7
  • Felice Bryant, American songwriter (d. 2003)
  • Julián Orbón, Spanish Cuban composer (d. 1991)
• August 15
  • Oscar Peterson, pianist (d. 2007)
  • Aldo Ciccolini, pianist
• August 28 - Donald O'Connor, dancer, singer and actor (d. 2003)
• September 1 - Art Pepper, jazz musician (d. 1982)
• September 2 - Russ Conway, pianist (d. 2000)
• September 3 - Hank Thompson, country musician (d. 2007)
• September 6 - Jimmy Reed, blues singer (d. 1976)
• September 8 - Peter Sellers, English actor and "novelty" singer (d. 1980)
• September 10 - Boris Tchaikovsky, composer (d. 1996)
• September 11
  • Alan Bergman, US songwriter
  • Harry Somers, composer (d. 1999)
• September 13 - Mel Tormé, singer (d. 1999)
• September 16 - B. B. King, blues musician
• September 26 - Marty Robbins, country singer (d. 1982)
• September 28 - Cromwell Everson, South African composer (d. 1991)
• October 5 - Herbert Kretzmer, songwriter
• October 15 - Mickey Baker, guitarist and one half of the duo, Mickey & Sylvia
• October 16 - Angela Lansbury, English actress and singer
• October 20 - Tom Dowd, recording engineer/record producer (d. 2002)
• October 21 - Virginia Zeani, soprano
• October 24 - Luciano Berio, composer (d. 2003)
• November 17 - Sir Charles Mackerras, conductor
• November 22 - Gunther Schuller, composer, horn player and conductor
• December 8 - Sammy Davis, Jr., entertainer (d. 1990)
• December 13 - Dick Van Dyke, American actor, singer, dancer and comedian
• December 19 - Robert B. Sherman, songwriter, son of songwriter Al Sherman
• December 31 - Daphne Oram, composer (d. 2003)
• date unknown - Julito Collazo, percussionist (d. 2004)

Deaths

• January 6 - Ferdinand Löwe, Austrian conductor (b. 1865)
• February 10 - Aristide Bruant, French singer and nightclub owner (b. 1851)
• February 17 - Alwina Valleria, operatic soprano (b. 1848)
• February 20 - Marco Enrico Bossi, organist and composer (b. 1861)
• February 21 - Fernando de Lucia, operatic tenor (b. 1860)
• March 4 - Moritz Moszkowski, Polish composer (b. 1854)
• March 22 - Marie Brema, operatic mezzo-soprano (b. 1856)
• April 3 - Jean de Reszke, operatic tenor (b. 1850)
• April 22 - André Caplet, conductor and composer (b. 1878)
• April 25 - George Stephănescu, Romanian composer (b. 1843)
• May 12 - Arthur Napoleão dos Santos, Brazilian composer and pianist
• May 25 - Henry W. Petrie, US songwriter
• June 16 - Emmett Hardy, jazz musician (b. 1903)
• July 1 - Erik Satie, composer (b. 1866)
• July 9 - Leverett DeVeber, politician and singer (b. 1849)
• August 11 - Theodore Spiering, violinist and conductor (b. 1871)
• August 16 - Edna Hicks, blues singer (b. 1895) (killed in fire)
• December 9 - Eugène Gigout, composer and organist
• December 13 - Caroline von Gomperz-Bettelheim, pianist and opera singer (b. 1845)
• December 19 - Jose Ignacio Quinton, Puerto Rican composer and pianist (b. 1881)
• December 27 - Guido Menasci, opera librettist (b. 1867)
• date unknown
  • Giuseppe Donati, inventor of the ocarina (b. 1836)
  • Hans Winderstein, conductor and composer (b. 1859)