1920 in music

Specific locations

• 1920 in British music
• 1920 in Norwegian music

  Specific genres

• 1920 in country music
• 1920 in jazz

  Events

• January 19 – The Salzburg Festival is revived.
• September 4 – City of Birmingham Orchestra first rehearses. Later this month, its first concert, conducted by Appleby Matthews, opens with Granville Bantock's overture Saul; in November it gives its "First Symphony Concert" when Edward Elgar conducts a programme of his own music in Birmingham Town Hall.
• November 15 – First complete public performance of Gustav Holst's suite The Planets given in London by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Albert Coates.
• December 4 – Première of the opera Die tote Stadt by 23-year-old Erich Wolfgang Korngold. It later becomes known that the librettist, "Paul Schott", is Korngold's father Julius.
• December 30 – Pearl Hamilton, plays piano with small jazz ensemble to appreciative audience at the Star Theater in New York City.
• Mamie Smith's first blues recordings become a hit, alerting record companies to the African American market.
• Hamilton Harty is appointed resident conductor of the Hallé Orchestra.
• Henri Sauguet forms Groupe des Trois along with Louis Emié and Jean-Marcel Lizotte.
• The Central Band of the Royal Air Force is formed in Britain.
• The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra launches its Mahler festival.
• Gabriel Fauré retires from the Paris Conservatoire, and is awarded the Grand-Croix of the Légion d'Honneur.

  Publications

• Stewart Macpherson – Melody and Harmony, Book 1. London: Stainer & Bell.

  Published popular music

• "After You Get What You Want, You Don't Want It" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "All She'd Say Was "Umh Hum"" w.m. King Zany, Mac Emery, Gus Van & Joe Schenck
• "All The Boys Love Mary" Gus Van & Joe Schenck
• "Aunt Hagar's Blues" w.m. W. C. Handy
• "Avalon" w.m. B. G. DeSylva, Al Jolson & Vincent Rose
• "Blue Jeans" w. Harry D. Kerr, m. Lou Traveller
• "Bright Eyes" w. Harry B. Smith m. Otto Motzan & M. K. Jerome
• "Broadway Rose" w. Eugene West m. Martin Fried & Otis Spencer
• "Chanson" m. Rudolf Friml
• "Chili Bean" w. Lew Brown m. Albert Von Tilzer
• "Crazy Blues" w.m. Percy Bradford
• "The Cuckoo Waltz" w. Arthur Kingsley m. J. E. Jonasson
• "Daddy, You've Been A Mother To Me" w.m. Fred Fisher
• "Do You Ever Think Of Me?" w. John Cooper & Harry D. Kerr m. Earl Burtnett
• "Down By The O-HI-O " w. Jack Yellen m. Abe Olman
• "Feather Your Nest" w.m. James Kendis, James Brockman & Howard Johnson
• "The Gipsy Warned Me" w.m. R. P. Weston & Bert Lee
• "Great Camp Meeting Day" w. Noble Sissle
• "He Went In Like A Lion " w. Andrew B. Sterling m. Harry von Tilzer
• "Home Again Blues" w.m. Harry Akst & Irving Berlin
• "I Belong to Glasgow" w.m. Will Fyffe
• "I Never Knew I Could Love Anybody Like I'm Loving You" w.m. Tom Pitts, Raymond B. Egan & Roy Marsh
• "I Used To Love You, But It's All Over Now" w. Lew Brown m. Albert Von Tilzer
• "I'd Love To Fall Asleep And Wake Up In My Mammy's Arms" w. Sam M. Lewis & Joe Young m. Fred E. Ahlert
• "I'll Be With You In Apple Blossom Time" w. Neville Fleason m. Albert Von Tilzer
• "I'll See You In C-U-B-A" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "In a Persian Market" m. Albert William Ketèlbey
• "The Japanese Sandman" w. Raymond B. Egan m. Richard A. Whiting
• "Jellybean" by Jimmie Dupre, Sam Rosen, and Joe Verges
• "Kalua" w. Anne Caldwell m. Jerome Kern
• "Left All Alone Again Blues" w. Anne Caldwell m. Jerome Kern
• "Little Town In The Ould County Down" w. Richard Pascoe m. Monte Carlo & Alma Saunders
• "Look for the Silver Lining" w. B. G. DeSylva m. Jerome Kern
• "The Love Boat" by Gene Buck
• "Love Nest" w. Otto Harbach m. Louis A. Hirsch
• "Margie" w. Benny Davis m. Con Conrad & J. Russel Robinson
• "Mary" w. Otto Harbach m. Louis A. Hirsch
• "My Little Bimbo Down On A Bamboo Isle" w. Grant Clarke w. Walter Donaldson
• "My Mammy" w. Sam M. Lewis & Joe Young m. Walter Donaldson
• "My Man" w. Channing Pollock Albert Willemetz & Jacques Charles m. Maurice Yvain
• "O'er The Hills To Ardentinny" w.m. Harry Lauder
• "Old Pal Why Don't You Answer Me" w. Sam M. Lewis & Joe Young m. M. K. Jerome
• "Pale Moon" w. Jesse Glick m. Frederick Knight Logan
• "Palesteena" w.m. Con Conrad & J. Russell Robinson
• "Polly" w. Leo Wood m. Jack Richmond
• "Pretty Kitty Kelly" w. Harry Pease m. Ed G. Nelson
• "Rose Of Washington Square" w. Ballard MacDonald m. James F. Hanley
• "San" w.m. Lindsay McPhail & Walter Michels
• "So Long, Oo Long" w. Bert Kalmar m. Harry Ruby
• "Tell Me Little Gypsy" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "That Old Irish Mother Of Mine" w. William Jerome m. Harry Von Tilzer
• "La Veeda" w. Nat Vincent m. John Alden
• "Wang Wang Blues" w. Leo Wood m. Gus Mueller, Buster Johnson & Henry Busse
• "When My Baby Smiles At Me" w. Andrew B. Sterling m. Billy Munro
• "Where Do They Go When They Row, Row, Row?" w. Bert Kalmar & George Jessel, m. Harry Ruby
• "Whispering" w. Malvin Schonberger m. John Schonberger
• "White Army, Black Baron" w. Pavel Grigor'ev, m. Samuel Pokrass
• "Whose Baby Are You?" w. Anne Caldwell m. Jerome Kern
• "Wild Rose" w. Clifford Grey m. Jerome Kern
• "A Young Man's Fancy" w. John Murray Anderson & Jack Yellen m. Milton Ager

  Top hits on record

• "Crazy Blues" by Mamie Smith
• "Dardanella" by Ben Selvin's Novelty Orchestra
• "I've Got My Captain Working for Me Now" by Al Jolson
• "Love Nest" by John Steel
• "O " by Ted Lewis and His Band
• "Palesteena" by The Original Dixieland Jazz Band
• "Whispering" by Paul Whiteman's Orchestra

  Classical music

• Granville Bantock – Arabian Nights
• Béla Bartók – Eight Improvisations on Peasant Songs
• Arnold Bax – Phantasy for viola and orchestra
• Arthur Bliss – The Tempest, overture and interludes;
• *Concerto for piano, tenor voice, strings and percussion
• *Rout
• Ernest Bloch – Violin Sonata No. 1
• Ferruccio Busoni – Piano Sonatina No. 6,
• *Divertimento for flute and orchestra
• Frederick Delius – Hassan
• George Enescu – String Quartet No. 1 in E-flat major, Op. 22, No. 1
• Gabriel Fauré – Masques et Bergamasques
• Johan Halvorsen – Norwegian Rhapsody No. 2
• Gustav Holst – The Planets
• Arthur Honegger – Pastorale d'été
• *Viola Sonata
• *Cello Sonata
• Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov – An Episode from the Life of Schubert, op. 61
• Leoš Janáček – Ballad of Blanik
• Darius Milhaud – Ballade
• *Le Boeuf sur le toit,
• Francis Poulenc – Five Impromptus for Piano, Suite in C Major for Piano
• Sergei Prokofiev – Five Songs without Words
• Maurice Ravel – La Valse
• *Sonata for violin and cello
• Erik Satie – La Belle excentrique
• Dmitri Shostakovich – Five Preludes for piano
• Igor Stravinsky – Concertino for string quartet,
• *Pulcinella
• *Symphonies of Wind Instruments
• Ralph Vaughan Williams – The Lark Ascending
• *Mass in G minor
• *London Symphony
• Heitor Villa-Lobos – Symphony No. 5, "A paz"

  Opera

• Vincent D'Indy – The Legend of St. Christoper
• Clemens Freiherr von Franckenstein – Li-Tai-Pe
• Henry Hadley – Cleopatra's Night
• Leoš Janáček – The Excursions of Mr. Broucek on the Moon and in the 15th Century
• Erich Korngold – Die tote Stadt
• Ruggiero Leoncavallo – Edipo Re

  [Jazz]

[Musical theatre]

• Afgar Broadway production opened at the Central Theatre on November 8 and ran for 168 performances
• As You Were Broadway revue by Arthur Wimperis opened at the Central Theatre on January 27 and ran for 143 performances. Starring Sam Bernard, Irene Bordoni, Clifton Webb and Hugh Cameron.
• The Beggar's Opera London production opened at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith on June 5 and ran for 1,463 performances
• Die Blaue Mazur , Vienna
• George White's Scandals Of 1920 Broadway revue opened at the Globe Theatre on June 7 and ran for 134 performances
• The Gingham Girl Broadway production at the Central Theatre ran for 322 performances
• Irene London production opened at the Empire Theatre on April 7 and ran for 399 performances
• Johnny Jones London production opened at the Alhambra Theatre on June 1 and ran for 349 performances
• Jumble Sale London revue opened at the Vaudeville Theatre on December 16 and ran for 176 performances
• Just Fancy London production opened at the Vaudeville Theatre on March 26 and ran for 332 performances
• Der letzte Walzer , Berlin
• A Little Dutch Girl opened at the Lyric Theatre on December 1 and ran for 207 performances
• The Night Boat Broadway production opened at the Liberty Theatre on February 2 and ran for 318 performances. Jeanette MacDonald made her first Broadway appearance as a member of the chorus.
• A Night Out London production opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on September 18 and ran for 309 performances
• Sally Broadway production opened at the New Amsterdam Theatre on December 21 and ran for 570 performances
• The Shop Girl London revival opened at the Gaiety Theatre on March 25 and ran for 327 performances
• Tickle Me Broadway production opened at the Selwyn Theatre on August 17 and ran for 207 performances. Starring Louise Allen, Allen Kearns and Frank Tinney.
• Tip Top Broadway production opened at the Globe Theatre on October 5 and ran for 241 performances
• Ziegfeld Follies of 1920 Broadway revue opened at the New Amsterdam Theatre on June 22 and ran for 123 performances, but ran most years until 1927.

  Births

• January 1
• *Mahmoud Zoufonoun, Iranian-American violinist
• *Virgilio Savona, Italian singer and songwriter
• January 3 – Renato Carosone, Italian musician and singer
• January 5 – Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, pianist
• February 13
• *Boudleaux Bryant, American songwriter
• *Eileen Farrell, American soprano
• February 18 – Rolande Falcinelli, organist, pianist and composer
• February 23 – Hall Overton, composer, jazz pianist and music teacher
• February 26 – Henri Crolla, jazz guitarist and film composer
• April 7 – Ravi Shankar, Indian sitarist
• April 12 – The Cox Twins, music hall entertainers
• April 21 – Bruno Maderna, conductor and composer
• April 29 – Harold Shapero, composer
• May 2 – Jean-Marie Auberson, violinist and conductor
• May 4 – Ronald Chesney, harmonica player and comedy scriptwriter
• May 13 – Gareth Morris, flautist
• May 18 – Lucia Mannucci, Italian singer
• May 21 – Bill Barber, jazz musician
• May 26 – Peggy Lee, singer and songwriter
• June 6
• *Dino Asciolla, violinist
• *Robert Turner, composer
• June 10 – Bonnie Davis, R&B singer
• June 11 – Hazel Scott, classical pianist and singer
• June 19 – Johnny Douglas, film composer and conductor
• June 25 – Ozan Marsh, American concert pianist
• June 26 – Leonid Hambro, pianist
• July 1 – Amália Rodrigues, Portuguese singer and actress
• July 19 – Robert Mann, violinist
• July 20 – Carmen Carrozza, accordionist
• July 21 – Manuel Valls, composer
• August 8
• *Leo Chiosso, Italian lyricist
• *Jimmy Witherspoon, blues singer
• August 17 – Georgia Gibbs, singer
• August 29 – Charlie Parker, jazz musician
• September 17 – Jean Perrin, composer
• September 23 – Mickey Rooney, actor and entertainer
• September 28 – Irma Baltuttis, singer and entertainer
• October 13 – Albert Hague, songwriter
• October 27 – Nanette Fabray, actress and singer
• December 6 – Dave Brubeck, jazz pianist
• date unknown – Jan Van Halen, musician, father of Eddie and Alex Van Halen

  Deaths

• January 8 – Maud Powell, violinist
• January 16 – Reginald De Koven, US music critic and composer
• January 18 – Giovanni Capurro, poet, co-writer of "O Sole Mio"
• January 21 – John Henry Maunder, composer
• January 24 – William Percy French, songwriter
• February 2 – Theo Marzials, singer and composer
• February 11 – Gaby Deslys, dancer and actress
• February 12 – Émile Sauret, violinist and composer
• February 23 – Alexander Ilyinsky, music teacher and composer
• March 20 – Eva Mylott, operatic contralto
• April 4 – Carl Bohm, pianist and composer
• April 8 – Charles Griffes, composer
• April 19 – Mathilde Mallinger, lyric soprano
• May 6 – Hortense Schneider, operatic soprano
• May 25 – Georg Jarno, composer of operettas
• May 28 – Hardwicke Rawnsley, hymn-writer
• June 27 – Adolphe-Basile Routhier, lyricist
• June 28 – Pauline Rita, singer and actress
• July 17 – Dorothy Goetz, first wife of Irving Berlin
• July 26 – Carlos Troyer, composer
• August 13 – Carlos Hartling, German-born composer of the Honduras national anthem
• August 29 – Gustav Jenner, composer and conductor
• October 2 – Max Bruch, composer
• October 16 – Alberto Nepomuceno, composer and conductor
• November 6 – Maria Waldmann, operatic mezzo-soprano associated with Verdi
• date unknown
• *George J. Gaskin, singer
• *Paloke Kurti, Albanian composer