- Jan 8 Dumitru Kiriac-Georgescu, Romanian composer known for sacred choral works, and ethnomusicologist, dies at 61
- Feb 16 Eddie Foy Sr. [Edwin Fitzgerald], Irish-American actor, singer and dancer (A Favorite Fool), dies at 71
- Feb 29 Adolphe Appia, Swiss set designer and theorist (Wagner opera sets), dies at 65
- Mar 1 Herbert Brewer, English composer, dies at 62
- Mar 1 Jacob Adolf Hägg, Swedish composer, dies at 77
- Mar 27 Leslie Stuart [Thomas Barrett], British musical theater composer (Florodora), dies at 64
- Mar 28 Giuseppe Ferrata, Italian composer and pianist, dies at 63
- Apr 13 Luis Iruarrizaga Aguirre, Basque priest, organist and composer of religious music, dies at 36
- Apr 18 Henryk Melcer-Szczawiński, Polish pianist, composer, and conductor, dies of a heart attack at 58
- Apr 24 Ferdinand Hummel, German composer, dies at 72
- May 7 Alexander Spendiaryan, Armenian-Soviet conductor and composer (Three Palms; Yerevan Sketches), dies at 56
- May 9 Constantin Dimitrescu, Romanian composer (Dans ţănănesc), dies at 81
- May 19 Henry F. Gilbert, American composer, and folk song collector, dies at 59
- Jun 6 Heinrich Gottlieb Noren, Austrian violinist and composer, dies at 67
- Jun 13 Dámaso Ledesma, Spanish organist, composer, musicologist, and priest, dies at 60
- Jun 23 Thomas H. Rollinson, American composer, conductor and bandleader, dies at 84
- Aug 6 W. H. Grattan Flood, Irish author and composer, dies at 68
- Aug 13 Fernand de La Tombelle, French organist and composer, dies at 74
- Oct 30 Oscar Sonneck, American editor (The Musical Quarterly), musicologist, and librarian (Library of Congress, 1902-17), dies at 55
- Nov 19 Achille Simonetti, Italian violinist and composer, dies at 71
- Dec 18 Lucien Capet, French composer and violinist, dies at 55